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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9831236 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50327 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50327) diff --git a/old/50327-0.txt b/old/50327-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5665763..0000000 --- a/old/50327-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6803 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio, by Harry Gordon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio - The Three Blue Lights - -Author: Harry Gordon - -Release Date: October 27, 2015 [EBook #50327] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.bookcove.net - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: “Here you,” shouted Mose, “don’t you go near those -motors.”] - - - - - The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio - - OR - - The Three Blue Lights - - By HARRY GORDON - - Author of - “The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence,” - “The River Motor Boat Boys on the Colorado,” - “The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi,” - “The River Motor Boat Boys on the Amazon,” - “The River Motor Boat Boys on the Columbia.’ - - A. L. Burt Company - New York - - - - - Copyright, 1913 - By A. L. Burt Company - - THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE OHIO - - - - - TABLE OF CONTENTS - - I.—IN QUEST OF SPARK PLUGS. - II.—A “FRIENDLY” CAPTAIN. - III.—RESISTING AN OFFICER. - IV.—A DIVE FOR LIBERTY. - V.—CAPTAIN JOE ON SHORE. - VI.—JULE TURNS THE SWITCH. - VII.—THE TRAINING OF TEDDY. - VIII.—CAPTAIN JOE’S MESSAGE. - IX.—THE THREE BLUE LIGHTS. - X.—ANNIVERSARY OF A WRECK. - XI.—CATCHING BIG CATFISH. - XII.—THE GHOST OF THE MARY ANN. - XIII.—EXPLORING A LAGOON. - XIV.—CAPTAIN JOE HELPS SOME. - XV.—THE RAMBLER STRIKES BACK. - XVI.—THE COAL BARGES INTERVENE. - XVII.—THE TWO CLAIMANTS. - XVIII.—A FORBIDDEN SUBJECT. - XIX.—TEDDY MAKES A SENSATION. - XX.—THE PIRATES’ NEST. - XXI.—FATE TAKES A TRICK. - XXII.—THE NIGHT-RIDERS. - XXIII.—THE RAMBLER’S LIGHTS. - XXIV.—THE LIGHTS HELP SOME. - XXV.—GRATEFUL NIGHT-RIDERS. - - - - -CHAPTER I.—IN QUEST OF SPARK PLUGS. - - -“That Kentucky shore looks to me like good hunting.” - -“What can you get over there?” - -“’Possums, coons, rabbits and squirrels.” - -“All right, we’ll go right now and get a coon.” - -Cornelius Witters threw himself back on the gunwale and laughed and -shook until little wavelets sprang from the sides of the boat and -rippled away over the Ohio river. - -“You’ll get lots of coons in the middle of the afternoon,” he said, -finally. “You have to get coons in the night.” - -“Well, there’s another night coming, ain’t there?” suggested Alex -Smithwick. “We’re going to stay here in this eddy until morning, ain’t -we?” - -“I guess we’ll have to stay till morning,” Jule Shafer cut in. “The -motor has gone wrong, and Clay doesn’t seem to know how to fix it.” - -Clayton Emmett looked up from the motors with a very smutty face and -smiled at the last remark. - -“I’ll tell you what it is, boys,” he said, “this motor can’t be put in -good shape until we get another consignment of spark plugs.” - -The four boys, Clayton Emmett, Alex Smithwick, Jule Shafer and Cornelius -Witters, gathered about the motor, looking with disgust at its -motionless cranks. The boat had been turned into an eddy on the Kentucky -side of the Ohio river about noon, and Clay had been working at the -machinery ever since in the hope of getting farther down the river that -night. - -“Well,” Case said, after a short silence, “some one must go out to -civilization and buy some spark plugs. How far do you think we’ll have -to go? Of course these little trading points on the river don’t keep -spark plugs. We’ll be lucky if we even get gasoline there.” - -“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” Clay suggested. - -“We may be able to buy or borrow spark plugs from some passing launch or -steamer. There are store-boats on the Ohio, you know, and they may carry -all kinds of motor boat supplies.” - -“Oh yes,” Alex grinned, “there are store-boats on the Ohio, and whiskey -boats, and show-boats, and house-boats, and about a thousand other kinds -of boats, but I don’t believe they carry such supplies as we want.” - -“It’s just a chance,” Clay went on. “We may be able to get a supply from -some motor boat, but in the meantime we’d better be looking about in -other directions.” - -“All right,” Case exclaimed, excitedly, “Alex and I will go out hunting -and steer toward any little river town we get wise to. We may find motor -supplies in any old shanty town.” - -“All right,” Clay replied. “Go out and get a mess of squirrels or -rabbits while you’re hunting for a supply store.” - -The motor boat _Rambler_ lay in an eddy on the Kentucky side of the Ohio -river, some distance below Louisville. The four owners had put the boat -into the river at Pittsburg, and were making their way to the -Mississippi at Cairo. - -They had only recently returned from an extended trip up the St. -Lawrence river. From Ogdensburg they had followed the Great Lakes to -Chicago, which was their home. From Ogdensburg the motor boat had been -accompanied by the launch _Cartier_, which had been presented to Captain -Joe, one of their old-time friends, because of important services -rendered by the boys. Those who have read the previous books of this -series will understand the build and speed of the _Rambler_, and also -the affectionate relations existing between the four boys and Captain -Joe, an ex-sea, lake and river captain. - -Captain Joe had been urged by the lads to accompany them on their trip -down the Ohio with his launch, but had objected, saying that the boys -would be sure to get into all kinds of scrapes, and that he did not care -to become responsible for the actions of a crew going about the world -looking for trouble! - -The old captain, however, had a very alert and intelligent -representative on board the _Rambler_ in the person of Captain Joe, a -white bulldog of forbidding appearance. This dog had been purchased at -Para, Brazil, by Alex, and had often made himself useful during trying -situations on previous trips. - -There was also another passenger on board the _Rambler_ whose name did -not appear on the crew list. This was Teddy, the quarter-grown grizzly -bear which Alex had rescued from a floating tree in the Columbia river, -near the source of that wonderful stream. - -The bear and the dog were very good friends, playing together like -kittens. During their many river trips the boys had taught the bear to -box, wrestle and frisk about in the water. Captain Joe was always ready -for a tussle with the bear, and had a habit of following Alex -surreptitiously every time the boy left the boat. - -The _Rambler_ was well supplied with provisions and ammunition of all -kinds, but, the supply of gasoline running low, the tanks being -well-nigh empty, and the spark plug badly worn, the boys had proposed -early in the day to merely drift down the river, keeping headway with -the sweep. - -But a little experience of this mode of traveling on the great stream -had caused them to tie up in an eddy on the Kentucky side. It was -September, and the Ohio was alive with traffic of all kinds. - -During the early part of the day they had passed several excursion -boats, gay with flags and music, almost a fleet of shanty-boats, and -innumerable packets, stern-wheelers and side-wheelers. Drifting with no -control to speak of, the _Rambler_ had several times come very near -collision with larger boats. - -On the Ohio, as well as on the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, the -traffic-men seem to have a great contempt for those who go about in -gasoline boats. Captains and pilots unite in making trouble for the -owners of such craft whenever it is possible to do so. - -Once that forenoon the _Rambler_ had come very near destruction because -of a monstrous tow of coal barges moving down upon it. Later, the boys -had been annoyed and insulted by a gang of toughs who were lounging over -the railing of a whiskey boat which was passing up the river. - -It was finally arranged that Alex and Case should go ashore and look -about for a place where supplies might be purchased. There were no -settlements in sight from the point where the _Rambler_ lay, but the -boys thought that, as she lay just above a great bend which swept around -a long peninsula, turning to the south at last, there might be business -places not far away which were not in view. - -“And while you are gone,” Jule called out as the boys rowed ashore, -“catch a coon and half a dozen squirrels. I can make a squirrel pie that -will bring Captain Joe down from Chicago!” - -“All right!” Alex called back. “We’ll bring game enough to last a week. -Get your fires all ready by dark.” - -The shore on which the boys found themselves a few moments later was -wild and rocky. There were great oaks towering along the side hills and -immense trees of hickory, beech and walnut shut out the view on all -sides. There was also a heavy undergrowth. - -“Where are you heading for?” asked Case, as Alex turned into a thicket -and went tramping through it with a great noise. - -“I think,” Alex replied, “that we’d better keep off to the west and -south. I looked at a map of the river just before I left the boat, and -there’s a great bend here. We can walk across it in an hour or two, but -it would take half a day to float or row around it.” - -“I see,” Case answered. “There may be a town in a nook around the bend. -That’s where they build towns in this country.” - -The boys made good time for an hour or more, when they came out on the -bank of the river perhaps three miles from the boat, across the bend, -and ten or fifteen by way of the river. Just below them, hardly forty -rods from the point where they emerged from the underbrush, they saw a -little river settlement composed of half a dozen ramshackle houses, a -fishing dock, and one store building. - -“There!” Alex said. “I’ll bet we find spark plugs there!” - -“If we find as many spark plugs there as we didn’t find squirrels coming -through,” Case laughed, “It will take a long time to get our motor -started.” - -“Oh, well,” Alex answered, “we didn’t look very hard for squirrels, -anyway. We’ll see what they’ve got here, and do our hunting on the way -back.” - -“Clay may get what we want from some of the boats,” Case suggested. -“There are lots of boats on the river that ought to carry spark plugs. -It’s dollars to apples that every motor boat we’ve seen to-day carries -an extra supply.” - -“That won’t do us any good,” Alex answered, “if they don’t show a -disposition to pass them around.” - -“Do you know,” Case went on, “I’m afraid of some of those river boats. -There’s a tougher gang on some of them than you’ll find on Clark street. -They drink third-rail whiskey, made up in the mountains, and are ready -to do murder after a dozen doses of it.” - -“Well,” Alex said, “we’ll just have to watch out, that’s all.” - -“You remember that red, white and blue boat we saw yesterday?” Case went -on. “That was a gambling house