CHAPTER III
THE BOAT IN THE FACE OF THE MOON
A single look told Jack another story, for after all it was no humanlife in peril that had given rise to that girlish shriek.
Upon the dancing waves he saw a pretty hat, which had evidently beensnatched by the wind from the head of the golden-haired maid, who washalf standing up in the boat, with her hands outstretched toward herfloating headgear.
The men had started to change their stroke, and try and turn the boat;but with the wind blowing so hard this was no easy matter. The chancesseemed to be that possibly the hat might sink before they could get toit.
Jack never hesitated an instant. No sooner did he ascertain how thingslay than he was off like a shot, headed straight for the drifting hat.It chanced that the wind and waves carried it toward him at the sametime; so that almost before the two men in the boat had turned thehead of the craft properly, Jack was reaching out an eager hand, andcapturing the prize.
"Hooray!" came in a chorus from the boys ashore near the fire. EvenBuster tried to wave his hands, forgetting that he had full need of themin the effort to remain afloat, with the result that he temporarilyvanished from view under a wave.
Jack smiled to see the two girls in the boat clapping their hands asthey bore down upon him. He noticed now, that while the one who had losther hat was slender and a very pretty little witch, her companion wasalmost as heavy in her way as Buster himself, and with the rosiestcheeks possible.
"Oh! thank you," cried the maiden whose headgear had been rescued from awatery grave. "It was nice of you to do that. And it was my pet hat,too. Whatever would I have done if it had sunk, with poor me so far awayfrom our Chicago home. Is one of those dear little boats yours?"
"Yes, the one with the burgee floating at the bow," returned Jack, as hekept treading water, after delivering up the gay hat. "We're taking ourvacation by making a trip from the Thousand Islands all through theGreat Lakes. My name is Jack Stormways."
"And mine is Rita Andrews. My father owns that big power boat there; andwe live in Oak Park near Chicago. This is my cousin, Sallie Bliss. I'msorry to say that we're going to leave here early in the morning; orI'd ask you to come aboard and meet my father."
Nick meanwhile was approaching, making desperate efforts to hurry alongbefore the boat passed on. For Nick had discovered that the rosy-cheekedgirl was just the match for him, and he wanted to be introduced theworst kind.
Unfortunately the cruel men took to rowing again, and though Nick swamafter, puffing and blowing like a porpoise, he was left in the lurch.But he succeeded in waving his hand to the departing ones, and laughedjoyously when he saw that Miss Sallie actually returned his salute.
So the boat with its fair occupants passed away. Jack wondered whitherthe millionaire, whose name he remembered having heard before, wasbound; and if a kind fate would ever allow him to see that charming faceof Rita Andrews again. Little did he dream of the startling conditionsthat would surround their next meeting.
"Hi! there, you fellows, come ashore and get some duds on!" calledGeorge, who had been an interested observer of this little play.
"Yes," supplemented Josh, waving a big spoon as though that might be theemblem of his authority as "chief cook and bottle-washer," "supper'sabout ready, and my omelette eats best when taken right off the pan. Geta move on you, fellows."
It was amusing to see the scramble Nick made for the shore. The jangleof a spoon on a kettle always stirred his fighting spirit; he felt the"call of the wild" as George said, and could hardly wait until the restsat down.
So the two swimmers went ashore, and hastily dressed. Nick was forevertalking about the lovely roses in the cheeks of Miss Sallie.
"You didn't play fair, Jack," he complained. "When you saw how anxious Iwas to get up, why didn't you pretend to have a cramp, or something, todetain the boat. I didn't even get introduced. She don't know what myname is. It's mean, that's what I think."
Jack knew that Buster would never be happy unless he had some cause forgrumbling. It was usually all put on, though, for naturally the fat boywas a good-natured, easy-going fellow, ready to accommodate any one ofhis chums to the utmost.
While they ate the fine supper which Josh spread before them, Georgeentertained the party with a droll account of the adventure two of theirnumber had had with a bull. He had purposely kept silent up to now, andbound Josh to secrecy, so that he could spring the story while they sataround.
Loud was the laughter as George went on in his clever way of tellingthings. But Nick laughed with the rest. Viewed from the standpoint ofsafety things really looked humorous now; whereas at one time they hadseemed terrifying indeed.
"Catch me wearing that blessed red sweater again when I go for milk oreggs," he declared. "Once is enough for me. Oh! if I'd only had a cameraalong to snap Josh as he went climbing over that fence, with the bull soclose behind. I'd get that picture out every time I felt blue, and laughmyself sick."
Josh assumed an injured air, as he spoke up, saying:
"Now would you listen to that, fellows? Just as if I looked a quarter asfunny as Nick did, trying to scramble up that tree, nearly scared todeath, because he thought Johnny Bull wanted to help him rise in theworld. Oh! my land! but he was a sight. When I went off to get help Iwanted to laugh so bad I just fell over in the grass, where he couldn'tsee me, and just had it out. Couldn't help it."
"That's what kept you so long, was it?" demanded Nick, reproachfully."All right, the very next time you get in a pickle, and yell out forhelp, I'm going to get a crick in my leg when I try to run, see if Idon't."
"All the same I noticed that you could swim to beat the band when youtried to join Jack, before the sweet girlies got away," put in George,maliciously.
"Nick was afraid the boat was going to upset, and he saw a chance tosave that red-cheeked little dumpling from a watery grave," Herbremarked, with a grin.
"Suppose something _had_ happened, Jack couldn't have rescued them both.But you can laugh all you want to, smarties, she waved her hand to meall the same, didn't she, Jack?" appealed the fat boy, stubbornly.
