CHAPTER V THE PROWLER IN THE NIGHT
A few minutes later the professor entered the rooms which he and the twoboys had engaged together alone. He found Don and Jim reading somemagazines which the hotel management furnished.
"Hello, professor," greeted Don. "Safely back, eh?"
"We were beginning to think that you had been lost," smiled Jim, puttingdown his magazine.
"I was not lost," returned the professor. "But I have had a mostextraordinary adventure."
"What was it?" they asked, in chorus.
"I came across a very distressing thing," the teacher continued. "Iwonder if you boys will help me? Outside, on a lonely street, I met ayoung man wandering, and it appears that he has amnesia!"
"Amnesia!" cried Don. "That means loss of memory, doesn't it?"
"Yes," answered the professor, seriously. "He could not remember who hewas nor where he came from. I questioned him at length, and while heanswers rationally enough, he simply cannot remember a thing past a weekago."
"That surely is tough," murmured Don. "What did you want us to do?"
"I have the young man outside here," replied Professor Scott. "Iwondered if you two would help me question him? If we ply him withquestions we may be able to suggest something that will make himremember who he is and some details of his past life."
"We'll be glad to help," said Jim, heartily. "Where is he?"
"I'll bring him in," replied the teacher, and he left the room.
"That's mighty hard luck," commented Don. "I hope we can do something tohelp."
A moment later the professor returned, gently leading someone with him."Come right in here, young man," he said, loudly and gently. "There areonly friends in here, so don't be afraid."
"Thank you sir," a voice replied. "Oh, if you can only do something forme!"
Professor Scott appeared in the room, leading with him a dazed-lookingyoung man with red hair and freckled face, at the sight of whom Don andJim sprang to their feet with a cry. The boy looked at them dully andswallowed.
"Terry Mackson!" they shouted.
"What!" cried the professor, in amazement, as he pushed the boy downinto a large chair. "Do you know this boy?"
"We certainly do!" Don shot out. "This is Terry Mackson, an old chum ofours. We room with him at school."
The professor looked down at Terry, who stared in puzzled wonder at Don."That is very strange. He doesn't appear to know you."
"Perhaps he has been hit on the head," suggested Jim, coming forward.
"This is fierce," said Don, worry on his face. "Terry, don't you knowme?"
"'Shoot if you must this old gray head, but I don't remember you, shesaid,'" was the unexpected reply, and the corners of his mouth, whichhad been quivering, expanded. The professor burst into a roar oflaughter.
The Mercer boys stood for a moment rooted to the spot, while Terry andthe professor laughed in unrestrained glee. After the first moment ofdisgust their eyes narrowed and two determined chins were thrustforward.
"Jim," said Don, quietly. "Put out the light. I don't want the world towitness the awful thing that is going to happen here!"
"Put it out yourself!" retorted Jim. "I am due for a first class murder,and I'm late now!"
And with that the two brothers threw themselves in mock fury onto thebody of their laughing friend and bore him to the floor, where theypunched him soundly, finding their task an easy one, for the red-headedboy was weak from laughter. When they had tired themselves they jerkedhim up and pushed him into the chair, the professor enjoying it allhugely.
"That was positively the most low trick I ever saw," declared Dondisgustedly.
"I'd like to have a look at the brain that would think of such a thing,"chimed in Jim.
"Oh, boy!" laughed Terry. "If you could ever have seen the kindly,anxious looks in your eyes as you bent over me to help restore myfleeting memory! My friends, I thank you! If ever I do lose my identityI shall request that I be taken to the Mercers, who will surely restoreme!"
"Oh, shut up!" said Don, beginning to smile. "We admit that we werecompletely sold that time. Where in the world did the professor findyou?"
"I didn't find him," put in the teacher. "Luckily, he found me." And herelated the events of the evening to them.
"You aren't hurt, I hope, professor?" asked Jim, anxiously.
"No, just bruised a bit. I would have been severely wet if it had notbeen for Terry's timely intervention. It was while on the way over herein Terry's--er--remarkable car that he proposed the trick that wasplayed on you."
"I'm surprised you would go in for such a thing, professor," said Don."But you can be excused because you don't know Terry. But in the futurenever do anything that he suggests. If you don't get in trouble you willbe sure to lose all respect for yourself, so I advise against it."
"Oh, I don't know," smiled the older man. "I enjoyed that little scenein which Terry lost his mind!"
"The part we enjoyed," returned Don, grimly, "was the thumping part."
"You say your letter was taken from you, professor?" asked Jim.
"Yes, and I wanted that more than anything else. However, it won't doanyone else any good, so I suppose it is not such a loss, after all."
For the next hour they talked and Terry related his experiences duringhis trip across the country. He spoke of going on down into Mexico, andthe professor listened, his eyes fixed on the newcomer thoughtfully. Atlast he spoke up.
"Terry," he said. "Why don't you come along with us?"
Terry grinned. "I was hoping you'd say just that," he admitted, frankly."I have no definite plan in mind, and I would certainly hate to miss anyfun that Don and Jim are in. But on the other hand I wouldn't want toput you out any."
"You wouldn't," said the professor, heartily. "Ned has plenty of roomfor all of us at his ranch. I'm really taking the boys along so that Iwon't have to tramp all over the country looking for Ned's treasure, andyou can come along to help in that line."
After some talk it was agreed that Terry should store his car away untilsuch time as they should want it again. It was late when he left them,agreeing to meet them on the following day and go to the steamer withthem. The professor and the Mercers slept soundly that night and thenext day were ready to begin their trip down the coast.