proper. Just looking over the gunwale -into the cabin windows, I saw roulette wheels in operation and three -faro layouts crowded with excited gamblers.” - -“Yes,” Alex assented, “and it looked to me like they were playing stud -poker out in the open. It’s a wonder the people along the river don’t -put dynamite under those boats some night.” - -“I reckon,” Case suggested, “that the people along the river are more -afraid of the store-boats than they are of the gambling boats. These -store-boat men steal everything they can get their hands on. They have -been known to raid small towns, strip the shelves of the business -places, and even take valuable furniture and musical instruments from -the residences. When they get a boat load of this sort of plunder, they -take it down to New Orleans, where it is disposed of by men who make a -business of doing that sort of thing.” - -Alex scratched his red head and wrinkled his freckled nose for a minute -and then turned to his chum with a grin on his face. - -“If they try to get the _Rambler_,” he said, “don’t forget that we have -dynamite under the after deck near the gasoline tanks.” - -“If they try to get the _Rambler_,” Case exclaimed, “they’ll do it while -we are away on shore, or asleep. These river rats are too cowardly to -put up an open fight. They do their work in the dark.” - -“That’s one reason why I don’t like being away from the boat long at a -time,” Alex went on. “Clay and Jule would do anything any two boys could -do to protect our property, but, all the same, two boys wouldn’t cut -much ice with a gang of river pirates like I’ve seen on those boats.” - -As the boy ceased speaking he laid an excited hand on Case’s shoulder -and turned his face in the direction from which they had come. - -“Did you hear that?” he asked. - -Case nodded and turned back to the east. - -“It sounded like a gun,” he exclaimed. “I’m going back to the boat.” - -Alex held him back and pointed toward the settlement below. - -“We may as well see about the spark plugs,” he advised. “It won’t take -us very much longer. That noise may be only hunters, anyway.” - -Trying their best to conceal their excitement, the boys moved down the -slope to the river bank and stopped on a level platform before the store -door. The shots were now coming in a volley. - - - - -CHAPTER II.—A “FRIENDLY” CAPTAIN. - - -After the departure of Alex and Case, Clay and Jule continued their -efforts to get the motor into working order. In the meantime, however, -they kept a sharp lookout for the approach of some boat which might -possibly supply them with what they needed. - -However, they had little hope of relief from any river craft. - -“There must be some towns along the river, below the bend,” Jule -insisted. “The boys will find some sort of place where motor supplies -are sold.” - -“If they do,” Clay answered, “I hope they’ll bring a whole pocketful of -spark plugs.” - -“And I hope they’ll bring back a dozen squirrels, and six rabbits, and a -coon, and a ’possum!” Jule laughed. “Here we’ve been on this river all -the way down from Pittsburg, and haven’t had any wild game yet! I’ve -eaten fish until I believe there are fins growing on my toes.” - -“There’s a large motor boat coming down,” Clay said, pointing up stream. -“Perhaps we can get what we want by going aboard.” - -“Looks like a pretty decent sort of a craft,” Jule suggested. - -“It looks to me like a store-boat, anyhow,” Clay went on. - -“Then we’ll give ’em a hail!” - -The call from the _Rambler_ was answered immediately, and a large-sized -motor boat turned in toward the Kentucky shore. The name “Hawk” was -discernible on the prow as she came slowly on. - -“What idiot named a sailing vessel after a bird?” asked Jule. - -“She may be a bird, at that,” decided Clay. “She looks as if she could -go some, anyway.” - -“Hello, the boat!” now came from the _Hawk_. - -“Have you got motor supplies?” Clay called back. - -“What kind of supplies?” - -“Spark plugs,” was the answer. - -“Come on board and we’ll fit you out.” - -“That’s the talk!” Jule shouted. - -“Where are you bound for?” called out a man on the deck of the _Hawk_. - -“Just down the river,” Clay answered. - -The man who had been speaking from the freight deck of the _Hawk_ now -turned away and conversed for a moment with two men who had been -listening to the conversation. As the fellow talked, he pointed with his -thumb over his shoulder, significantly, at the _Rambler_. - -“I don’t like the looks of this!” Clay declared. - -“Then let’s cut it out,” replied Jule. - -“We can’t very well cut it out!” Clay exclaimed. “They probably know -we’re tied up here with a disabled motor. If they are the kind of people -we fear they are, they’ll come and get us anyway. I wish Alex and Case -were here.” - -“Shall we stay here and shoot if they attempt to board us?” asked Jule, -the light of battle flaming in his usually merry eyes. - -Clay thought hard for a moment and then turned back to the cabin for his -automatic, which he took good care to keep out of sight. - -“Are you coming aboard?” the man shouted from the _Hawk_. - -“We haven’t any boat,” Clay replied. “Our friends have gone hunting on -shore.” - -“We’ll fix that all right,” was called back, and in a moment a rowboat -rounded the stern of the _Hawk_ and made its way rapidly to the -_Rambler_. The boys watched the appearance of the boat with premonitions -of danger. The two rowers looked like veritable river pirates. - -“Pile in!” shouted one of the men gruffly as he held on to the -anchor-chain of the motor boat. “Hustle yourselves in here, and I’ll -have you over to the _Hawk_ in a minute.” - -Motioning to Jule to remain where he was, Clay dropped into the rowboat -and told the man to pull away. - -“Isn’t your friend coming?” one of the rowers asked. - -“We can’t leave the boat alone,” was the reply. “Why, we’ll be right -here alongside,” urged the other. - -As he spoke he lifted a hairy, repulsive face toward the _Rambler_ and -shouted: - -“Come on, lad, the captain is fixing up a treat for you boys!” - -“I’ve got to stay on board,” Jule answered. - -“Oh, come along,” ordered the other, almost angrily. - -“Pull away,” Clay advised, “we never leave the boat alone, night or day. -It isn’t safe to do so on the Ohio.” - -“Perhaps that isn’t a bad notion, either,” one of the rowers replied, -with a sullen smile. “Perhaps the captain will send some one on board to -keep him company.” - -Clay saw by the significant and sneering looks passing between the two -men that they considered him a prisoner already. So much of a prisoner, -in fact, that they did not consider it necessary to attempt to conceal -their contempt and their triumph. - -Had the _Rambler_ been in fit condition he would have leaped out of the -boat and speeded away. It seemed to him now, however, that the -common-sense course would be to find out exactly what kind of a boat the -_Hawk_ was before taking any steps having the appearance of alarm. - -“All right!” the boy answered in response to the rower’s offer to send -some one on board to keep Jule company, “the boy may become lonesome -after a time, although I shall be gone only a very few moments.” - -“There’s a mighty jolly crowd on board our boat,” the rower went on. -“There’s many a man gets aboard for an hour’s ride and never gets off -for a hundred miles.” - -“I don’t doubt it!” Clay said with a laugh. - -It was the work of only a moment to land the unwilling boy on the -freight deck of the _Hawk_. He was at once surrounded by a group of men -who seemed to represent all grades of society. There was the -well-dressed man wearing diamonds and the man who was garbed like a -river rat! - -The captain was a hatchet-faced man with rat eyes and a perfect bill of -a nose. His manner was offensive as he approached Clay familiarly and -laid a hand on his shoulder. - -“So you’re going down the river on a little trip of your own, eh?” he -asked. “Nice boat you’ve got.” - -“Yes,” Clay answered, “it’s not expensive, but it’s pretty well rigged -out. She’s a bit fast, too, when in good shape.” - -“Looks like she could go some,” agreed the captain. - -“What are you trading in?” asked a handsomely-dressed man who looked -enough like the captain to be his brother. - -“Oh,” Clay replied, “we’re just out for amusement; taking our vacation -on the river.” - -“That’s a good bluff, too,” the other sneered. “People don’t trail along -the Ohio just for the fun of the thing.” - -“If you’ve got whiskey aboard,” another called out, “you want to keep -off our beat. We’re doing a little in that line ourselves.” - -By this time Clay was thoroughly frightened. He saw that he was in the -hands of a desperate and reckless gang of river thieves. While -pretending to be a store-boat, the _Hawk_ was merely a floating -receptacle for stolen goods, with gambling as an assistant money-maker. - -“You said,” the boy began in a moment, trying his best to conceal what -he really felt, “that you could fit me out with spark plugs if I came on -board.” - -“Sure, we can!” answered the captain, with a sty wink at another. We can -fit you out with anything on this little old boat.” - -“All right,” Clay answered, “if you’ll get me the plugs, I’ll pay for -them and go back to the _Rambler_.” - -“No hurry!” laughed the captain. “No hurry at all. Still,” he continued, -“if you’re anxious to get back, I’ll send one of the boys into the -storeroom to look for the spark plug while you come up for a little -social visit in the cabin.” - -“No need of that,” smiled Clay, “I may as well remain on the lower deck. -It probably won’t take long to find what I need. - -The captain took the boy by the arm in a manner evidently intended to be -friendly. - -“Oh, come on!” he said. “We’ve got a slick little boat here, and I want -you to look her over.” - -“You bet we have!” cried another, “and we don’t let guests leave us -without giving them something of a treat.” - -Clay’s inclination was to deal the insulting captain a blow in the face, -plunge into the river, and make for the _Rambler_. He knew very well, -however, that such a course would instantly bring about hostilities; -whereas, if he pretended to be unaware of their purpose, assistance in -some form might come to him. - -“Yes, come along!” urged the captain. “I’ll send a couple of boys over -to bring your chum, and we’ll have a jolly night of it.” - -It was useless for Clay to falter or draw back, so he stepped along as -if grateful for the invitation. His hope was that Jule would understand -the situation of affairs on board the _Hawk_ and stand guard on deck -with a good supply of automatic revolvers. - -“Where’d you say you came from?” asked the captain as they ascended the -stairway to the cabin. “Chicago,” was the short reply. - -“Nice town, Chicago,” the captain went on with a leer. “I used to live -in Chicago. I know every foot of the North Branch. Goose Island used to -be my favorite resort.” - -Clay was thinking that if the captain had ever resided in Chicago he -must have left it at the request of the police, but did not say so. -Reaching the cabin, the captain led Clay to a long, narrow stateroom -looking out on the Kentucky shore. He