"I saw her wave to somebody, so I suppose it was meant for you," repliedJack.
"Birds of a feather flock together," chanted Josh.
"That'll do for you," Nick declared sternly. "She was a fine and dandylittle lady, and I hope some time in the future I'll see Sallie Blissagain."
"Bliss! Oh! what d'ye think of that, fellows?" roared George.
"Leave Buster alone, can't you?" Jack said, in pretended indignation."He's all right, and honest as the day is long. None of your CraftyClarence in his makeup, you know, fellows."
Clarence Macklin was a boy who came from the same town as those aroundthe camp fire. He was the son of a very rich man, who supplied him withalmost unlimited spending money. Consequently Clarence was able to carryout any folly that chanced to crop up in his scheming mind.
Learning through trickery of the intention of the motor boat boys tocruise among the Thousand Islands, he had shipped his fast speed boat,called the _Flash_ thither, and succeeded in giving them more or lessannoyance. He was accompanied by his pet crony, a fellow called BullyJoe Brinker, who usually did the dirty work Clarence allowed himself tothink up.
"Say, speaking of that fellow, wonder what's become of him?" Georgeremarked; for there was a standing rivalry between his boat and that ofthe other, both being built solely for speed, and not comfort or safety.
"Didn't he hint something about coming up in this region later on?" saidJack.
"I understood it that way," observed Herb. "And more than a few times,while we cruised along the southern shore of Ontario and Erie, I thoughtwe'd see his pirate boat bob up."
"I hope we don't run across that crowd again," observed Nick. "Forthey're sore on us, and bound to do us a bad turn if they find thechance."
"Well, we can keep our eyes open," remonstrated George. "You knowClarence believes that _Flash_ can make circles around my bully boat,and I'm wanting
to give him a chance to prove it."
"Chuck that, George," said Josh. "You know you beat him out oncehandsomely."
"Yes, but he said he hadn't tried to do his level best. Anyhow, if thechance comes again I'm ready to race him."
"How long would we be gettin' up till the Soo now, Jack, darlint?" askedJimmie; who being second "high notch" in the line of eaters in thecrowd, had been too busy up to now to do any great amount of talking.
"That depends pretty much on the weather," replied the leader of theexpedition, who studied his charts faithfully, and was always ready togive what information he picked up, to his chums. "We are now somethinglike one hundred and fifty miles sou'-east-by-south from MackinacIsland, where we expect to stop over a few days. If we pick out a goodmorning we ought to navigate the head of Huron and the crooked St.Mary's river to the Soo in one day. The steamers do, and we can makeabout as fast time."
"Of course we have to hold up for the _Comfort_ pretty much all theway," said George; "not that I'm complaining, fellows, for I understandthat it takes all sorts of people to make a world, and lots of differentkinds of boats to please everybody. And in bad weather Herb and Joshfare better than the rest of us. Well, suppose we leave here tomorrowmorning, if the weather lets us, Jack?"
"We will try and make Mackinac with just one more stop," Jack replied."That will be easy enough; though if the wind gets around and the wavesincrease, we'll have to run for some snug harbor, George, because yourboat and mine are hardly storm craft on these big lakes."
"It's been a foine trip so far, I say," observed Jimmie, reaching foranother baked potato, which Josh had cooked to a turn in the ashes ofthe fire, somehow keeping them from blackening, as is usually the casein camp.
"You're right there, Jimmie," replied Herb. "And with no seriousaccidents to come, we'll make a record to be proud of. Just imagineus sitting around the fire in our cozy club house that is right nowbuilding, while Jack reads the stirring log of our experiences up here.It will make us live over the whole trip again."
"Yes," chimed in George, "and think of the _bliss_ that must bring."
Nick colored a little, as he felt every eye on him.
"Look at the moon just peeping up over yonder, fellows," he observed,meaning to distract their attention.
"Just about full too," remarked Jack. "Going to be a great night for acamp."
"Makes me think of that moonlight race we had with the _Flash_," Georgewent on, his heart always set on the matter of speed and victories.
Night was just closing in, and the grand full moon was rising from thewatery depths, so it seemed.
"There comes a motor boat down yonder," remarked Herb. "See what a finesearchlight she has. No need of that, though, as soon as the moon getsfairly up."
"Say, she's just humping along to beat the band, I tell you!" declaredJosh, as all eyes were turned to where the shadowy form of the advancingcraft could be seen, growing plainer with every passing second.
"Oh! I don't know," instantly remarked George, who was unable to seemuch good in any small craft when his pet _Wireless_ was around. "Ishould say she was doing just fairly, you know; but then she doesn'thave to hold back for any elephant."
"That's a mean hit, George," said Herb, though he never changed his mindabout his comfortable boat because of any slurs cast by his mates, whomight come to envy him in bad weather.
"Look at her cut through the water, would you?" Josh went on. "Thefellows aboard don't intend to turn in here to stop over. Must be in ahurry to get somewhere, I guess."
"There, she's just passing the rising moon. Why, I declare, fellows,seems to me she looks kind of familiar like!" Nick exclaimed.
Jack jumped up, and secured a pair of marine glasses. They wereguaranteed for night work, and through them he could see the passingmotor boat splendidly.
"Is it, Jack?" asked George, eagerly; and the other nodded.
"That's the same old _Flash_, all right," he said, looking around thecircle.
"Gosh!" exploded Nick, "Crafty Clarence is on the trail once more, benton revenge for the beat George gave his pirate motor boat. I see warmtimes looming up ahead of us, shipmates all. And ain't I glad I know howto swim now!"