CHAPTER IX
IN TERRIBLE PERIL
"Just what I expected!" exclaimed Jack, grimly.
"What was it?" demanded Herb; for at the moment it happened that the_Tramp_, being in front, obstructed the vision of those in the largerboat.
"Oh! tell me, was that really poor old clumsy Josh?" demanded Nick,poking his red face over the side of the _Comfort_. "I saw a pair oflegs up in the air, and remembered some fellow down at Mackinac tellingus what big frogs they found up here along the St. Mary's. The bass justlove them, he said, and the bigger the frog the larger bass you get.That one would take in a whale, I guess, eh?"
"It was Josh all right, for I can see George trying to get him with hisboat hook right now," said Jack, hardly knowing whether to laugh, orfeel provoked on account of the possible delay.
"But why did Josh jump? Was he practicing stunts?" Nick went oninnocently.
"Well," replied the commodore, "I imagine George made him squat up inthe extreme bow, to sing out if he saw a shallow place ahead. Andevidently Josh was looking all around, for he failed to discover amudbank that was just hidden under the surface of the water."
"But George found it," asserted Herb.
"Trust George for findin' annything at all, at all," grinned Jimmie.
"Hope he didn't go to busting his old engine again. My! what a terribletime we did have with that cranky thing on the Mississippi," observedNick; who had been on board the speed boat during that memorable cruisedown to New Orleans, and hence passed through an experience he wouldnever, never forget.
"I hope not," echoed Jack. "Perhaps the worst is yet to come. Perhaps heran on that old mudbank so hard, going at top speed as he was, that hewon't find it an easy job to work off again."
"That might delay us, be the powers, so we wouldn't be able to pull intothe ould Soo short of tomorry, bad cess till hasty George!" remarkedJimmie.
"Well," remarked Nick, with a contented sigh, "at the worst we've gotJocko, you remember, boys. Baked or stewed he'd make a meal for thecrowd."
Meanwhile they were rapidly drawing closer to the stuck _Wireless_.Apparently the skipper of the stranded craft had succeeded in dragginghis crew out of the mire, for there was a dripping figure on the forwarddeck, scraping the mud away, and evidently more or less bubbling overwith various remarks.
Jack cautioned Herb to slow down as they drew near.
"Bad enough to have one held fast," he said. "If the whole bunch gotstuck, why, we'd have to take to the dinkies, and go ashore on Canadasoil. How does your engine work, George? Nothing broken I hope?"
"I don't think so," came the reply from George who looked somewhathumiliated, as does every sailor when held up on a mudbank.
"Give it a try, and see. Reverse, and perhaps you'll glide offbackwards, the same way you went on," Jack suggested.
At any rate the engine worked apparently as well as ever; but thoughGeorge put it at its "best licks," as he declared, there was not a signof anything going.
Josh tried to use the setting pole, and came very near taking anotherheader.
"Say, this mud goes right along down to China, I reckon; leastways thereain't any bottom to it!" he cried, as he recovered himself just in time.
"We'll take your word for it, Josh," said Nick, sweetly; "because youknow you've been over to see for yourself. But I wouldn't try it again.Next time perhaps you might stick your head in and smother. Then whatwould I do for any fun at all?"
George kept trying every way he could think of, in the effort to workhis boat off the bank of sticky mud. It was in vain. Apparently manyunseen hands held it tight, as though unwilling to let the recklessskipper have another chance.
When an hour had passed, with several false alarms, as George thoughtsuccess was coming, he turned to Jack with a blank face, upon whichdisgust was plainly written.
"You'll have to get me out of this, commodore," he said. "I own up thatI don't seem able to budge her a bit. Even with Josh in the dinky,pulling like all get-out, and her engine rattling away at full speedastern, she won't move an inch. And already we've lost enough time tomake it impossible to get to the Soo by night."
George was apparently penitent, so Jack did not have the heart to rub itin at that time. Later on perhaps he might force the reckless one topromise about turning over a new leaf.
"All right; we'll soon yank you out of that, George. I didn't want topropose anything until you had tried every scheme you could think of.Herb, throw George your painter, and let him make fast to the stern ofthe _Wireless_. Then I'll do the same by you. In that way we'll be ableto get both boats working. If George starts his engine at the same time,she's just got to come off, or go to pieces. Get what I mean?"
"Sure I do, and it's a good idea," replied the pilot of the _Comfort_,readily.