took pains, however, to seat the -boy so that he could not look out on the _Rambler_. - -Before seating himself the captain proceeded to a cupboard hanging on -the wall and took out two bottles and a siphon. One of the bottles -contained whiskey; the other wine. - -“It strikes me,” the captain said, “that this moonshine whiskey is a -little bit too strong for boys, so I’ll give you a glass of wine. That’s -prime wine, too. I bought it in Pittsburg and paid a big price for it. -If you were to buy that wine, kiddo, you’d pay about two bits a glass -for it. It’s the right kind of stuff.” - -“Then I wouldn’t buy it!” Clay answered with a smile. “The fact is,” he -continued, “we haven’t got any money to waste on drink, and don’t care -for it, anyway.” - -The captain went to a faucet with a glass and brought back two goblets -of water. Just before he turned away from the faucet Clay was certain -that he saw him dropping something into one of the glasses. - -“Well,” the captain said, sitting down at the table and pushing one of -the glasses over toward Clay, “I don’t urge any boy to drink anything -intoxicating, but it would take a lot of this wine to creep up to a -man’s head. Perhaps a glass of water will be just as good for you.” - -Clay suspected that if he drank the water he would soon become -unconscious. The captain of the _Hawk_ was playing a quick game. He had -not been aboard the vessel more than five minutes, and yet here he was -in the captain’s cabin, being urged to partake of a drugged drink! - -He arose with the glass in his hand, walked to the open window and -looked out. The glass dropped with a crash. The act was involuntary for -Clay saw the _Rambler_ whirling away down the stream. - - - - -CHAPTER III.—RESISTING AN OFFICER. - - -While Alex and Case stood, hesitating, on the little platform in front -of the store, two men came rushing out with excitement showing in their -faces. - -“What’s the shooting, boys?” one of them asked. - -“I haven’t any idea,” Alex replied. “We just came from that part of the -country, and everything was quiet when we left.” - -“It’s a sure thing,” one of the men, who seemed to be owner of the -store, declared angrily, “that those river pirates have broken loose -again.” - -“I’m afraid so,” his companion answered. - -“Do they give you much trouble?” asked Case. - -“Trouble!” exclaimed the merchant. “They come here and strip my shelves. -They bring a howling mob of river rats into the town and take everything -they can get their hands on.” - -“Why don’t you have them arrested?” asked Alex. - -“Arrested!” exclaimed the other. “They’re here one night and the next -night they’re hundreds of miles away, with a new coat of paint and a new -name on their boat. Besides all that, you can’t get half the officers -along here to take any action at all. You go to them and make a -complaint and they’ll say that the robbery wasn’t committed in their -county, or in their township, or in the state of Kentucky, or something -of that kind! My honest opinion is that they’re afraid of the pirates.” - -“Don’t put it too strong,” the other advised. “There’s some pretty good -officers along the river. Besides, there’s the Government boats.” - -“Yes, there’s the Government boats,” decided the merchant, “but the -Government boats are as easy to keep track of as a white elephant would -be in our main street. The river rats wait until Uncle Sam’s boats get -out of sight before they attempt any mischief.” - -During this conversation, the boys had been listening for more pistol -shots from the direction in which the _Rambler_ lay. They had little -doubt that Clay and Jule were in trouble. They knew, too, that the -_Rambler_ was virtually helpless, so the boys had no chance whatever of -escaping from any hostile boat. Directly Alex turned to the merchant and -asked: - -“Do you keep motor boat supplies?” - -The merchant turned to his friend and indulged in a long, slow, -insulting wink. - -“So,” he said significantly, “you boys have a motor boat up the river?” - -“Yes,” Case replied, “but the motors are out of order.” - -“Is that where the shootin’ is?” asked the merchant. - -“There was no shooting when we left,” Alex answered. - -“Come, come, now!” the merchant advised. “You boys may as well tell me -the truth. Was it one of them pirate boats that sent you here after -motor supplies?” - -“We have a motor boat of our own,” Alex answered angrily. “She is lying -in an eddy on the other side of the bend, and we don’t dare to drift her -down stream.” - -“That’s too bad!” said the suspicious merchant with another long and -insulting wink. “What is it you want in the way of supplies?” - -“Spark plugs,” was the short answer. - -“Well,” said the merchant, “extending a bony finger and poking Alex on -the chest, “I keep a few spark plugs because there are a good many motor -boats passing along the river.” - -“Yes,” laughed the man who stood with him on the platform, “you keep -spark plugs, but you take pretty good care not to sell them to men who -will put them to unlawful use.” - -“That’s the idea!” said the merchant. - -“Will you sell us some?” asked Case indignantly. - -“I might,” was the reply, “after a time. Just now, you see,” he went on, -regarding his companion knowingly, “just now, we think we’d better hold -you boys until we find out what all that shooting is about.” - -“Hold us?” repeated Alex and Case in a breath. - -“It’s just this way,” the merchant went on, “this man here is constable -in this township. It was him I was giving the dig to a little while ago -about the officers not being ready to take action.” - -The officer turned back the lapel of his coat and ostentatiously -displayed a brass badge. - -“Yes,” he said, “I’m constable of this township, and old Bill, here, -never gets tired of telling folks that the officers ain’t no account.” - -The two men roared lustily, pounding each other on the shoulders, -evidently regarding the whole affair as a good joke. - -“Come,” Alex said, “will you sell me some spark plugs?” - -“You can’t buy nothin’ just now,” the constable declared. “You’re both -under arrest!” - -“What for?” asked Case. - -“We think,” the constable replied, “that the pirates sent you here to -look over the town and see what they could get. That’s too thin, your -talking about spark plugs. Why, every boat carries a lot of them.” - -“If this man is a constable,” urged Alex, “why don’t he hasten over to -the other side of the bend and find out what that shooting is about?” - -“There,” snarled the constable, “now I know you’re in cahoots with a -gang of river thieves. Old Bill, here, heard you try to get me to go -right up there where they’re shooting, tried to get me to run my neck -right into a noose!” - -“They’re dangerous boys,” the merchant suggested. “Why don’t you look -them over for weapons?” - -By this time quite a crowd was collecting about the little store. The -merchant and the constable were receiving all sorts of advice, and women -and girls stood about with red hands rolled up in their aprons, watching -the two suspects with frightened eyes. - -“I reckon I’d better be seeing what they’ve got on,” the constable said -with an important air. “They probably didn’t come down here without -guns.” - -As the constable stepped forward Alex and Case exchanged quick glances, -each asking the other what ought to be done. They understood that arrest -there meant confinement in a country jail for several days, perhaps -weeks, before they could establish their identity. - -They knew, too, that their assistance was needed on board the _Rambler_. -The shooting had disclosed a situation anything but peaceful. - -“Come on, now, boys!” the constable shouted “Let’s see what you’ve got -in your pockets.” - -“And don’t you try to hide nothing away from us, either,” the merchant -added. “Turn your pockets wrong side out.” - -“All right,” Alex said, so angry that his face was whiter than Case had -ever seen him before. “We’ll show you what we’ve got in our pockets.” - -As he spoke, he drew forth an automatic revolver and held it -threateningly at the head of the constable. Case was not slow in -following his example. The little crowd instantly scattered; some -dashing around the corners of the store and others hiding behind barrels -and boxes. The women present let out such screams as the boys had never -heard before. The merchant and the constable both broke for the store -door. Such a scattering the little town had never seen before that day. - -In a second the constable opened the door of the store about six inches -and peered out, shaking a rusty shotgun in one hand. The merchant stood -behind him, looking out of the glass panel and showing an old army -carbine. - -“We’re armed! We’re armed!” called out the constable. “Don’t you try to -come in here! You boys will get a life sentence for this!” - -“This is highway robbery, and murder, and piracy!” shouted the merchant. - -The boys backed away from the platform so as to be out of reach of any -shot from the angle of the building and paused a second for -consultation. - -“We’ve got him buffaloed!” was Alex’s, first remark. - -“Hadn’t we better be getting out?” Case asked. “I’ve a good mind to go -in there and fill my pockets with spark plugs,” Alex declared. - -“That would be a nice thing to do, wouldn’t it?” scoffed Case. “That -would be larceny from a store in the daytime, and you can get fifteen -years for that; and if you went into a store with a gun and put the -keeper in peril of his life, you could get fifty or sixty years!” - -“Then I won’t do it!” grinned Alex. - -“It’s me for the _Rambler_!” Case declared. “It will take us until dark -to get there now, and as soon as we turn our backs that bum constable -will have a hundred men out after us.” - -“And that means that we’ve got to hot-foot through the bushes!” Alex -declared. “We can beat ’em if they don’t get dogs.” - -The boys turned into the undergrowth and ran, tearing their clothes and -scratching their hands on wild vines, and occasionally falling over a -protruding tree-root. At one time they both lay in a heap at the foot of -a beech tree, where they had fallen over a mass of vines. When they -scrambled to their feet they heard shouts of laughter coming from a -thicket not far away. - -“Guess they’ve got us!” panted Alex. - -“I guess they have!” Case agreed. - -The next moment the brown barrel of a rifle was thrust out at the boys. -The boys sat flat down on the ground and waited. - -“That’s right!” the holder of the gun said, stepping out of the thicket. -“Set right down and take things easy. If you try to unlimber any -artillery, you’ll get the worst of it.” - -The man was tall, bony, angular. His face was clean-shaven, showing high -cheek bones, with prominent nose and a cleft chin. His hair was brown, -his eyes blue, and the general expression of his face at that moment was -humorous rather than threatening. - -“What’s the idea?” Alex asked. - -“You don’t look like a man capable of holding up two boys!” Case put in. -“You look like a pretty decent chap.” - -“If you’ve got any masked batteries with you,” the man said a smile -showing on his rugged face, “just poke them out here, handle first, and -then we’ll arrive at some understanding!” - -The boys did as directed, although they would have made a fight for -their weapons only for the indescribable air of friendliness about the -man. They rose to their feet as they dropped their revolvers. - -“Better put that gun down,” Alex advised. “You might get excited and let -it go off.” - -The man sat down on a fallen log and laid the gun across his knees. - -“Where you boys from?” he asked. - -The man’s voice and manner invited confidence, and the boys told him -briefly the story of the _Rambler_, and of the shooting at the point -where they had left her. - -“I think you boys are all right,” the man said, and I think, too, that -river pirates are making trouble for your friends.” - -“Do you think they will follow us from the landing?” Case asked, -anxiously. “They may shoot us from the bushes.” - -The man pounded his thigh with one ponderous hand and laughed until the -woods rang. The boys looked on in wonder. - -“Follow you? I should say not,” he said in a moment. “Why that constable -deputized me to come and take you prisoners. He’s helping old Bill -barricade his store. Now we’ll see if we can find out what’s wrong with -the _Rambler_.