CHAPTER IX
ON THE SWIFT RADWAY
"Let me work my flags a little, and tell the other boat the news!"suggested Jud; and as no one objected he got busy.
It was good practice, and he had something worth while to communicate, soJud enjoyed the task.
By the time he was through, lunch was ready, the coffee having boiledenough to please the most critical among the boys.
"Rain seems to be letting up some," remarked Gusty Bellows, as theygathered around to discuss what was to be their first meal of the trip.
"Oh! I hope it isn't going to tantalize us, and raise our hopes only todash 'em down again," said Gusty.
"From the signs I don't think we're through with it all yet," Paulobserved; and as they had considerable faith in the acting scout masteras a weather prophet, there arose a sigh of satisfaction at this remark.
"Take a look, and see if she's still moving up the scale, Paul," beggedthe anxious Phil Towns.
When this had been done, there was a look of eager expectancy onevery face.
"Over a full inch since the start," Paul reported.
"And that's nearly half an hour back," complained Gusty. "Gee! if it goesup as slow as that, we'll be camping here at sun-down, sure, fellers."
"Oh! I don't know," Paul put in, confidently; "you must remember thatthe rain has fallen all over the watershed that supplies both theserivers; and this canal now serves as a link between the two. If eitherone rises a good deal, we're just bound to get the benefit of thatlittle flood. Even at an inch an hour we could be moving out of thisbefore a great while. And I expect that the rise will do better thanthat, presently. Just eat away, and wait. Nothing like keeping cool whenyou just have to."
"Yes, when you tumble overboard, like I did once on a time," chuckledJud. "I kept perfectly cool; in fact, none of you ever saw a coolerfeller; because it was an ice-boat I dropped out of; and took a headerinto an open place on the good old Bushkill. Oh! I can be as cool as acucumber--when I have to."
An hour later Paul announced that the rise had not only kept up as hepredicted, but was increasing.
"Here's good news for you, fellows," he remarked, after examining hispost, "if it keeps on rising like it's doing right now, we'll be startingin less than another hour!"
"Whoopee! that suits me!" cried Gusty, enthusiastically.
"Ditto here," echoed Jud. "I never was born for inaction; like to bedoing something all the time."
"So do I," Paul observed, quietly; "but when I find myself blocked in onedirection I just turn in another, and take up some other work. In thatway I manage not only to keep busy, but to shunt off trouble as well. Tryit some time, Jud, and I give you my word you'll feel better."
But that next hour seemed very long to many of the impatient boys. Theyeven accused the owner of the watch of having failed to wind it on thepreceding night, just because it did not seem inclined to keep pace withtheir imagination.
The water was rising steadily, if slowly, and some of them declared thatthere was now a perceptible motion to the boat whenever they moved about.
Urged on by an almost unanimous call, Paul finally agreed to start themotor again, and see what the result would be. So Jud sent the order tothe second boat by means of his signal flags.
When the cheerful popping of the _Comfort's_ exhaust made itself heard,there was an almost simultaneous cheer from the scouts.
"We're off!" they shouted, in great glee.
"Goodbye, old mud bank!" cried Gusty, waving his hand in mock adieuto the unlucky spot where so much precious time had been wasted. "Seeyou later!"
"Not much we will!" echoed Joe Clausin. "I've got that spot marked with ared cross in my mind, and if this boat ever gets close to it again,you'll hear this chicken cackle right smart. It's been photographed on mybrain so that I'll see it lots of times when I wake up in the night."
"How about the other boat?" asked Paul, who was stooping down to fixsomething connected with the motor at the time, and could not stop tolook for himself, although he could hear the throbbing of the_Speedwell's_ machinery.
"Oh! she slid off easier than we did, I reckon," remarked Old Dan Tucker,now snuggled down comfortably, and apparently in a mood to take thingseasy, since it would be a long time between "eats."
"Tell them to go slow, all the same, Jud," Paul remarked.