Of course George was willing enough to accept any sort of assistancenow. And he readily made the painter fast to a ringbolt at the stern ofthe speed boat.
When all things were ready, Jack asked him to get his engine moving.
"Now, start yours up slowly, Herb," Jack went on; "not too fast to beginwith; but gradually increase until you're applying two-thirds of yourpower. Stop there, and if she refuses to budge, I'll come in. We'll gether yet. She's got to come, I tell you."
And she did, after the _Tramp_ added her drawing facilities to those ofthe others.
"Hurrah!" shrilled Josh, when the speed boat started to move backwardsout of her muddy berth; he had almost plunged over again, and savedhimself by a quick clutch at a cleat near by.
"What next?" asked Herb, after they had become disentangled again, andwere in a condition to proceed.
"No use thinking of making the Soo today," remarked Jack. "Too dangerousalong the upper reaches of this river to try it in the night. We canmove along to the upper end of this island, and camp on Canadian landtonight, for a change."
"That sounds good to me," observed Nick; but only suspicious looks werecast in his direction; for well they knew that the word "camp" withBuster was another way of spelling "eat."
"How far would we be from the city at the rapids, then?" asked Herb, asthey once more started.
"Oh, we could make it in a few hours," Jack replied, "if all went well.Keep to the right of that smaller island. That belongs to Michigan. Someuse the other channel; but we'll take this one. You see, St. Joseph'sIsland is all of fifteen miles long, and pretty wild in parts. Ought tobe good hunting here in season."
"Don't I wish it was in season, then," said Nick, smacking his lips."Always have wanted to eat some venison from Canada right in camp. Say,fellows, if a silly old deer just went and committed suicide before ourvery eyes, by jumping over a precipice, wouldn't we have a right to geta haunch from his bally old carcase?"
"Well," laughed Jack, "if a Canadian game warden found you in possessionhe'd take you in. So just forget all you've ever heard about juicyvenison. It's dry and tough stuff at the best, and couldn't comparewith that Mackinac steak you bought."
Nick sighed.
"And we have to wait till tomorrow noon before we are in touch with amarket, do we? I don't ever see how we're going to pull through. Tellyou what, somebody ought to try for fish here when we stop. Looks likebass might hang around waiting for a chance to jump into the pan. Howabout that, Jack?"
"Just what I had made my mind to try," smiled the other, who likednothing better than bringing his rod into play when there was a chancefor game fish.
After a while George announced that he could see what looked like theend of the big island ahead.
"And here's a pretty decent place to pull in," declared Herb.
As they had nothing to fear from storms or hoboes in such a retirednook, the boys, having secured their boats in proper fashion against theshore, where they could not rub or get into trouble, amused themselvesas they saw fit.
Jack, true to his promise, got out his fishing tackle, and proceeded totry all sorts of lures in the hope of tempting a bass to bite. Finallyhe took his little dinky, and began t
o troll, using a phantom minnow.Almost immediately he had a vicious strike, and after a struggle pulledup a fine fish.
"Do it some more!" called out Herb, who was lying on the shore, watchinghim at the sport.
Five minutes afterward Jack duplicated his feat, only this was even alarger fish than the first. So the time passed. Josh was busily engagednear the tents which he, Herb and George had erected; while Jimmie wasdoing something aboard the _Tramp_.
"Where's Nick?" asked Herb, after a long time had elapsed. "I hope thesilly fellow hasn't gone and lost himself now. A fine time we'd havehunting that fat elephant through all that bush."
"He was here only a little while ago," remarked George, looking up.
"Looky yander, an' ye'll see him!" exclaimed Jimmie; "over beyant thatdead three. Sure, he do be sneakin' up on something or other, andthryin' till coax it till kim till him. I say the baste now. Oh!murdher! by all the powers, somebody call out till him to sthop it!"
"Why, what's the matter with him?" asked Josh, coming to life at theprospect of perhaps seeing his rival for high honors in the farce lineduplicate his ridiculous feat of taking a header into the mud and water.
"Look at him, would ye, the crazy wan!" gasped Jimmie, "thryin' tillcoax a baste loike that!"
"Is it Jocko?" queried Josh, unable to catch sight of the other justthen.
"The little monk ye mane?" replied Jimmie. "Och! that would be aisy now.It's tin times worse than that. Call till him, Herb; I'm that wake I canhardly spake above a whisper. 'Tis a terrible danger he be in, for theanimal is a white and black skunk; and poor innocent Nick, I do belavehe thinks it be a pretty pussycat!"