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV.—A DIVE FOR LIBERTY. - - -Left alone on board the _Rambler_, Jule lay for a long time behind the -gunwale watching the _Hawk_. He saw Clay surrounded by a group of -ill-looking fellows as soon as he gained the freight deck. He knew by -the boy’s face that all was not going well. - -When Clay was taken up the cabin stairs and into the stateroom by the -captain, Jule got out his field glass and scrutinized the windows of the -boat. Directly he saw the captain come to a window facing the _Rambler_ -and look out. Clay was nowhere in sight. - -Lying thus, almost flat on the deck, watching the _Hawk_ intently, the -boy could not see what was going on on the starboard side of the boat. -Indeed, so closely was he watching the _Hawk_ that he did not notice a -little shiver which ran through the craft as two husky men crept over -the gunwale and stood looking down upon him. - -“Hello, kid!” one of the men said roughly in a moment. - -Jule turned around to see two revolvers pointing at his head. He laid -down his automatic and rose to his feet. The two men on the deck before -him were signaling to the men on the _Hawk_, while the latter were -shouting words of congratulation. - -“Oh, Gid and I got her all right!” one of the men said. - -“You bet we did,” the man referred to as Gid went on. - -“What shall we do with the boy?” was the next question. - -“We’ll send after him,” was the reply from the _Hawk_. - -Jule walked over to a chair and sat down. There was nothing whatever he -could do. He knew that Clay was in the hands of the river pirates, and -that resistance would be useless. - -“If you don’t mind,” he said finally, “I’d rather stay on board the -_Rambler_. It seems like home here.” - -“There’s more fun on board the _Hawk_,” laughed Gid. - -“I don’t suppose there’s anything to drink on board this boat?” asked -Gid’s companion. - -“There’s plenty of water,” answered Jule. - -“Don’t insult Mike with a drink of water,” Gid advised; “Mike likes -water to that extent that he won’t even wash in it.” - -“He looks it!” Jule declared. - -“No lip, now, young fellow!” Mike broke in. - -“What are you going to do with the boat?” asked Jule. - -“Why, this boat,” Gid answered, “will make a fine tender for the _Hawk_. -We’ve been wanting a fine boat like this for a long time. You see, we -get parties on board the _Hawk_, sometimes, who need a little more care -than the ordinary river chap. When such get tired of our company, and -we’re willing to let them go, we take ’em home in style.” - -“Well,” Jule answered, “the motors are out of order, so you can’t run -the _Rambler_, and I’m not sorry for that, either.” - -“We can tow her, can’t we, until we can get the motors fixed?” asked -Mike. “It won’t take much to fix the engine.” - -“All right!” Jule said. “When you get her fixed up all right we’ll take -her off your hands.” - -“Oh, you will, will you?” laughed Gid. “If you don’t watch out, son, -you’ll be wanting some one to take you off our hands.” - -The two men now moved up to the prow of the boat and whispered together -for a long time. They paid no attention to signals and calls from the -_Hawk_, and so a small boat was soon making its way toward the -_Rambler_. Jule saw the two men handling their guns nervously as the -boat supposed to contain members of their own party approached. - -The boy watched the situation anxiously. It seemed to him that the two -men who had boarded the _Rambler_ were not at all pleased at the -approach of the rowboat. It appeared, too, that those on board the -_Hawk_ were watching Gid and Mike suspiciously. - -When the boat drew near, the man who had been called Mike leaned over -the gunwale with a revolver in each hand. - -“Keep away, boys!” he said. “We don’t want you on board!” - -“What does this mean?” demanded the mate of the _Hawk_, who was one of -the men in the small boat. - -“Never mind what it means,” Mike called out. - -“Keep away from the boat if you don’t want to be shot!” - -While Mike was holding the mate off with his revolvers, Gid stood by the -boy also with revolvers in sight. The mate of the _Hawk_ threw his hand -back as if to produce a weapon and Mike passed a bullet so close to the -side of his head that it scorched his scalp. - -“Don’t try to get out any guns!” the man ordered. “Get back to the -_Hawk_ and stay there!” - -“What right have you to take that boat?” demanded the mate. - -“No words, now!” Mike shouted. “Get back to the _Hawk_!” - -“We’ll sink you if you move away from here!” shouted the mate. - -“You’ll do lot’s of sinking, with Government boats patrolling the -river!” mocked Mike. “You’d get pinched in half an hour.” - -“How do you expect to get away with that boat?” demanded the mate. - -“Why, we’ve got one of the owners on board,” Mike laughed back, “and -he’ll tell the Government officers anything we ask him to.” - -“And look here, Mr. River Thief!” Gid joined in, “if you make any noise -about the taking of this boat, or try to make trouble for us, or open -your mouths to the river police, we’ll give the _Hawk_ away good and -plenty. Every murder and every dirty game that’s been played on board -will be in the Government’s books within twenty-four hours.” - -Slowly, sullenly, the mate turned the boat around and headed for the -_Hawk_, glancing back over his shoulders with angry eyes as he did so. -Hoots of derision came to him from the deck of the _Hawk_ as he -returned. It was quite evident that those on board the _Hawk_ knew what -had taken place. - -“Look here, kid!” Gid said to Jule as the boat turned back, “get down -there and loosen the anchor-chain. We must be getting out of this and we -haven’t got time to hoist her up!” - -“I can’t do it while there’s a strain on the chain,” Jule answered. - -“Then wait a minute,” directed the other, “and she’ll probably slacken -up.” - -Caught in a contrary swirl of the eddy in which she lay, the _Rambler_ -gave a lurch ahead, in a moment, and Jule took the opportunity of -slipping the stopper from the chain. - -When the boat settled back again the chain ran out of the hawse-pipe -with a clatter which attracted the attention of those on board the -_Hawk_, and many oaths and epithets were passed back and forth over the -water. - -Not for long, however, for the _Rambler_ swinging out into the current, -gradually swept down. Now she ran stern against the current, now prow -against the current; now sideways; now swirling round and round in an -ugly whirlpool. - -It was at this moment that Clay, approaching the window in the captain’s -stateroom, saw what had taken place. He turned to the latter a face red -with anger, his eyes flashing, his fists clenched. - -“What is the meaning of that?” he asked pointing out of the window. - -The captain bounded to the window and peered out. At that moment an -imperative knock sounded on the stateroom door. - -“What is it?” demanded the captain, opening the door and starting out. -“Why is that boat running away?” - -“Mike and Gid have stolen her!” shouted the mate. “They threatened me -with guns when I tried to board her. Now they threaten all on board the -_Hawk_ if we attempt to recapture the _Rambler_.” - -The captain tore about the stateroom in a blind rage, dancing up and -down and shaking his fists in every direction. The mate stood by only a -trifle less excited. It looked like a show to Clay. - -“I’ll kill the dirty dogs!” shouted the captain. “I’ll murder them both -before they’re a week older! They threatened me, did they? They -threatened to turn us over to the officers, did they?” - -“That’s what they did!” shouted the mate. “Mike had the drop on me, or I -would have settled the matter right then.” - -While this conversation was going on Clay stood by the stateroom window, -wondering whether it would be possible for him to leap out and drop to -the river. His idea was that the men who had stolen the _Rambler_ could -not by any possibility be more vicious than the men on board the _Hawk_; -besides, if he could reach Jule, the two might stand some chance of -recovering the motor boat. - -While he stood making up his mind to undertake the difficult task of -leaving the boat without being detected by those on the outside, two -pistol shots came from the deck. Instantly the captain and mate whirled -out of the stateroom, the latter stopping for an instant to lock the -door before dashing down to the scene of the disturbance. - -Clay knew by the trembling of the deck under his feet that they were -getting the _Hawk_ under way. He saw little puffs of smoke coming from -the deck of the _Rambler_, and rightly surmised that the shots had been -fired at her. While he stood undecided, the _Hawk_ began moving down -stream, following in the wake of the _Rambler_. - -Without waiting another instant, the boy made his way out of the window -and clung to the casing until his feet came in contact with one of the -fenders. Then he dropped down into the river with a splash which, in the -excitement of getting away, was not observed by those on the lower deck. -Indeed, the boy was some distance from the pirate vessel before his -absence was discovered at all. Then the captain returned to his -stateroom and found it empty. - -Rushing to the window, he fired several shots at the boy, but all to no -purpose. He was greatly excited, and the boy was diving and dodging in -the water so not one of the bullets took effect. - -When Mike and Gid, on board the _Rambler_, saw the boy swimming in the -water they naturally supposed him to be one of the crew of the _Hawk_. -Therefore, they began firing at him, thus placing him between two -dangers. - -Seeing that it would be impossible for him to board the _Rambler_ under -the circumstances, the boy dropped down in the water and made for the -shore, where he landed, sorely out of breath, in a few moments. - -It was September, so the water was not very cold, and Clay suffered -little inconvenience from his bath at that time. His first act was to -secrete himself behind the bole of a large hickory tree and watch what -was going on in the river. - -The _Rambler_ was still drifting down with the current, wheeling this -way and that, threatened with destruction nearly every instant. The -_Hawk_, now under full power, was shooting past her, evidently with the -intention of heading her off and blocking farther progress. - -While the boy looked and waited he saw a white head lifted above the -gunwale and the next moment Captain Joe, the bulldog, leaped into the -river. Clay gave a low whistle to direct the dog in his direction and -stood with his heart in his mouth, almost, waiting to see if the brutes -on board the motor boat would fire at the bulldog. - -Just at that moment, however, Gid and Mike were busy with sweeps and -oars trying to get the _Rambler_ out of an eddy around which it was -whirling aimlessly. Jule looked over the gunwale of the boat in a moment -and Clay signaled to him from behind the tree. The next moment the -bulldog sprang upon Clay in joyful greeting and the two disappeared in -the woods. - -Jule went back into the cabin and threw himself down on a bunk. - -“I don’t believe,” he moaned, “that we’ll ever get the _Rambler_ away -from these thieves!” - - - - -CHAPTER V.