CHAPTER XXV
A NEW QUEST
From where he was standing by a group of the rescued sailors, Joe Duncanheard what the lighthouse keeper said. The lad rushed forward.
"Nate Duncan!" he repeated, as he gazed at the two men, who were justbeginning to revive under the application of stimulants. "Which one ofyou is Mr. Duncan?" he asked, eagerly.
"I--I am," faltered the younger of the two men. "Why, who wants me. Oh,it's you, Harry Stanton," and he looked at the lighthouse keeperstanding near him. "I--I can explain everything. I----"
"It wasn't I who asked," spoke the lighthouse keeper. "It was this ladhere," and he indicated Joe. "Your son."
"My son!" cried the rescued man. "Are you sure--can it be true. Oh, isit possible? Don't disappoint me! Are you my son?" and he held out hishands to Joe.
"I--I think so, father," spoke the boy, softly. "I--I have been lookingfor you a long time."
"And I have, too, Joe; yes, you are my boy. I can see it now. Oh, thedear Lord be praised!" and there was moisture in his eyes that was notthe salt from the raging sea.
"But--but," went on Joe. "I thought you went to China. I wrote to you atHong Kong."
"I did start for there, Joe; but the vessel on which I sailed waswrecked, and this craft, bound back for San Francisco, picked us up. SoI didn't get very far. Oh, but I have found my boy!"
The others drew a little aside while father and son, so strangelyrestored to each other by the fury of the sea, clasped each other close.
"Now, friends," said Mr. Ringold, bustling up; "those of you who are wetthrough had better let us take care of you. We have room for you all,and I'll send word to any of your friends if you'll give me theaddresses. Your wreck, in a way, has been a great thing for me, for Ihave obtained some wonderful moving pictures of it and this rescue. Itwill make a great drama. So I want to help you all I can."
By this time the captain of the vessel had been revived and with hiswife and crew was taken to the theatrical boarding place, where thewomen busied themselves getting warm drinks and food, and the menchanged into dry garments loaned by the fishermen and the others. Soonafter the last one came ashore the wreck broke up and sank.
"Well, of all the wonderful things I ever experienced, this is the mostmarvelous," declared Mr. Duncan, as he sat with his son's hand in his."I am wrecked twice, and come back to the same place I ran away from, tofind Joe waiting for me."
"It is wonderful," agreed Joe, wondering how he was going to bring upthe subject of the wreckers.
"Yes, this is the very place I left in such a hurry, a few months ago,"went on Mr. Duncan.
"Would you mind telling me why you left so suddenly?" asked thelighthouse keeper, solemnly. "Of course it's none of my affair; but Imight say it concerns you mightily, Nate Duncan. Can you prove yourinnocence?"
"Prove my innocence! Of what charge?" cried the man.
"Oh, father, of course we don't believe it!" burst out Joe, unable tokeep silent longer; "but Hemp Danforth says you were implicated with himin wrecking boats by means of false lights!"
"Hemp Danforth says that!" cried Joe's father.
"Yes. Tell me--tell all of them--that it isn't so!" pleaded the lad.
"Of course it isn't so, Joe."
"But why did you leave so suddenly, and why did the officer come for youthe next day?" asked the lighthouse keeper. "It looked bad, Nate."
"I suppose it did," said Mr. Duncan, slowly. "But it can easily beexplained. I was mixed up with those wreckers----"
"Father!" cried Joe.
"But not the way you think, son," went on the former lighthouse workerquickly. "Hemp Danforth and I had a quarrel. It was over some businessmatters that he and I were mixed up in before I learned that he and hisgang were wreckers.
"We quarreled, because he tried to defraud me of my rights, and I had togive him a severe beating. Perhaps I was wrong, but I acted on impulse.Then I heard that Hemp, to get even, had accused me of being a wrecker,and he had his men ready to swear to false testimony about me; even thatI let the light go out, which I never did.