"You don't seem to trust this creek as much as you might, Paul?"chuckled Gusty, who was handling the wheel, during the minute thatPaul was busy.
"Well, after that experience I confess that I'm a little suspicious ofall kinds of mud banks. They're the easiest things to strike up anacquaintance with, and a little the hardest to say goodbye to, ofanything I ever met. Give her a little twist to the left, Gusty. Thatplace dead ahead don't strike me as the channel. That's the ticket. Iguess we missed another slam into a waiting mud bank. Now I'll take thewheel again, if you don't mind."
"Rain's over!" announced Little Billie.
"Looks like it, with that break up yonder," Jud remarked, glancing aloft."Hope so, anyhow. We've had all the water we needed, and if it kept oncoming we'd be apt to find things kind of damp up there at the island."
The mention of that word caused several of the boys to glance quickly ateach other. It was as though a shiver had chased up and down their spinalcolumns. For Joe and Little Billie, and perhaps Gusty Bellows, were notquite as easy in their minds about that "ghost-ridden" island as theymight have been; although, if taken to task, all would doubtless havestoutly denied any belief in things supernatural.
The _Comfort_ acted as the pilot boat, and led the way, slowly butsurely, with the _Speedwell_ not far behind. The latter had one or twolittle adventures with flirting mud banks, but nothing serious, althoughon each occasion the cries of dismay from the crew could be plainly heardaboard the leading craft.
And so they came in sight of a river that had a decided current, afterthe smart shower had added considerably to its flow. By now the sun wasshining, and the rain clouds had about vanished, being "hull-down" in thedistance, as Jud expressed it; for since they were now on a voyage, hesaid that they might as well make use of such nautical terms as theycould remember.
"That's the roaring Radway, I take it," observed Gusty, as all of themcaught glimpses of the river through the trees ahead.
"Just what it is," replied Paul; "and as it has quite a strong current,we're going to have our hands full, pushing up the miles that lie betweenhere and our camping place."
"But we c'n do it before dark; can't we, Paul?" asked Phil Towns.
"Sure we can, if nothing happens to knock us out," said Gusty, before theother could reply. "Why, we've got several hours yet, if we did have suchtough luck in the blooming old canal."
"We ought to be mighty glad we got off as as easy as we did, that'swhat!" declared Old Dan Tucker, who was something of a philosopher inhis way, and could look at the bright side as well as the next one,always providing the food supply held out.
Ten minutes later the _Comfort_ was in Radway River, headedup-stream. Just as Paul had said, the current proved very swift, andwhile the little motor worked faithfully and well, their progress wasnot very rapid.
Besides, it kept them always on the watch. No one was acquainted withthe channel, and the presence of rocks might not always be detected fromsurface indications. Some of the treacherous snags were apt to lie outof sight, but ready to give them a hard knock, and perhaps smash a holein the bow.
And so Paul stationed two boys in positions where they could watch forevery suspicious eddy, which was to be brought to his attentionimmediately it was discovered.
An hour passed, and they were still moving steadily up the river. Paul,in reply to many questions by his impatient comrades, announced that tothe best of his knowledge they ought to arrive at their destination anhour and more before dark; which pacified the croakers, who had beensaying the chances were they would have to spend their first night on thebank, short of the island by a mile or more.
"That's al
l right," Old Dan Tucker had remarked; "just so long as we getashore in time to build our cooking fire, it suits me."
Everything seemed to be moving along with clock-like regularity, theboat breasting the current and throwing the spray in fine style, whenJud gave a cry.
"Something's happened to the _Speedwell_!" he announced.
Of course every eye was instantly turned back, and they were just in timeto see something that announced the truth of Jud's assertion.
Andy Flinn stood up in the bow of the second boat, which no longerchugged away as before, and he threw something out that splashed inthe water.
"It's their anchor!" cried Jud. "Either somebody's overboard, or elsetheir motor's broken down!"
"It's the motor, I guess," Paul observed. "Get out our anchor, andfollow suit."