—CAPTAIN JOE ON SHORE. - - -“I’ll tell you right now,” Alex declared, panting and out of breath in -his efforts to keep pace with the long stride of the new-found friend, -“that there isn’t anything the matter with the _Rambler_. There never -was anything wrong with the boat, and there never will be. She may be in -trouble, but she’s been there before.” - -“Yes,” Case added, “and we’ve always gotten her out of her troubles, and -we’ll do it again. What’s your name, Mister?” he added, turning to the -lanky guide who was forcing them through the thickets at such swift -pace. - -“My name,” the other replied, “is Hank Beers. I live up in the -mountains, and I came down to-day to see about negotiating for a little -product I make up there.” - -“Are you a moonshiner?” asked Case, innocently. - -“No, I’m not a moonshiner,” replied Hank. “I’m making a superior quality -of aeroplanes up in the hills. When I get one finished I put it in a -suit case and bring it down.” - -“That means,” Alex laughed, “that the product of your factory is -intended to send people up in the air!” - -“Put it any way you like,” laughed Hank. “The point with us now is to -find out what’s become of that boat of yours. You say you left her up at -the stem of the bend?” - -“Yes,” answered Case, “we left her to get a spark plug and some -squirrels. That shooting, you know, may not have been at the _Rambler_ -or from the _Rambler_. We may be unnecessarily excited about it.” - -“Young man,” declared Hank, “when you hear shooting going on like that -in this vicinity, you just make up your mind that the river pirates have -something to do with it.” - -“Why don’t they get out and lynch these river pirates?” demanded Case. - -“Sakes alive!” exclaimed Hank. “If we Kentuckians lynched all the people -who make us trouble, we’d have to import telegraph poles to hang ’em on. -There wouldn’t be anywhere near enough trees for the business.” - -“I thought Kentucky was a law-abiding state,” remarked Alex. - -“She’s the most law-abiding state you ever heard tell of,” replied Hank -with a laugh. “All the trouble is,” he went on, “that sometimes we -mountain people make laws of our own, and when we do that the laws have -to be abided by.” - -“Oh, yes,” Case grinned, “I remember the Knights of the Golden Circle, -and the Ku Klux Klan, and the Night-Riders, and the White Caps. When -that bunch wanted to kill a man, all they did was to pass a law against -him and then abide by it.” - -“There are a whole lot of offenses,” the mountaineer went on, “that -can’t be handled by the laws these here shysters put on the statute -books. But,” he continued, “we won’t talk about that any more. We -wouldn’t agree, anyhow. About how far are we from the point where you -left your boat?” - -“Two miles,” declared Alex. - -“Three!” suggested Case. - -“What time did you leave the boat?” asked Hank. - -“Two o’clock,” was the reply. - -Hank looked at a ponderous silver watch which he took from a back pocket -of his trousers and shook his head. - -“If you left the boat at two o’clock,” he said, “and you had just come -to the settlement when that little ruction started, you were something -like three hours on the way. That means more than three miles.” - -“Oh yes,” Alex agreed, “but we wandered about this way and that, looking -for squirrels, and coons, and rabbits, so I think that we ought to be -somewhere near the boat by this time.” - -“If we don’t come to it pretty soon,” the mountaineer suggested, “we’ll -have to look for it in the dark. It is getting twilight in here right -now. It will soon be almost impossible to make our way through the -thickets. ’Tarnal bad woods in the night time, these are.” - -Darkness was indeed settling over the forest. To make matters worse, a -mass of heavy clouds was drifting up from the Mississippi valley, and -the chances were remarkably good for a long, slow rain. After proceeding -some farther in the thicket, Alex took out his electric -searchlight—without which he never left the _Rambler_—and threw its rays -on the thicket ahead. As he did so Hank seized him by the arm. - -“Douse it, douse it!” the mountaineer cried. “Don’t you know any better -than to make a light in here?” - -“Where’s the harm?” asked Case. “We’d never get through there without a -light.” - -“I’ll tell you where the harm is,” the mountaineer answered. “Them -fellers you stirred up back there at the settlement will shortly be -sending men out here to look you up. I shouldn’t be surprised if they -sent men with bloodhounds.” - -“Oh well, then, we’ll have to do the best we can in the dark,” Alex -sighed, turning off the light. - -“Let me see that, will you?” asked Hank. - -The mountaineer took the searchlight in his great bony hand and examined -it attentively, switching the light on and off and turning it this way -and that, taking the precaution, however, to hold the eye of the -electric close to the ground. - -“You Yankees,” he said presently, “will soon be getting searchlights by -wireless! It’s a pretty good light, though, and I don’t object to it if -you do. How much might one of those contraptions cost?” he added. - -“All the way from four bits to four dollars,” was the reply. “If you -want a real large one, you may go as high as fifty dollars.” - -“I’ll buy one when I bring down my next airplane,” said the mountaineer, -whimsically. “I don’t doubt but that I could use it in my business. I -don’t suppose the wind would put that out, would it? It’s mighty strong -up there in the mountains sometimes,” he added. - -“No,” Case answered, “nothing will put that light out until the battery -becomes exhausted. That is, unless you break the lamp.” - -The boys were just starting on again when the long terrifying baying of -a hound came to their ears. The dog was still a long distance off, yet -even as they listened his great voice came more distinctly through the -darkness. - -“There!” Hank said in a disgusted tone of voice, “they’ve gone and done -it at last! It’s just this way, boys,” he went on, “when you left that -old skinflint of a merchant back there, you were two little boys sent -out by a river pirate to see if the town was worth plundering. Ten -minutes after your departure, you were two river pirates, armed to the -teeth and half drunk on moonshine whiskey. Thirty minutes after you -left, they were saying that the town had been visited by a band of -pirates armed with cannons. By to-morrow morning, they will have the -town pillaged and burned. I never did see the way people exaggerate -things.” - -“But where did they get that hound?” asked Alex. “There wasn’t any there -when we were there.” - -“They might have got one off of the Government boat,” Hank answered. - -“But there wasn’t any Government boat,” Alex insisted. - -“There was one just coming up the river,” said the mountaineer. “If we -ever come to the bank of the stream we’ll see her pass up.” - -“Well, what are we going to do about the dog?” Case asked. “He’s -evidently out of leash, for, judging from the sound of his voice, he’s -running faster than any man could navigate through the woods.” - -“Yes, he does seem to be out of leash,” the mountaineer answered, “and -it may be that he took up the scent on his own hook. Still, the Federals -do have bloodhounds to aid in trailing the moonshiners.” - -“Isn’t there any way to get away from the brute?” asked Case. “If we -don’t, he’ll tree us and set up such a howling that the men will be -thicker than bees around us in about an hour.” - -“We can shoot him when he comes up,” suggested the mountaineer. - -“Seems too bad to kill the dog,” Alex observed. - -“Besides all that,” Case went on, “we couldn’t hit a barn in this -darkness.” - -“Well,” Hank suggested, “the thing for us to do is to make for the river -as fast as possible. There’s always a good many skiffs and rowboats -scattered along on the Kentucky side. You see, if we can only get to the -water and pack ourselves into a boat, we can sit and make faces at that -hound until Kingdom Come.” - -Making what speed they could through the thicket, stumbling over vines -and protruding roots, the boys proceeded on their way for a very few -moments. Then it became evident that the dog was only a few rods away. - -“Now that’s too bad,” Hank said, “we’ve got to climb a tree, turn that -bottled gas concern of yours on the dog, and put a bullet plumb through -his head. I never did like to kill dogs, somehow.” - -The dog came swiftly on, and it seemed to the boys as if his voice could -be heard for a thousand miles. They were crouching in a thicket, -preparing to vault into the branches of a great beech tree which stood -near at hand, when a great commotion was heard not far away. It seemed -to them that a wild hog, or a bear, or some heavy yet swift denizen of -the forest, awakened from his slumber by the howling of the dog, had set -out to make a swift investigation of his own. - -“What was that noise?” asked Alex, clutching his new-found friend by the -arm. - -“Well, sir,” Hank replied, “that sounded to me like a dog going out to -hold a little conversation with that hound! It ran like a dog, and, -besides, I think I heard a succession of low growls as it passed us.” - -“Here’s hoping he keeps the hound so well entertained that it won’t come -any farther in this direction!” Case said. - -In a moment there came a great snarling and growling from a thicket not -far away, accompanied by such a thumping and beating on the ground as -the boys had not heard in many a day. The baying of the hound ceased -entirely, and in a moment only low choking pants of suffering were -heard. - -“I’ll tell you what it is, boys!” the mountaineer exclaimed, excitedly, -“that thing that went through here is either a bulldog or a wild hog. -He’s mixing it with the hound right now, and we may as well go and see -the scrap.” - -Alex used his flashlight now without reproof. The three pressed swiftly -forward, the sounds of conflict growing clearer as they advanced. -Directly they came to a great patch of bushes, from the center of which -the commotion came. - -In spite of the protests of the others, Alex pushed his way into the -jungle and turned his searchlight on two objects struggling desperately -on the ground. The next moment they heard his voice crying out joyfully: - -“It’s Captain Joe! It’s Captain Joe!” he said. - -“What has he done to the hound?” asked Case. - -“Who’s Captain Joe?” demanded the mountaineer. - -Alex answered the two questions by dragging the white bulldog out of the -thicket by the collar. His jaws were smeared with blood, and he limped -slightly on one fore leg. - -“Captain Joe,” Alex replied, “is the gamiest bulldog that ever lived, -and there ain’t enough left of that hound to bait a trap with. - -“Where did the bulldog come from?” demanded Hank. - -“Huh!” Alex exclaimed. “That’s just exactly what I want to know.” - - - - -CHAPTER VI.