CHAPTER XXVI
A CALL FOR HELP
Again Gus approached the cabin, feeling sure now of the outcome of theplan. He reached the clump of thick pines below the tall one and turnedto make the bee-line in, not a hundred yards from the building, when thealarm notes of a ruffed grouse reached his ears. It was just ahead, theangry, quick, threatening call of a mother bird, disturbed with heryoung, quick to fight and to warn them of danger. Might not this be aweasel, fox or mink that had sneaked upon her? But if so, it would bethe note of warning only, to scatter the little ones into hiding-placeswhile the hen sought a safe shelter just out of the reach of themarauder and after she had, pretending a hurt, led it to a distance fromthe brood.
But this was different. The grouse had played her usual trick of decoy,no doubt, and failing in this had returned to attack something regardedas a larger enemy. She would know better than to include deer, or thewandering, half-wild cattle of the peninsula as such. There were no pumaand few bear in these woods, and surely none here. What then could thedisturber be but a man? Gus well knew the ways of these knowing birds.
The boy's advance now became so cautious as to make no audible sound evento himself, such being possible over the pine needles. Slowly he gained avantage point where again the roof gable was visible against the sky. Nosound ahead, except the mother grouse making the sweetest musicimaginable in calling her young ones together during a half minute. Thecoast must be clear,--but just as the boy was about to go boldly forward,a flash of light shone about him and his staring eyes discerned, notthirty feet away, the three watchers standing together. They hadreturned, probably by pre-arrangement and had met in the roadway. Nowthey were silently listening for the fourth fellow--himself. One chap,thinking that they were not observed, had struck a match to see the time,or to light a cigarette. Had they been looking in Gus's direction theymight have seen him. Presently, mumbling some words, they all went onagain toward the cabin, and Gus, sick at heart because seeing now nochance for a renewal of his effort, turned back after an hour to whereBill waited.
"Why, Gus, they came out here, all of them together and went part wayover to the beach, then returned almost right away. I could hear onlytheir voices at first, but when they came back they passed close enoughfor me to hear a little of what they said, I think it was the Malatestathat we know. He was declaring that 'he,' and I guess he meant you, mustbe the same. Do you think he knows you, Gus?"
"I don't know. They must be suspicious of my story, or my purpose,anyway, or they would have stayed out and watched. Perhaps one of themfollowed far enough to hear me head out this way. Anyway, they think thecabin is the safest place. We can't do anything now, so let's go backand hit the hay."
They went back, Gus to throw himself on old Dan's couch and sleep like adead man and Bill to take up the receiver phones, nodding over thetable, to be sure, but remaining generally awake. For two hours he keptcatching odd bits of no importance through long intervals. Then suddenlyhe sat up and, reaching over, poked Gus with his crutch. After two orthree hard pokes Gus opened his eyes.
"Say, somebody's calling for help! I can't get it right, I reckonthey've taken Tony away and out to sea again. Can't tell who it's from;it's all jumbled, anyway. Done now, I guess."
"But what was it?" asked Gus, now very wide awake.
"It came like this, in code," said Bill. "The 'S.O.S.' several times.Then: 'Aground. Rounding inlet, east channel, headed out. Hurry.' Therewas a lot of stuff in between, but not intelligible."
"Can it be Tony?"
"Who else?"
"But would they let him broadcast anything?"
"Gave them the slip, maybe."
"What'll we do?"
"You say it."
"Well, then--rounding east channel of inlet, eh? Tide going out. Likelythey'll stick on the shoals. If only Dan were here now."
"What then?"
"Why, we'd take his catboat and overhaul them. They'll probably stickgoing about and the wind's dead against going out. But Dan----"
"Isn't here, but I am. I'll go forward with the gun and you can handlethe _Stella_. Let's go!"
They went. It was but the work of a few minutes to gain the landing,hoist sail, cast off and reach down the bay, the wind abeam. Bill gotinto a snug place at the mast, Gus held the tiller, each boy firmlydetermined to do something that might call for the utmost daring andswift action.
Turning into the wind at the inlet, the boys went about first on thestarboard tack and then luffed a half dozen times to get through intothe broader water; but the sand bars were erratic. Gus knew two thatwere fixed from the set currents; other might change every few days.Bill crept to the rail and gazed ahead; there had been a moon, but itwas cloudy.
Fortune favored them, however. At the moment that they were about to hita narrow sand bar, the clouds parted and Bill gave a yell. Gus also sawthe line of white and shoved over his tiller, missing the bar by theclosest margin. In deep water again they swept across the inlet as theclouds darkened the moon and they were suddenly confronted by a splotchof white. They swerved once more just in time to avoid striking thestern of a small schooner fast on a bar, only her jib flapping in thebreeze, not a light showing.
