CHAPTER XIX
NOT NEAR EITHER BANK
Having convinced themselves that the man in gray was near at hand, thenext question Alvin and Chester asked themselves was whether he knew of_their_ proximity. It would seem not, for they had moved with thesilence of shadows, and spoken in the most guarded of undertones.Moreover, it was not to be supposed that he would smoke a cigar, knowingthe liability of betraying himself, just as he had done. Further, therewas the danger of the glowing end catching the eye of anyone in thevicinity. The youths peered here and there in the obscurity in quest ofa tiny torch, but failed to see it.
While speculating over the situation an unexpected shift took place.Chester laid his hand on the arm of his comrade and whispered:
"Look out on the water!"
A point of light glowed like a tiny star from a spot directly opposite,but quite a way from shore. It was of a neutral or yellow color, and thereflection of the rays showed a few feet from where it shone above thesurface. The gleaming speck, however, was too small to tell anythingmore.
"I believe that's on the _Deerfoot_!" whispered Chester.
"It may be, but it's on the other side of the inlet; we shall not learnanything more while standing here."
A new problem was thus presented. They could stay where they were untildaylight told them the truth, go back to Uncle Ben's house and sleep ina comfortable bed, or pick their way through the wood and darkness tothe other side of the water. After a few minutes' consultation theydecided to follow the last course.
Once nigh enough to the launch to touch it with outstretched hand theywould have no trouble in identifying it, no matter how profound thegloom. While each youth saw the imprudence of the action, he wasimpelled by the dread that the thieves would give them the slip, and bealmost beyond tracing within the following few hours. If they had runinto this place for shelter, there was no guessing how long they wouldstay.
The task before the lads was formidable. They did not know the width ofthe inlet around whose head they must thread their course in order toreach the point where the _Deerfoot_ or possibly some other motor boatwas lying. The distance might be brief or prove too great to betraversed during the night. None the less they decided to try it.
The star still shone a little above the silent surface which was assmooth as a mirror. The light did not seem to be far off--a fact whichled our young friends to believe they would not have to walk far toreach their destination.
The immediate cause for misgiving was the man with the cigar. The mostcareful snuffing failed to tell the direction from which the vaporfloated, and not a breath of air stirred the stillness. Whether theyouths moving eastward would be going toward or from him could not beguessed. They could only trust to providence.
"The slightest sound will give us away," said Alvin as he took the lead."Keep so near that you can touch me with your hand; I'll feel every inchof the way."
It should not be long before they would be far enough from the man ingray to move with more freedom. The plan was to make a circuit aroundthe head of the inlet and come back to the spot where the _Deerfoot_nestled under the wooded bank. How long it would require to completethis semi-circle remained to be seen.
When twenty minutes had gone by and they had progressed several rods,Alvin paused and said in his guarded undertone:
"I don't smell the cigar; do you?"
Chester called his nose into action and replied:
"I don't detect any odor."
"That means we have got away from him."
"Or that he has finished his cigar and thrown away the stump. Push on."
To avoid mishap, they kept several yards from the water. The task was sohard that it would have been impossible but for the help given by themoon. The sky had cleared considerably, so that the dim light shone atbrief intervals upon the water. Another blessing was appreciated by theventuresome youths. The pine woods were free from briers andundergrowth, the ground being soft, spongy and dry under their feet,because of the cones and spines which had accumulated for many and manya year. Still again, the inlet had no tributaries--at any rate the boysdid not come upon any, so they were not troubled in that respect. It wassimply a cove whose sole supply of water came from the broad Sheepscot.
Such being the favoring conditions, Alvin and Chester made betterprogress than either expected when setting out. Now and then Alvin ledthe way to the water's edge in quest of the beacon which had served themso well thus far. It still gleamed with a calm, unwinking clearness likethe point of an incandescent light.
A gratifying discovery came sooner than the youths expected--they wereturning the head of the inlet and coming back on the other side fromthe shore first reached. If all went well they ought to arrive at theright spot within the next half hour. They ran against an unimportantdifficulty, however. A vigorous growth of underbrush clogged theirprogress, but having left the mysterious stranger behind, they felt noneed of further care with their footsteps.
It was yet comparatively early in the night when they completed thebroad half circle and came opposite the point of their first arrival.The occasional clearing of the moon had been of much help, and they hadevery reason to be satisfied with their progress. But before coming to apause, they were puzzled by a discovery for which at first they couldnot account.
The gleaming point that had served as a guide was nowhere near them. Itseemed like an ignis fatuus that recedes as the traveller tries toapproach it. So far as the lads could judge they were no closer to thelight than before.
"That's the queerest thing I ever saw," said Alvin, as he and hiscompanion stood on the edge of the wood. "I thought we should run rightagainst the boat, and now there is no chance of doing so."
"It must have crossed to the other shore while we were passing round thehead of the inlet," suggested Chester, as much perplexed as his chum.
"Then we shall have to turn back."
"And have it give us the slip again. That can't be the explanation,Alvin; we should have heard the engine in the stillness. Ah! I have it!The _Deerfoot_ is not near either bank, but anchored in the middle ofthe cove or beside a small island."
This obviously was the explanation, but it did not improve thesituation, so far as the searchers were concerned. With the partialillumination given now and then by the moon they could not catch thefaintest outlines of the boat. It might have been a dozen miles away.
"It looks as if we were up against it," remarked Alvin, with a sigh. "Weshall have to wait until daylight and may as well go back to UncleBen's."
Chester was silent for a minute or two. He was turning over a project inhis mind.
"The boat can't be far off," he said. "What do you say to my taking offmy clothing and swimming out to it?"
The proposal struck Alvin dumb at first. His friend added:
"It will be easy; it won't take me long to go there and back."
"Suppose you are seen?"
"I have no fear of that; they won't be expecting anything of the kindand I shall learn something worth while."
"I won't agree to it," replied Alvin decisively; "it may look simple toyou, but there is more danger than you suspect. No, give it up. It is_my_ boat and if anyone chose to risk his life to recover it he shouldbe myself, and I'll be hanged if _I'll_ try it."
"All right; you are the Captain and I am only second mate, but itgrieves me to have you turn down my proposition. Sh! you heard that?"
From the direction of the launch came the sound of a sneeze. In theprofound stillness there was no mistaking the nature of the noise.
"I wonder if our friend is catching cold," was the whimsical remark ofChester; "it sounds that way," he added as the person, whoever he was,sneezed a second, third and fourth time in quick succession and thenrested.
"Suppose I call to him to be careful," suggested Chester.
"Do so if you choose, but it strikes me that we are the ones who need tobe careful."
"Hello! the light is gone."
Such was the fact. Not the sl
ightest illumination pierced the gloom thatwas now on every hand.
"I guess they have gone to bed," remarked Chester, "and that is what wemight as well do. The weather is so mild that we can sleep on the softcarpet in the woods without risk; it's a long walk to Uncle Ben's and wewant to be on hand at the first peep of day."
"I can't say that I fancy spending the night out of doors."
"It will be easy to start a fire."
"And have it seen by those on the boat."
"We can go so far back that there will be no danger of that."
"What about breakfast?"
"We can reach Uncle Ben's in time for that."
"I have been suspecting, Chester, for the last hour that we have beenmaking fools of ourselves and now I haven't any doubt of it."
"I hadn't from the first. Hist! do you hear that?"