—JULE TURNS THE SWITCH. - - -“I don’t believe,” Jule said, throwing himself off his bunk in a moment, -“that the _Rambler_ has made successful trips on the Amazon, the -Columbia, the Colorado, the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence to become -lost on an inland river like the Ohio! In some way, we’re going to get -out of this scrape and continue our journey.” - -The boy sat down by the little stationary table in the cabin and studied -out the problem in his own boyish way. There were police boats on the -river, and eventually the attention of some captain would be attracted -to a splendid motor boat like the _Rambler_ in the hands of a couple of -river toughs. - -Besides, the _Rambler_ was entirely unmanageable, and would doubtless -soon bring up against a sand bar or a mass of wreckage. In this case the -first boat coming within sight would undoubtedly stop to inquire the -cause of the trouble. - -Thus reasoning himself into a more hopeful state of mind, the boy went -out onto the little deck and watched Gid and Mike panting and sweating -at the oars and sweep in their vain efforts to keep the _Rambler_ off a -sand bar which lifted its white surface above the river on the Kentucky -side. - -For a time the men succeeded fairly well, but the current set directly -toward the bar, which was, in fact, one of its creatures, and the -_Rambler_ soon thrust her nose into the firm sand with a shock and -shiver which seemed to loosen every rivet and bolt. - -Gid rattled the oar he had been using down on the deck and wiped his -streaming brow with a dirty hand. Mike sat down on the gunwale and swore -earnestly and with originality. - -“What’s the answer?” Mike asked in a moment. - -Gid shook his head gravely. - -“If we don’t get off this everlasting sand bar before daylight,” Mike -said in a moment, “there’ll be a procession of river boats up here to -know what’s wrong. They’ll all be wanting to pull us off, and they’ll -all be wanting a pocketful of money for doing it. Have you got any -money, Gid?” - -“Have I got any money?” repeated Gid. “If the whole world was selling -for a dollar, I couldn’t buy dirt enough to stop a watch! I was lucky -enough to get out of Louisville with a whole skin. What did you do with -your money?” he asked, looking Mike keenly in the eye. - -“I bought lottery tickets with mine,” Mike replied. “I’ve got the -lottery tickets in my pocket yet, and I never have any luck when I have -the things around. Honest, Gid,” the Irishman continued, “I’ve carried -lottery tickets in my clothes for five years, and during all that time -no band ever played in front of me on the street. And that’s a fact, if -you want to know!” - -“Mike,” Gid observed with a smile, “do you study the dream book every -night and morning? You’re as superstitious as an old woman!” - -“Now look here, Gid,” continued Mike. “That’s the exact truth I told you -about those lottery tickets. Look here, now, here’s an illustration. I -was standing on South Clark street, Chicago, one morning with three -Louisiana lottery tickets in my pocket. There was a procession coming -down the street with twenty bands in it. And I said to the boys who were -with me that I would bet the cigars for the crowd that there wouldn’t a -band play when passing the spot where we stood.” - -“You got your nerve to bet on a hoodoo,” Gid laughed. - -Jule was now becoming interested in the conversation, which he had heard -from his position at the prow, and drew closer to the two men. He -noticed that they used remarkably good language, and also that they -seemed to know Chicago well, so he resolved that he would try to learn -more about them as soon as an opportunity offered. - -“That lottery ticket hoodoo is one that is safe to bet on at any spot in -the road,” Mike continued. “Well, as I was saying, there was a -procession coming up South Clark street with twenty bands in it, and I -was betting there wouldn’t a band play in front of the spot where we -stood. This was on account of the lottery tickets I had in my pocket. I -was just plumb hoodooed with those tickets. Why, look here!” he -continued, “if I had thrown those tickets overboard, we wouldn’t be on -this sand bar now. I tell you they have just plumb hoodooed me. I think -I’ll throw them overboard now.” - -“What about the twenty bands and the procession?” asked Jule, with a -grin on his face. “Tell me about that.” - -“Hello, kid!” Mike said with a chuckle. “Did you hear me talking that -fool stuff about the lottery tickets?” - -“Sure I did,” Jule answered. - -“Well, you take warning by me and don’t ever buy any!” Mike declared. - -“Well, what about these twenty bands?” Jule insisted. - -“Sho’, of course, I nearly forgot all about the bands. Well nineteen -bands passed our corner without a note of music. Walked by just like -they were going up the street in a political parade. You know, son,” -Mike continued, “that musicians think they are paid to walk in parades -on account of their uniforms, and not on account of their music.” - -“What did you say these twenty bands did?” laughed Jule. - -“Nineteen marched plumb by without ever blowing a horn. The twentieth -one started in half a block below us. I just had a notion then that that -band was going to play, and that I would have to buy the cigars, and -then I thought that one of the tickets might draw a prize so I wasn’t -kicking any. Well, sir, do you know that that big band headed up to us -in full tune.” - -“So you had to buy the cigars?” asked Jule. - -“Did I have to buy the cigars?” repeated Mike. “Say, kid, twenty feet -below us a horse hitched to a carriage filled with ladies reared up on -his hind feet and they had to stop the music until they got by us so as -not to frighten the horse any more. You bet I don’t have to buy the -cigars on any bet like that!” - -Encouraged by the friendly voice and manner of the Irishman, Jule asked -what they intended doing with the _Rambler_. - -“It’s just this way, boy,” Mike replied, “we’ve been skinned and cleaned -up, and knocked out, in every enterprise we ever undertook. We’re both -printers, and used to work on the old Chicago Herald when Jim Scott -owned it. Well, we beat the faro bank until we didn’t have a cent. We -played poker and roulette until the other fellows held a mortgage on our -pay envelopes. So we’re just plumb disgusted with civilization. We -haven’t got the brains to become city pirates and run gambling houses -and elect aldermen and all that, but we have got muscle enough to become -river pirates, so here we are, and here your boat is.” - -“Are you going to keep the boat?” asked Jule. - -“Of course, we’re going to keep it!” Mike declared. - -“You bet we are!” Gid put in. “No man we ever played with ever gave us -any Christmas presents after he’d cleaned us out.” - -“Well,” Jule announced, “I’ll set up a yell the first boat comes near us -and your hoodoo lottery tickets will probably land you in jail.” - -“We don’t want to be rough with you, kid,” Mike went on, “but when you -see a boat coming if you don’t hustle into the cabin and go to bed and -cover up your head and ears, we’ll take the hide off your back in long, -wide strips.” - -“I don’t believe it!” Jule answered with a faint smile. - -“That’s all right,” Mike answered, “we’re pretty good fellows, but we’re -just plumb disgusted with everything in the world. Now, really,” he went -on, “this boat belongs to that pirate gang over there, and we stole it -from them. We didn’t steal it from you. We’re innocent bystanders, as it -were.” - -“Why doesn’t the _Hawk_ come over here and get you?” asked Jule. - -“I don’t know exactly,” replied Mike, “but it is my idea that there is a -police boat somewhere in sight. We can’t see around the bend, and so -wouldn’t know if one was coming, but the _Hawk_, lying nearer to the -other shore, would know it right quick.” - -“I hope there is a police boat coming!” Jule said. - -“Well, when you see one, you duck into that cabin,” Mike ordered, “and -do it mighty quick. No Federal officer would believe your word against -ours, so you wouldn’t gain anything by making a fool of yourself.” - -The _Hawk_ did seem to be acting strangely. It was now deep twilight and -yet she could be seen lying over near the Indiana shore, her great bulk -dim against the gathering darkness. Not a light was to be seen on board. -Not a sound was to be heard. - -“I reckon there is a police boat coming,” Gid said, after a short pause, -“but if we lie right still and don’t show any lights, she’ll pass on the -other side. Anyway, she can’t help seeing the _Hawk_, and she’ll go -there first.” - -Half an hour passed and it grew dark on the river. Clouds were driving -over the valley, and it was likely to be a rainy night. A wind came up -the river as the darkness increased, and the moaning of the trees and -the rush of the waters made conversation quite difficult, even when the -parties stood close together, as the three did on the deck of the -_Rambler_. - -Jule stepped back to the cabin entrance and stood close to the electric -switch which controlled the strong searchlight on the prow. Mike and Gid -stood leaning over the gunwale, their eyes fixed intently on the bulk of -the _Hawk_, now almost lost in the darkness. A faint light, something -like that of a candle or a small kerosene lamp, now showed on the -freight deck of the river pirate. - -“There’s a Government boat coming up the river, and that’s no dream!” -Gid cried. - -“There’s no other way to account for the mighty strange actions of the -captain of the _Hawk_,” Mike responded. - -“Perhaps if we keep all lights out and lie perfectly still, the police -boat won’t see us!” the other suggested. - -The two men stood long at the gunwale, watching the pirate boat as long -as the falling night permitted. Jule, too, remained on deck, standing by -the switch which controlled the searchlight. - -Once or twice, when the sound of a steam exhaust came from below, he put -his hand to the switch, but always drew it away again when no lights -showed over the dark river. He was waiting until the right moment. - -Directly a sharp whistle sounded from below, and then the lights of a -steamer flashed into view around the bend. Jule put his hand to the -switch but brought it away once more when the lights turned toward the -_Hawk_, still lying near the Indiana shore, motionless. - -“Now,” Mike said in a moment, “if we could only get this consarned boat -off this idiotic bar, we’d be able to slide out of sight while that -gold-laced officer is listening to the lies the captain of the _Hawk_ -will tell him. Prime liar, that fellow is!” - -Standing on the deck with all close individual sounds shut out by the -wash of the waters and the roaring of the trees, they saw the steamer -head directly toward the _Hawk_, then in a moment the pirate craft was -ablaze with light. - -“Crafty chap, that captain!” Mike declared. “He knows he’s been -observed, and so lights up.” - -Jule could wait no longer. With one motion of his hand, he turned the -switch and the strong prow light flashed out over the river. Gid sprang -toward the boy with a leveled revolver. - - - - -CHAPTER VII.