Gus put the _Stella's_ head into the wind and close-hauled the boom, butshe fell away slowly. He told Bill to hail, which was done with a trulysailor-like "Ahoy!" repeated many times, and followed by thelandlubber's "Hello, there!" but without getting an answer. Gus had towork around to get the wind so as to come up again. Still there was noreply to the hailing, and without more ado the _Stella_ was putalongside of the schooner, going also aground, but lightly.
"You grapple and hold her, Bill. I'll board her and see what's what,"said Gus, pistol in hand, stepping over the schooner's rail.
Swiftly, without hesitation, he rounded the cabin, peered down the smallcompanion-way and shouted into the cabin, door, calling loudly. Then hewent back, got the _Stella's_ lantern, and Bill, having made fast,limped along after, gun in hand. The two silently explored every nookand cranny finding, to their utter astonishment, no one aboard. The doorto one of the staterooms, however, was fastened.
"I wonder if somebody is in there," whispered Gus.
"Must be. Looks funny. Let's call," Bill suggested.
"I guess we'd better beat it and mind our own business," said Gus,loudly. "Come on, we don't belong here at all."
Had the boys been suddenly confronted with a genie, at the behest ofAladdin's lamp, their surprise could not have been much greater than atthe response from within the room. It was a girl's voice that reachedthem, and though very sweet and low it was full of trepidation.
"I hear you. What can you be plotting now? If you intend to kill me youwill have to destroy this boat to do it, for I'll surely kill you if youtry to break in here. Now, you'd better listen to me again. Sail backand I'll see that you're not arrested and--I'll get you a reward. Youwill only get into jail by this----"
"I guess, Miss, you're talking to the wrong party," said Bill.
"You're mistaking us for somebody else," asserted Gus.
"Oh, who are you, then?" came the voice.
"Two fellows at your service. We got a radio at Oysterman Dan's andthought we could rescue----"
"I sent it. I got to the wireless when they were working to get us off.But please tell me exactly who you are."
"We are Marshallton Tech boys, down here on vacation,--that's all."
"Oh, you are? We know the professor of political economy----"
"Jennings? He's one of our favorites--fine chap."
"And that was where that boy was kidnaped, too."
"The same. He never turned up." Bill nudged Gus.
"Two weeks ago I was at Guilford and saw the ball game with MarshalltonTech," said the voice.
"Hooray! Right out here with me is the pitcher who won that shut-out forus."
"No! Do you really mean it? And then it was you who hailed and cameaboard just
now, and the others have not returned? I can trust you,can't I?"
"Why not? We're really harmless. But tell us who are these fellows?"
"I do not know, except that they are scoundrels and thieves,--of that Iam sure."
The door suddenly opened and a figure stood before the boys, somethingwhite, glistening and menacing in her hand. An arm was outstretched toturn a switch. With the flooding light Bill and Gus beheld a very prettygirl of about their own age, who smiled at them and hastily held therevolver behind her. Reassured, she calmly continued:
"I am Lucy Waring. May I ask----?"
"My chum here is Gus Grier and I am Bill Brown."
"I shall be indebted to you forever," the girl said graciously. "You seeI am in an awful fix. Those men deliberately stole our boat. This is myfather's auxiliary yacht, the _X-Ray_. My father is Doctor Louis Waring,of----"
"The great Doctor Waring, nerve specialist?"
"Nerves, yes. I believe people call him great sometimes. You see we havea summer home at Hawk's Bill, just below the inlet here, and we girls,my two sisters and some friends are there now. Father and Mother arecoming down to-morrow. I'm fond of boating, and sometimes, just to be onthe water, I come down and sleep in the yacht. To-night I did and Iwaked up to feel that we were adrift and sailing, with somebody onboard--two, I think. While I was wondering what to do, one came andtried my door and called to me, I said something to him, you maybelieve! But he would hardly listen to me, though he couldn't force thedoor and I told him I'd shoot if he did. Presently we went aground andthe men went back and started to work with the motor. I slipped out andgot at the wireless, locking my door after me and locking the wirelessroom door. I don't know how they didn't hear me, though they were makingan awful racket trying to hammer something. I sent several messages,then I listened and still heard them talking and slipped back. Theycouldn't get the engine to run--it can hardly be cranked, but it has astarter which they didn't understand. About half an hour ago they wentoff in the dory and I thought they were returning when you came."
"And you have no idea who they are?"
"None whatever. I only know that the talk of the one that called to mesounded as though he were a foreigner, perhaps an Italian--about theother I couldn't say. They surely meant to steal this boat, and if theyhad not stuck here, I don't know whatever would have become of me. Andnow, may I ask of you to----?"
"Start that motor and get you back? You sure may--and it ought not to bemuch of a job."
"My father will liberally reward you."
"We don't want any reward, Miss Waring. Doing mechanical stunts intrying to rescue people is our specialty."