CHAPTER XI.
A NIGHT OF ANXIETY.
To add to the consternation of the boys, the face of the sky was nowobscured by clouds, and the rising wind gave tokens of a coming storm.The tall trees groaned and swayed, and the quiet waters of the riverwere rising, and already were beginning to lash the low beach.
"I'm afraid Ben's in trouble," said Jock, unable to endure the silencelonger. "If he's all right, he never could find his way in suchdarkness as this."
"He started out as if he was going up the stream," said Bert, no lesstroubled than his friend. "He ought to have been able to get back."
"He ought not to have gone out at all, as far as the 'ought' isconcerned," replied Jock, gloomily. "Here we were thinking Ethan was agreenhorn; but he's forgotten more than we ever knew. It was a fooltrick for Ben to start out as he did."
"Well, he went, and that's all there is to say about it. We'll pilethe logs up higher and wait. It's all we can do now," said Bob.
Bob's suggestion was at once acted upon; and soon the light of thecamp-fire was leaping up in long tongues of flame. The wind served toincrease the blaze, and the roar of the blazing logs was added to thatof the rising storm.
For a time the boys sat in silence before the fireplace, gazing outover the river, and eagerly looking for the sight of the little canoe.They knew that even a skilled sailor would not dare to venture out insuch a night, but as Ben was already on the river, he must find someplace to land; and so, hoping against hope, the lads waited.
"There comes the rain," said Bob, at last, as a few drops fell uponhis upturned face. "What a night to be out on the river in!"
"Jock," said Bert, "haven't I read that these canoes are upset veryeasily on the river here?"
"I think it's likely. They are capsized, whether you've read it ornot."
"Ben can swim, anyway," said Bert, "and that's one comfort."
"I'm afraid he couldn't swim very far to-night," replied Jock,gloomily. "He couldn't see ten yards before him, and he wouldn't knowwhere to start for. Whew! Just hear that!"
The rain was now coming faster, and beat upon the faces of the boysand fell sputtering into the fire. The wind, however, was so strongthat the fire roared and snapped, and a cloud of smoke was borne awaydown the river. Inky blackness surrounded them, and the sounds of thestorm-swept river became steadily louder.
"There's no use in all of us staying out here in the rain. The rest ofyou go into the tent, and I'll stay here and attend to the fire," saidJock.
"Don't you think we'd better try to go over to the mainland and rouseout Ethan? Ben may be in trouble somewhere, and Ethan'll find him ifany one can," said Bert.
"I've thought of that," said Jock, "but it won't be safe to try it.We've nothing but the canoe here, and it couldn't live in such a stormas this. Just hear that, will you!" he added.
There was a great roaring in the trees now, and the sound becamesteadily louder. The rain, too, increased, and sometimes seemed todash upon them in sheets. Out on the river the tossing waters could beseen where the light of the camp-fire fell, and, capped with white,they presented a wild sight. And Ben was somewhere on those angrywaters! For a moment it seemed to the troubled Jock that he could seethe picture of a little white-winged canoe driven on by the furiousstorm, and in the stern of the boat was a terrified face whichstrongly resembled that of the missing Ben. Just then there came astill more furious blast. The tall trees bent and groaned, and thetossing waters leaped before it, as a highly strung horse dartsforward at the touch of a whip.
Again it seemed to Jock as if he could see the little canoe drivenbefore the roaring wind. The gust seemed to lift the light craft inits grasp, the pale face of the lad on board leaned forward, thenthere was a sudden lurching of the boat, the sail dipped until ittouched the water, and then boat and boatman disappeared from sightand nothing could be seen but the tossing waters and nothing be heardbut the roar of the storm. Thick darkness settled over all, and evenpenetrated the heavy heart of the anxious watcher.
None of the boys was willing to leave Jock alone to watch thecamp-fire, and after the mackintoshes had been put on they allreturned and waited. Occasionally a fresh log was thrown upon theblazing pile and the sparks flew upward, serving only to render moreintense the thick blackness that surrounded them.
There was slight hope of Ben returning now, but the anxious boys weredetermined to keep the fire burning, for it would serve as a landmarkif, by any chance, the absent lad might be near. Their eyes wereseldom taken from the river, and hour after hour passed as the vigilcontinued.
About midnight the storm abated, and soon the twinkling stars appearedin the sky. In the renewed hope that Ben might have been able to gainthe shelter of some secluded island and remain until the storm hadpassed, they piled the logs still higher and waited and watched forthe canoe to appear.
There were few words spoken now. The river gradually became moresilent and resumed its former peacefulness, and the tall trees ceasedto bend and sway. Perhaps the end had already come and even the waveswere satisfied with the ruin they had wrought.
"I shan't give up hope yet," said Jock, at last. "Ben wouldn't belikely to try to get back before morning, and he'll wait for daylightwherever he is."
"Wherever he is," murmured Bert, as if he was speaking to himself.
"You don't really think he's been--that anything has happened to him,do you?" said Jock, anxiously.
"I hope not."
"I don't know what I'd say to his father and mother," began Jock,again. "And just think of it! When we were counting on such a goodtime, too, and to have this happen almost at the very beginning! Don'tyou think we'd better go over to Ethan's now and rouse him out? He'dknow what to do."