—THE TRAINING OF TEDDY. - - -“You confounded idiot!” shouted Mike, catching his companion by the arm. -“Do you want to bring that police boat over here inside of two minutes? -If you do, just fire that gun.” - -“Look what he did!” almost panted Gid, in a heat of rage. “He turned on -the light, and they’ll be over here as soon as they get done with the -_Hawk_.” - -“Can’t be helped now!” declared Mike. - -During this short conversation Jule stood regarding the men intently, -his face pale but his eyes flashing with the spirit of defiance which -was in his heart. Mike regarded him whimsically. - -“Will you turn out the light?” he asked. “Or shall I smash it?” - -“Turn it out yourself!” ordered Gid, “if you know where the switch is.” - -“I don’t know where the switch is,” Mike replied. - -“Then coax the boy to turn it out,” sneered Gid. “He seems to be a -special friend of yours.” - -“Turn it out kid,” advised Mike. - -Jule, realizing that the light must already have accomplished the -purpose intended, turned the switch and the _Rambler_ was again in -darkness. He realized that the light would be extinguished whether he -turned the switch or not, for the lamp could be easily broken. - -“Now, boy,” Gid thundered in Jule’s ear, “you get into that cabin and -stay there. If any of these sneaking Government officials come on board, -you’re sick! Do you understand that? You’re sick abed! And we’re your -good, kind protectors! Understand that? If you ain’t good and sick while -they’re here, you’ll be ailing in earnest as soon as they go away.” - -“All right,” Jule answered, “I’ll go into the cabin now and lie down. -But, look here,” he continued, “I’d like to have you gentlemen make me a -promise. Will you?” - -“What is it?” asked Mike, not unkindly. - -It was very dark now, and they could not see each other’s faces, -especially as the glare of the light during its brief presence had in a -manner dazzled their eyes. Perhaps this was just as well, for Gid would -not have liked the look on Mike’s face as he spoke to the boy. It was -all sympathy and feeling. - -“Well,” Jule said, with a low chuckle, “when you’re hanged for murder or -piracy, I’d like to have you invite me to the festival.” - -Gid uttered a snarl of rage and struck at the boy but Mike only laughed -as Jule dodged the blow, only indistinctly seen, and, entering the -cabin, closed the door behind him. - -“They forget,” he thought to himself, “that there are lights in the -cabin which, when turned, will reveal the presence of the _Rambler_. -Anyway,” he added, “I believe the Government officers saw the -searchlight. I don’t see how they could have missed seeing it.” - -Teddy, the quarter-grown grizzly bear, now rubbed a soft muzzle against -the boy’s hand, as if in sympathy, and nestled close to his side. - -“Teddy,” Jule said, “you and I have been captured by pirates. Captain -Joe has gone off to find Alex, and we’re here in the possession of a -couple of Desperate Desmonds. We want to get away. Now what would you -suggest?” - -In the darkness the boy knew that Teddy was sitting up on his hind feet -suggesting a boxing match. - -“That’s the thing, Teddy,” Jule said, speaking into the bear’s ear, as -if in belief that the cub understood every word he said. “That’s just -the thing! You suggest a fight, and that’s just what it’s got to be.” - -The boy and the bear sat together in the cabin for a long time. Through -the window on the starboard side the boy could see the lights of the -Government boat and the lights of the _Hawk_. - -There seemed to be some commotion on board the pirate boat, and the boy -at one time thought he detected the sound of a pistol shot. - -“After they get done with those river robbers,” Jule thought, “they will -probably be over here to see why the _Rambler_’s light died out so -quickly. Now, what shall I do when they come?” - -The boy failed to reach any conclusion regarding future actions. The -correct course seemed to be to be guided entirely by circumstances. If -the officers came aboard he must find some way of notifying them of the -true condition of affairs. If they did not come aboard, he must, again, -attract their attention. - -After half an hour or more the Government boat turned toward the -_Rambler_ and directly the boy heard a call. - -“Hello, the boat!” - -“Come aboard!” Mike’s voice answered. - -“Send a boat!” ordered the officer. - -“We’re stranded on a bar,” Mike returned. “Can’t you-help us off?” - -The boy could hear the rattle of a boat against the hull of the -Government steamer, and then the creaking of oars. Just then the cabin -door opened and Gid made his appearance, his bulky form clearly shown in -the light from the steamer which came through the cabin window. - -“Now, boy,” Gid said, “the Government officers are coming on board. -Buckle down on the bunk and keep your mouth closed.” - -The fellow enforced his command with a revolver, and Jule hastened to do -as ordered. - -“If Mr. Gold-Lace comes into the cabin,” Gid went on, “I’ll be setting -here peaceful like with the lights turned on. You’ll be over there in -the bunk sound asleep. If you make a move or open your lips, I’ll shoot -you full of holes. See?” he added, thrusting one hand into his right -pocket and pushing the muzzle of a revolver out against the cloth, “I -can do some pretty good shooting from a pocket.” - -Jule started to speak, but Gid lifted a heavy hand for silence. - -“Mr. Gold-Lace is coming on board,” he said, “now mind what I’ve been -telling you.” - -Jule lay still under the blanket he had drawn over his shoulders and -chuckled softly to himself. - -“Teddy,” he laughed, “Teddy will be taking that fellow by the leg in a -minute and then there’ll be doings! Just wait till that officer gets on -board,” the boy’s busy brain went on, “and I’ll get that pirate into a -boxing match with the bear.” - -It was true that Gid had not observed the bear, for Jule had motioned -him into a dark corner as soon as the pirate’s hulking figure had shown -in the doorway. - -Presently Gid arose to his feet and looked out of the glass panel in the -cabin door. - -“There’s two coming aboard,” he said turning toward the boy. - -“Are you going to put me on the reception committee?” asked Jule, with a -snicker. - -“I don’t see that you’ve got anything to laugh at!” Gid declared. - -“Oh, what’s the odds?” Jule demanded. “The _Rambler_ is a mascot, and -always was. You can’t do anything to her.” - -“I’ll do something to you!” declared Gid, “if you don’t keep that mouth -closed.” - -“You don’t dare!” returned Jule. “If you touch me I’ll yell like a loon, -and then the officers will come running in here, and that’ll be your -finish. You’d better go out on deck.” - -Gid did go out on deck, arriving just in time to greet two Government -officers as they stepped on board the _Rambler_. This formality over, -the fellow backed up against the cabin door and stood facing the light -now burning at the prow. The cabin door was open, and the boy could hear -nearly every word that was spoken on deck, the wind having in a measure -died out. - -“What’s your boat?” he heard an officer ask. - -“_Rambler_, Chicago,” was the reply. - -“Whither bound?” - -“New Orleans,” was the quick answer. - -“Who have you on board?” was the next question. - -Jule saw Mike point with a hairy fist toward the cabin. - -“Only a kid,” he said, “back there in the cabin shaking his bones to -pieces with the ague.” - -“How long have you been on this bar?” asked the official. - -“We struck it just before dark,” answered Mike, who really was doing a -very good job in the way of convincing the officer that everything was -all right and straight on board the _Rambler_. - -“There are a good many motor boats doing illicit business up and down -the river,” suggested the official. - -“I know it,” replied Mike. “We’re afraid some of them will come along -while we are tied up on this bar.” - -“How did it happen?” - -“Lost a spark plug,” was the reply. “At first we limped along in fairly -good shape, and then the others had to go bad with us. Honest,” he -continued, “I don’t think we’ll ever get off this sand bar unless you -give us a line.” - -“I’ll gladly do that,” said the officer, “and I’ll do more. I’ll send -over half a dozen spark plugs.” - -“That’s kind of you,” Mike suggested. “We’ll be glad to pay for them. It -is a great accommodation to us.” - -Jule snickered in his bunk, for he had recently heard the two men -talking about being absolutely penniless. Observing that Gid was not -watching him very closely, the latter’s attention being directed to the -two men standing forward, the boy beckoned to Teddy, who came shambling -up to the side of the bunk and laid a soft paw against the boy’s cheek. - -“Now, Teddy,” Jule said, “we’re going to play a trick on those men out -there. Do you think you can do a boxing stunt to-night?” - -Teddy sat up on his haunches at mention of the word “boxing” and -admitted in perfectly good bear talk that he could. - -“You just wait, Teddy,” Jule went on, “until that police boat draws the -_Rambler_ off this bar and supplies her with spark plugs, and we’ll give -a show that will beat any four-ring circus that ever traveled out of -Chicago. It’ll be something worth buying a ticket to.” - -After some further conversation the Government officers returned to -their steamer. A cable was carried to the motor boat and in a minute she -was floating in free water. - -“Now,” called an officer from the stern of the steamer, “bend on that -manilla hawser to your spare anchor and throw it out.” - -Mike obeyed instructions to the letter, and the _Rambler_ was soon -swinging easily with her grip on the bottom of the river. - -“You’ve got a favor coming from us now,” Mike shouted, “if the time ever -comes when we can render you one! Shall I come aboard for the spark -plugs?” - -“We haven’t got any rowboat,” Gid reminded his companion. - -In the end the steamer dropped down and the spark plugs were tossed -aboard, being caught deftly by the Irishman. - -“Now,” said Mike with a grin, “we’ll fix up these motors and get down -toward New Orleans at a right smart gait.” - -“Why didn’t you ask the officer about the _Hawk_?” demanded