Meeting Terry in the morning they all went down to the steamer, a smallfruit carrier, and the captain consented to add one to the party.Although the steamer was not scheduled to start until evening thefriends went aboard early in the afternoon and settled themselves intheir cabin, a good sized room which was plain but clean. After thatthey wandered over the ship, keeping out of the way of the men who werestoring crates, preparatory to their cruise southward to load fruit. Thesmell of different grades of fruit was a permanent part of the blacksteamer, and it was by no means unpleasant.
In the evening, just before sailing time, Don and Jim stood out on thedeck, watching the men at work. The professor and Terry were in thecabin. Just before the gangplank was hauled in a heavyset man walkedconfidently aboard and spoke to the mate. The captain was nowhere aboutat the time. Although not particularly interested the boys noted thatthe man had a shifty, watchful look, and that his eyes were set closetogether. The mate appeared to know him and engaged him in conversation,talking in low tones and looking around sharply while doing so. At theend of their short conversation, during which both men looked at the twoboys, the newcomer went forward and they saw no more of him.
The steamer cast off and headed south, swinging out in a wide arc, andthe voyage was on. Terry and the professor came on deck at the sound ofthe last whistle and together they watched the purple coast line fadefrom sight. Supper followed and they made a hearty meal of it, eatingwith the captain at a private table in sight of the main mess tables.
The evening was spent in talking in the cabin and in pacing the deck.The night was clear and calm and the sky dotted with a myriad of stars,and the steady throbbing o
f the huge engines made almost the only soundas they ploughed through the blue waters of the Pacific. Quite earlythey turned in and soon fell into a deep sleep.
It was Terry who woke up with a sense that all was not right. He was alighter sleeper than the others, and some slight noise had awakened him.He sat up in his bunk, peering across the room at a shadow which seemedout of place there. Thinking it might be one of his chums stirring hespoke.
"Hello there! Who's prowling around?"
His words, spoken quietly, had an effect that astonished him. Someonemoved out of the shadows and for a second into the faint light whichstreamed in through a port hole. Instantly Terry recognized one of themen who had attacked the professor on the previous night.
The man ran to the door, jerked it open and darted along the narrowhallway that led to the companionway ladder. Terry swung his feet overthe edge of his bunk.
"All hands to repel boarders!" he yelled, and without waiting to put onshoes or clothing, dashed out of the door after the fleeing man.
The others woke up instantly, to see Terry streaking down the hall.Terry ran rapidly up the ladder and saw the intruder slipping over therail. The steamer was close into the shore, and without hesitation theman dropped over into the water and struck out for the shore, just asTerry gained the rail.
While he watched the man swimming for shore the others ran up, followeda moment later by the captain and the mate, a lean-jawed man with ahooked nose and wide mouth. To their excited inquiries Terry explainedwhat had happened.
"No use trying to catch him with a boat," decided the captain, seeingthat the man was almost to the shore. "What did he look like?"
Terry described him, and the professor and the boys were astonished tofind that it was one of the men who had attacked the professor on theprevious night. The captain broke out in an exclamation.
"Sackett!" he cried.
"You know him?" asked the professor.
"Squint Sackett is one of the worst bay bandits we have," said thecaptain. "He is a noted river pirate, and the police would give a wholelot to lay hands on him. Mr. Abel, how did that man get on board?"
"I don't know, sir," said the mate, promptly.
"You don't know?" asked Jim, in amazement. "Why you let him on boardyourself. My brother and I saw you talking to him this afternoon, justbefore we sailed."
"It's a lie," shouted the mate, darting a bitter glance at him.
"Oh, no it isn't," said Don, coldly. "We saw you. After you and hetalked this man Sackett went forward, and you didn't make any effort tostop him."
"I've had my suspicious of you for sometime, Mr. Abel," growled thecaptain, "and now I know you are crooked. You get off my ship! The firstport we come to you sling your pack and get out. I can't prove anythingon you, but I won't have any mate of mine having relations with a manlike Squint Sackett. D'you understand?"
"I'll break these kids in two!" shouted the mate, advancing. But thecaptain, who was bigger than the mate, quickly barred the way, his heavyfists raised.
"You touch these boys and I'll bust you over the rail!" he roared. "Getdown below and pack up. Tomorrow you're clearing this ship. Now get!"
Muttering angrily to himself the mate obeyed, and when he was gone thecaptain turned back to the party. "I'd advise you to look out for thatmate," he warned. "I'm glad you found out what you did. Did Sackettsteal anything from you?"
A hasty examination of the cabin revealed that Sackett had been in theact of going through the professor's inside coat pocket at the time hewas surprised by Terry, but nothing had been taken. Putting the wholeaffair down as an attempt at robbery the captain left them tothemselves, assuring them that no further harm would come to them.
"We'll have to keep our eyes open for this Sackett," said Don, as theywent back to their bunks. "For the life of me, I can't see why he shouldtake the trouble to come aboard and try to rob us. He must have amistaken idea that there is a lot of money in this crowd."
"That may be it," agreed the professor, somewhat doubtfully. "But itdoes seem strange that he should take such pains to follow us."
"Wonder how he knew we were on this particular boat?" mused Jim.
"That's not so hard," Terry explained. "Perhaps he hangs around thedocks and saw us come aboard today. But that mate must surely be one ofthe gang."
"No doubt of it," said Don, yawning sleepily. "Well, he's gone, and weprobably won't see anything of him again."
But if Don and the others could have even guessed at the plans whichwere at that moment being formulated in the evil brain of Squint Sackettthey would have had much food for thought. They were destined to see himagain, and not in the distant future.