"I knew I could not refute it, especially at that time, and as somethingcame up that made it necessary for me to leave for China at once, Idecided to go away. I realize now that it must have looked bad,especially after the charge against me. But now I am ready to stay andface it. I can prove that I had nothing to do with the wrecking, andthat as soon as I learned that Hemp and his gang were concerned in it Ileft them. If we can get hold of Hemp I can easily make him acknowledgethis."
"You can easily get hold of him," said Blake. "He and his crowd are allin jail. They were caught in the act of setting a false light."
"And I don't believe you'll even have to prove your innocence," said Mr.Ringold. "They'll be convicted, and their evidence will never beaccepted. You are already cleared, Mr. Duncan."
"My name cleared--and my son with me--what else could I want?" murmuredthe happy man.
"But, Dad," asked Joe, his face showing his delight that he could nowuse that word. "Why did you have to leave so suddenly?"
"To try and find your sister, Joe."
"My sister?"
"Yes, I have a daughter, as well as a son," went on Mr. Duncan. "I havefound one, and now to find the other."
"Where is she?" cried Joe. "What is she like? Did I ever see her when wewere both little?"
"Indeed you did, and when your mother died I left you with a family,who later disappeared. You must tell me your story, Joe, and how youfound me. But now as to your sister.
"Most unexpectedly, after years of searching, I got word that she hadbeen brought up in a minister's family, and that lately she had gone asa missionary's helper to China. I had long planned to take a sea voyage,and when I got this news I decided to go at once, and bring her back.Then I was to renew my search for you.
"An agent in San Francisco told me of a vessel about to sail for HongKong, and I deserted my post at the lighthouse and sailed. I admit I didwrong in leaving so suddenly, but it seemed to be the best thing to do.I did not want to be arrested as a wrecker even though I was innocent."
"I'll forgive you," said Mr. Stanton, with a smile. "I'm so glad tolearn you're not one of them pesky wreckers."
And then began a long series of explanations, Mr. Duncan listening withinterest to Joe's story, and, in turn, telling how his vessel waswrecked, and how he and the others were picked up, only to be wreckedagain, nearer home.
Joe's father paused a moment and then said:
"But, son, tell me something of yourself. I've been doing all thetalking, it seems. Are you really in this queer business of takingmoving pictures?"
"That's what I am, Dad--Blake and I. We've been in it some time, andwe're doing well. We hope to be in it some time longer, too. If ithadn't been for these pictures I might never have found you."
"That's so, Joe. After this I'll never pass a moving picture theatrewithout thinking what it has done for me. It gave me back my boy!"
"Now I think you have talked enough, Mr. Duncan," said one of the women,coming up. "You had a much harder time of it than we did, and you mustquiet down. You must have swallowed a lot of salt water."
"I guess I did--enough to preserve about a barrel of pickles," headmitted, with a smile. "I would be glad of a little rest. But you won'tleave me; will you, Joe?"
"No indeed, Dad. I've had enough trouble finding you to lose you now.But you get a good rest. Blake and I have a lot to do yet. I want to getthese latest films in shape to send off for development. I hope theycame out good."
"I don't see how they could--with the weather conditions what theywere," remarked C. C. Piper, joining the group.
"Now that isn't a nice thing to say," Miss Lee reminded him. "Why can'tyou be cheerful?"
"Why, I'm not at all gloomy. I only said----"
"You tried to throw cold water on what the boys did," she reminded him.
"Water! Say, if anybody says water to me again to-day, I don't know whatI will do!" exclaimed Bla
ke. "Shame on you, C. C.! You ought to be morecareful."
"Oh, well, I didn't mean anything. I guess those pictures will be allright--if the salt spray doesn't spoil the celluloid," he added, as hemoved off.
"You're hopeless," declared Miss Lee. "I'll never speak to you again."
