CHAPTER XVIII
TOWING THE PRIZE
The boys forgot all about the shark for the time, and their thoughtswent with redoubled intensity toward the object of their search, themissing treasure.
"I wonder if he'll be in a more talkative humor now than he was when wesaw him last?" mused Fred.
"I hope so," said Teddy. "He's had time to think us over and size us up,and he may decide to make a clean breast of all he knows."
"Assuming that he really does know more than he has told us," remarkedBill, the skeptic. "We fellows may have drawn wrong conclusions from thestart he gave and that exception of his."
"Well, at any rate, we know a great deal more than we did when we sawhim last," declared Teddy. "We know for a certainty many things that heonly guessed, especially that partial confession of Dick's as to the wayMr. Montgomery met his death."
"I wish we had had time to hear from Uncle Aaron," said Fred. "He may beable to give us some pointers, though I don't suppose he knows muchoutside of the fact that he loaned Mr. Montgomery money and didn't getit back."
"I'm banking a good deal more on Mark Taylor than I am on what youruncle may know," said Lester, "although of course we may get nothingfrom either."
"What do you think we'd better do in regard to Ross?" asked Teddy. "Tellhim right off what we know, or wait for him to tell us everythingfirst?"
"I think that instead of trying to wait or to swap, we'd better beperfectly frank," advised Fred. "If he's a bit suspicious now, he'llgrow more so if he thinks we're trying any kind of a game. Confidencebreeds confidence, and we'll set him the example."
"I guess that will be the better way," acquiesced Lester. "After all,he's got so much more at stake than we have in this matter that weshouldn't blame him for being a little cautious."
By this time it was evident that Ross had recognized them, for he wasstanding up, waving at them vigorously.
"Seems to be glad to see us," remarked Teddy, as the boys waved back. "Itake that as a good sign."
"Hello Ross," they yelled over the water when he got within earshot.
"Hello, yourselves," the boy in the motor boat shouted eagerly in reply."What good wind blew you up to meet me?"
"What good engine drove you down to meet us?" Teddy flung back at himwith a grin.
"I was on my way down to pay you a little visit at the Shoals," repliedRoss. "I didn't think I'd be able to get over there so soon. But when Igot back to Oakland I found a letter from my mother saying she had beendelayed in starting, and wouldn't be here for three or four days yet. SoI thought I'd scoot over and make hay while the sun shone."
"That'll be bully," said Lester warmly. "Dad will be glad to see you,and I hope you'll be able to stay with us at the Shoals until you haveto meet your mother."
"I'd like nothing better and it's good of you to ask me," respondedRoss. "But where are you fellows bound for now?"
"We're going up to Milton on an errand that will interest you, when weget time to tell you about it. Come right along with us."
"Sure thing. I'll just round to under your stern and we'll travel upalongside."
He started his engine going, and then for the first time he noticed thehuge bulk that was trailing along in the wake of the _Ariel_.
He gave a startled shout, while the boys viewed his astonishment withexpressive grins.
"A shark!" he exclaimed.
"That's what it is," said Fred. "And for all we know it may be the samefellow that might have bitten us in two the other day. What do you thinkof him?"
"He's a monster!" ejaculated Ross, who seemed unable to believe hiseyes. "Do you really mean that you fellows hooked and killed him?"
"Here's the fellow that gave him the finishing touch with his littleharpoon," affirmed Teddy, indicating Lester.
Ross circled about the body, viewing it from every side.
"He must have been a terror when he was alive!" he exclaimed with ashiver. "Even now, I'd feel a little nervous if I fell in alongside ofhim."
"He's good and dead all right," declared Bill. "Teddy and I have beenwatching him for the last half hour, and he hasn't made a movement. Thatharpoon knew its business."
"What are you going to do with him?" asked Ross.
"Oh, we'll tow him up to Milton and land him on the beach," repliedLester. "We'll have a better chance to look him over then."
"I want to get some souvenirs from him before we cast him awayaltogether," said Fred.
"You might get enough teeth to make a necklace and go strutting aroundlike a cannibal king," grinned Bill. "I hear that those ornaments make agreat hit with the dudes of the South Sea Islands."
"They'd go well with that bunch of rattles we brought back from theranch this summer," laughed Teddy.
"Not if mother sees them first," said Fred. "She was half scared todeath when we brought home those rattles, and we had all we could do toget her to let us keep them. Even as it is, they have to be kept out ofsight, and to bring home some shark's teeth would be the finishingtouch."
"I'm going to cut a strip of the hide to make a belt," declared Bill."They say they last forever."
"A hat band for mine," voted Lester.
"A watch case will hit me hardest," said Fred.
"There'll be plenty to go round, I guess," laughed Ross. "From the sizeof that fellow, you could cut out enough hide to make all the belts andother gewgaws that could be used if you lived to be as old asMethuselah."
"Come along now, fellows," called out Lester. "We'll have plenty of timefor a gab-fest when we get to Milton. We want to be getting on."
"How about taking off some of your passengers, Lester?" volunteeredRoss. "That carcass makes a big weight for you to pull, and I can justas well take two of you aboard as not."
"That's a good idea," agreed Lester. "Take Bill and Teddy. They're noearthly good here anyway. Fred and I are doing all the work."
"I like that," replied Teddy in mock indignation. "Who was it that gotup a dinner that was good enough, I notice, for you fellows to stow awayin a hurry."
"It wasn't because it was so good that we bolted it," chaffed Fred. "Itwas a disagreeable duty and we wanted to get it over with as soon as wecould."
"Come along, Ted," said Bill with dignity, "and don't bandy words withthose common sailors."
"It was only that I wanted to lift them up to our own level," rejoinedTeddy. "But I guess you're right, Bill. They can't appreciate the valueof our companionship, and we'll leave them to herd together. They've hadtheir chance, and there's no use our wasting time trying to make theminto human beings."
Ross brought the _Sleuth_ alongside and the two boys leaped aboard.
"I'll take the shark too, if you want me to," proposed Ross. "I guess myengine could stand the strain."
"No, thank you," replied Lester. "You've got two sharks on board now,and I guess that'll be all you can manage."
The boats fell apart and the lightening of the _Ariel's_ loadshowed results at once as the little boat leaped through the water at aquickened pace. Ross dropped away to a distance of perhaps a hundredfeet, in order that the _Ariel_ might have plenty of sea room, andwith their noses pointed toward Milton the two craft went on in company.
"How much further have we got to go?" asked Fred, as he let out thesheet in order to get every ounce of wind.
"Not more than eight miles, I reckon," answered Lester.
He looked over the side to gauge the speed at which they were traveling.
"It's a ten-knot breeze," he conjectured, "and if we didn't have thatugly customer in the rear to tow along, we'd make it in less than anhour. But even as it is, we'll surely do it in an hour and a half."
But the wind freshened and cut some time off their schedule, so that itwas only a little over an hour when Lester gave a turn to the tillerthat swung the _Ariel_ in toward the coast.
"There's Milton," he said, pointing to a tiny village of small,straggling houses that came down close to the beach, "but we don't go sofar as that. Mark
lives in a little hut about a mile this side of thetown. Take the glasses and you can make it out. It stands all by itselfand you can't miss it."
Fred pointed the binoculars in the direction that Lester indicated andplainly saw a shack near the edge of the water.
"Do you see any one about the cabin?" asked Lester.
"No, I don't," replied his companion. "The door is open though, and hemay be inside."
"That doesn't prove anything," laughed Lester. "Mark hasn't anythingworth stealing, and I guess the door's open all the time except inwinter. But it won't be long now before we find out."