"I think we'd better wait till it's light, anyway," said Bob. "Isuppose you're thinking of sending Ethan with his sailboat to look himup?"
"Yes, that was what was in my mind. You see, Ben may have met with anaccident. He may have lost his paddle, or his mast may have beenbroken. There's a hundred things I can think of, and if he should becast away on some island, he wouldn't be able to get off withouthelp."
"You don't know whether to go up the river or down," said Bert,disconsolately.
"Ben started up the river when he went off," replied Jock; "but it'sjust as likely that he's been carried down the stream, with thecurrent and the wind both to push him on. Ethan will know what to do,though."
"He'll probably go in one direction and Tom in the other," suggestedBob.
The three boys lapsed into silence, and while no one spoke openly ofthe great fear in his heart, it was nevertheless evident that a commonanxiety had them all in its grasp. Occasionally one would rise and godown to the dock and peer eagerly out over the river, but his failureto discover anything of interest would be betrayed by his silence andgloom when he rejoined his fellows.
The slow hours dragged on and still the heavy-hearted lads waited. Theleaves of the trees dripped steadily, and the monotonous soundsserved only to deepen the feeling of depression. Try as they would theboys could not shake off their fears, and when at last the first faintstreaks of the dawn appeared in the eastern sky, they were so worn bytheir watching, and the anxiety of the long night, that the coming daybrought no relief.
"Two of us had better stay here in the camp," suggested Bob, when thelight became more pronounced. "If you know where Ethan lives, Jock,you'd better take the canoe and go over to his place."
"I'll go," replied Jock, quickly.
The opportunity to bestir himself afforded a slight relief, and goingat once to the bank he lifted the overturned canoe from its place andbore it in his arms down to the water. Quickly taking his place onboard he grasped the paddle and with vigorous strokes sent the lightcraft swiftly over the water in the direction of the mainland. His twofriends watched him as long as he could be seen and then returned tothe camp. The fire had burned low by this time, but as daylight was athand there was little use in keeping it up, and the boys occasionallystirred the embers as
if in the ashes they were looking for somethingthey had lost.
As the glow of the dawn became more pronounced, and at last the greatsun itself appeared above the horizon, the waiting lads had no thoughtof breakfast. Even the wonderful appetite of which they had boasted onthe preceding day, was not able to move them now. The keen air hadlost its power, and all hunger was gone.
From time to time a boat was discovered on the river, and the ladswatched each in silence until it was hidden from sight among theislands; the missing Ben did not appear. More than two hours hadelapsed since Jock's departure from the camp, when Bob suddenlyexclaimed:--
"Isn't that a canoe out there on the river?"
"Where? Where?" inquired his companion, eagerly.
"Out there in the direction of the point! Hold on a minute, and I'llget the glasses and we'll see what we can make of it."
Bob hastily ran into the tent and returned with the glasses. Liftingthem to his eyes he gazed long and earnestly at the little spot on thesurface of the river, and then without a word handed them to hisfriend. Bert eagerly took them, and after he had peered intently atthe distant object, he lowered the glasses and said in a low voice,"It's a canoe, Bob, and it's headed this way."
"That's what I made out of it," replied Bob.
"If it was Ben he'd have a sail."
"I don't know whether he would or not. He might have lost it, youknow, in the storm. That isn't the direction from which Jock wouldcome."
"No. He went straight across from here. Do you think it's Ben?"
Bob made no reply, but he ran swiftly down to the dock, and hiscompanion as speedily followed him. There they waited for theapproaching canoe, confirming themselves by repeated uses of theglasses that it was headed for the camp. The little boat became moredistinct, and soon they could see the movements of the occupant as hedeftly wielded his paddle.
At last, when it was within two hundred yards of the dock, afteranother long look through the glasses, Bob said, "It's Jock."
Neither of them spoke until Jock ran the canoe in-shore, and then bythe expression upon his face they knew that he had no good report tomake.
"I found Ethan," said Jock, as he lifted the canoe out of the waterand placed it on the bank, "and he and Tom have gone out. One has goneup the river and the other down."
"What did he say?" inquired Bert, eagerly.
"Nothing."
"Does he think Ben's--"
Bert did not complete the question, and then said, "We weren't lookingfor you to come from that direction. We thought perhaps it might beBen."
"Ethan sent me over to a man he knew a little farther up the river.I've started him out to look, too. That's the reason why I came fromthat direction. Ethan suggested that I should bring some breakfastover for you, but I didn't think you'd want any. I knew I didn't,anyway."
"Nor do we," said Bob. "What are we to do now, Jock? Isn't theresomething we can do?"
"Ethan told us to stay here in camp till he came. He says he'll behere by noon, and then if he doesn't learn anything, we'll decidewhether we'd better telegraph home or not."
Jock's voice broke as he spoke, and his evident anxiety was shared bythe other boys. The end would soon be at hand, but before Ethan'sreturn there was nothing for them to do but to strive to possess theirsouls in patience and wait. Working would have been much more easy forthem all, but there was nothing they could do. They dared not ventureforth from the island for fear of losing their way in the tangledmaze, but they paced back and forth along the shore, peering eagerlyout over the river for the boat which still did not come.
About noontime Ethan returned to camp, but he had found no trace ofthe missing Ben; and when an hour later Tom returned, he also had thesame disheartening report to make, for neither had he seen any one whoknew of the lost boy.