The nonsensical talk served to raise the spirits of those who had beenrather plunged in gloom ever since the wreck. Mr. Duncan was given aroom to himself where he could be quiet and recover from the shock ofhaving been so near death.
The moving picture boys found plenty to do. In addition to getting offto the developing studio the films they had taken that day, they had toprepare for a hard day's work to follow, for, now that he had the wreckscene, Mr. Ringold declared that he needed some others to go with it toround out the drama of the sea that he had in mind when coming to thecoast.
It may seem that it would not pay to go to such big expense to make asingle films play, or even one or two, but I assure my readers that itis not uncommon for a concern to spend ten thousand dollars in making asingle play, and some elaborate productions, such as Shakespearianplays, and historical dramas, will cost over fifty thousand dollars toget ready to be filmed.
Months are spent in preparation, rehearsals go on day after day, andfinally the play itself is given, often not lasting more than an hour orhalf hour on the screen, yet representing many weary weeks of work, andthe expenditure of large sums of money. Such is the moving picturebusiness to-day.
The boys were kept busy nearly all the rest of that week, and then camea period of calm. Joe sought out his father, who had steadily gained instrength after his sensational rescue, and began to question him as tohis experiences, for Mr. Duncan had only given a mere outline of hisexperiences up to this time.
"You must have had some strenuous adventures," said Blake, who went withhis chum.
"I certainly did. But, according to Joe, here, they weren't much morethan what you boys went through with in New York, and getting thoseIndian films."
"That's right; we did have a time," admitted Blake.
"Well, I'm glad I've got my boy, anyhow," went on the former lighthouseworker, with a fond glance at Joe. "Nothing is worse than to have folks,and not know where to find 'em. I hungered and longed for Joe for daysand nights, and now I have him. And I'm not going to lose him again,either, if I can help it," and he clasped his son's hand warmly in hispalm, while tears dimmed his eyes. Joe, too, was much affected.
"If you only had your daughter now, you'd be all right," said Blake,anxious to turn the subject.
"Yes, so I would. My poor little girl! We must locate her next, Joe."
"But what about my sister?" asked Joe. "Can we find her?"
"We'll try, Joe, my boy!" exclaimed his father. "You and I together."
"Count me in!" cried Blake.
"I sure will," agreed Joe. "I wonder what will happen to us."
And what did, and how the two lads went on their new quest, will berelated in the next volume of this series, to be entitled "The MovingPicture Boys in the Jungle; Or, Stirring Times Among the Wild Animals."In it will be told of their adventures and you may learn whether or notthey found Joe's sister.
"Well, we got everything we came for," said Mr. Ringold, a few dayslater, when the shipwrecked ones had been sent to their homes with theexception of Mr. Duncan, who remained with Joe.
"Yes, all the dramas, and the storm and wreck as well," agreed Mr.Hadley.
"But we'll never have such good luck again," predicted C. C. Piper, witha return of his gloomy manner. "I know something will happen to us onour way back East."
"Oh, cheer up," urged Miss Lee; "the sun is shining."
"But it will rain to-morrow," declared the comedian, as he did some oddlittle dance steps.
Preparations for taking the theatrical company back East were made; butJoe, Blake and Mr. Duncan were uncertain about accompanying them. WhileJoe and his father were talking over their plans, Blake went to SanFrancisco on a vacation for a week.
But it was not much of a rest for him. While there he learned of a prizeoffered for the best moving picture of the fire department in action,and, though many operators tried, Blake's film was regarded as thebest. He "scooped" the others easily, and beat some of the most skillfulmen in the business.
But now, for a time, we will take leave of the moving picture boys.
THE END
* * * * * *
THE FAMOUS ROVER BOYS SERIESBy Arthur W. Winfield
American Stories of American Boys and GirlsONE MILLION COPIES ALREADY SOLD OF THIS SERIES
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The boys had good reasons for running away during Captain Putnam'sabsence. They had plenty of fun, and several queer adventures.
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