Gid. - -“Oh, that old captain lied himself clear, all right,” Mike answered. -“Don’t you see that the _Hawk_ lies there with her lights all going and -the Government steamer is going on up the river?” - -Gid turned to Jule with something like a smile on his sullen face. - -Jule was standing by the closed cabin door with the bear fully -instructed and trained, brushing against the inside of it. - -“Well, boy,” Gid said, “you did remarkably well during the visit of the -officers, so we’re going to let you get us something to eat. While we -fix the motors, you cook up some supper and we’ll soon be sailing down -the river as happy and contented as three peas in a pod. I presume -you’ve got plenty of provisions on board.” - -“You bet we have!” answered Jule happily. “I’ll get you a supper that’ll -make your mouth water.” - -The boy knew that while preparing the meal he would be tolerably free -from the surveillance of the two men. This would give him an opportunity -to bring a couple of revolvers from the cupboard where they were kept, -and also to confer with Teddy as to the course to be pursued. - -“Now, Teddy,” the boy said, as he went into the cabin and shut the door, -“I don’t know what to do to these men. Sometimes I think I’ll drug their -coffee, and sometimes I think I’ll give them a scare that will make -their heads look like the top of a snow-capped mountain.” - -The bear turned his head thoughtfully to one side and expressed the -rather selfish opinion that he thought a boxing match would be about the -best thing under the circumstances. The bear had had boxing matches with -river pirates before that night, and he knew pretty well what to do when -the boys set him going on strangers. - -“If I drug their coffee,” Jule went on, “they’ll go to sleep and we’ll -have them on our hands. If I give them a scare, they’ll jump into the -river and that’ll be the last of them.” - -Looking out of the window the boy now saw the Government steamer -disappearing rapidly upstream. He also saw the _Hawk_ turning her prow -in the direction of the _Rambler_. Mike and Gid stood by the port -gunwale talking earnestly in low tones. - -“I guess there’s trouble brewing that I wasn’t counting on,” the boy -said dejectedly. “Teddy and I can’t fight the whole bunch.” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII.—CAPTAIN JOE’S MESSAGE. - - -“Where do you think the bulldog came from?” asked Hank as, with Alex and -Case, he stood watching the dog capering about in the joy of victory. -“He seems to know you boys pretty well.” - -“This dog,” Alex answered, “is the champion four-footed traveler of the -world. He’s been on all the big rivers, and in all the big cities. He’s -taken bites out of all the tribes on the face of the globe. He belongs -on the _Rambler_ with us.” - -“Seems like a mighty pert dog?” admitted the mountaineer. - -“You don’t have to guess again!” Case put in. - -“Anyway, he done finished that hound in good shape,” Hank suggested. - -He stooped as he spoke and took the end of a rope into his fingers. - -“You see how it is,” he said, “the animal broke his leash and got away -from the bunch sleuthing in the woods.” - -“Then they won’t be able to find us?” asked Alex. - -The bony mountaineer shook his head. - -“They might as well look for a needle in a load of hay,” he said. - -Alex now bent over and began talking gravely to the bulldog. - -“Captain Joe,” he said, “why didn’t you follow me sooner? I might have -been eaten alive at that landing. Next time, you come quicker.” - -Captain Joe pointed his blood-stained nose in the direction of the river -and whined softly. - -“What’s that?” asked Alex. - -The dog drew away from the boy and ran a few steps to the north and -looked back. - -“Look here!” Alex said, speaking excitedly to Case and the mountaineer, -“the bulldog says there’s some of our friends over in the direction of -the river.” - -“I didn’t hear him talking,” laughed the mountaineer. - -“That’s because you don’t know dog talk. Captain Joe has a language of -his own,” laughed Case. “Great dog, that!” - -“Anyway,” admitted the mountaineer, “he seems to understand what you say -to him.” - -“Oh, come on!” urged Alex. “Let’s don’t waste any more time standing -here. There’s something wrong on board the _Rambler_, or Captain Joe -wouldn’t be here.” - -“The _Rambler_,” Case insisted, “is a long way upstream.” - -“I guess Captain Joe knows where it is,” Alex replied. “You fellows come -right along. I’m going to follow the dog.” - -The boys used their searchlights freely now, and made considerable noise -making their way through the thickets. After walking steadily for -fifteen or twenty minutes, the bulldog darted on ahead and left them to -make their way without his guidance. - -Even while the three were discussing the disappearance of the dog, they -heard him barking not far away, and then a voice they knew came to their -ears. The dog’s bark took on a note of welcome. - -“Hello, Alex! Hello, Case!” they heard Clay call. “Why don’t you come on -out to the river?” “We’re moving as fast as we can,” Case called back. -“This jungle is harder to work through than a Saturday night crowd on -South Clark street. How did you come to be on shore?” he added. - -By this time, the two boys and the mountaineer had gained the spot where -Clay stood. - -“What’s doing on the _Rambler_?” Case asked after the mountaineer had -been presented to Clay. - -“We have met the enemy and we are theirs!” said Clay dolefully. - -In as few words as possible he told the story of the situation on the -_Rambler_ at the time he left it. - -“And Jule is still there with those thieves?” asked Case. - -“He is unless he’s made a dive for liberty,” replied Clay. - -“You say the boat was drifting the last you saw of her?” asked Hank. - -“Broadside downstream!” answered Clay. - -“Well, then,” the mountaineer suggested, “we’d better be moving on down. -Was she on this side of the river or the other?” - -“Pretty close to the Kentucky shore,” answered the boy. - -“Then you’re in luck!” the mountaineer laughed. “There’s a sand bar down -here, just around the point, that will be sure to catch her. You may -have my head for a football if we don’t see her wedged against that bar -as soon as we come in sight of it.” - -After half an hour’s difficult walking along the river bank, winding far -into the river to escape coves, crossing little runs on fallen trees, -they passed around the point of the bend and looked down a long sweep of -river. - -“Thunderation!” shouted the mountaineer. - -“Now, what do you think of that?” demanded Clay. - -“Rotten!” Alex and Case declared in a breath. What the boys saw was the -_Rambler_ lying at anchor, perhaps forty rods away with the _Hawk_ -bearing down upon her. - -“It looks to me,” the mountaineer said, “as if those pirates were bound -to have that boat.” - -“And it looks to me,” Case put in, “as if they’re going to get her, too! -They seem to have the top hand in this game.” - -“I don’t know about that,” declared the mountaineer. “I don’t think we -ought to let those brigands run away with that boat.” - -“Well, then, suggest something!” urged Clay. - -Before Hank could speak again, the _Rambler_’s anchor was hauled in and -she was headed directly for the shore almost at the exact spot where the -four stood. The _Hawk_ steamed steadily after her. - -“What’s she doing that for?” demanded Case. - -“That boat of yours,” suggested the mountaineer, “will almost float in a -heavy dew, while the _Hawk_ as you call her requires a considerable -depth of water.” - -Clay nudged his companions and laughed. - -“That’s shows that you’re not familiar with boating,” he said, in a -moment. “That old barge out there will float in twenty-five inches of -water, while the _Rambler_, sticking her keel down like a knife, -requires at least thirty-five inches. I guess the truth of the matter -is,” he added, “that the pirates on board the _Rambler_ are coming this -way in the hope of dodging the _Hawk_.” - -“Why don’t they do a little shooting?” Case asked. “Those fellows aren’t -usually so saving of their ammunition.” - -“I guess the police boat isn’t far away,” suggested the mountaineer. -“She may be just downstream, or just upstream, but they know she’s -hereabouts, and there’d be plenty of shooting if they didn’t suspect her -presence. Those fellows usually shoot to kill, too.” - -The _Rambler_ came in within a dozen feet of the shore and then turned -prow down. The _Hawk_ dropped down, too, edging in upon her every -minute. The boys watched the maneuvers with anxious eyes. - -“I hope they won’t get to shooting,” Clay said, “because Jule and Teddy -must be still on board.” - -“If those fellows on the _Rambler_ knew the game they are playing,” Alex -declared, “they would turn the motors on full speed and run away from -that pirate. Perhaps they don’t know it, but our boat can go three miles -while the other boat is traveling one.” - -“Let’s go aboard and show them how to run it!” suggested Case. - -The prow light was still burning on the _Rambler_, and the cabin was -also brightly illuminated. Through the small window on the port side, -they could see Jule busily engaged over the electric coils at the back -of the cabin. - -“I believe I can get on board that boat without being seen,” Alex -declared, and before the others could offer a word of remonstrance, the -little fellow was in the river swimming mostly under water toward the -after deck of the motor boat. They saw him climb up on the deck and peer -in at the window in the rear wall of the cabin. - -“The little monkey!” chuckled Clay. “I don’t think I would have -undertaken a game of that kind for a million dollars.” - -“Well,” Case said excitedly, “we’re going to do exactly the same thing. -Those fellows on board are so busy watching the pirates that they won’t -see us, and the pirates are so busy watching the _Rambler_ that they -won’t see us. We’ve just got to get on board.” - -The mountaineer threw himself at full length on the ground and laughed -until his lean sides shook. - -“And what will you do when you get on board?” he asked directly. “You’re -the gamest lot of kids I ever saw.” - -“About the first thing I do,” Case declared, “will be to get something -to eat. I’ll just bet you a red apple that Alex has got his nose into -the provision chest this minute.” - -They all glanced toward the _Rambler_ at mention of the boy and saw that -the after deck was vacant. - -“It’s a sure thing he’s got his nose into some kind of food if he’s -inside the cabin,” Clay remarked. - -“But, honest, now, boys,” the mountaineer asked, “what do you think of -doing after you get on board? You can’t fight the pirates on your boat -and the pirates on the _Hawk_ too.” - -“Why,” Clay said, “we’ll run away from that boat in a minute. In three -seconds after we get our hands on the motors, we’ll be going so fast -downstream that a bullet from the _Hawk_ couldn’t catch us.” - -“You kids certainly beat my time,” chuckled the mountaineer. “If I -didn’t have plenty of business at that little aeroplane factory of mine -up in the hills. I’d be tempted to go with you.” - -“This man,” Case explained to Clay, “makes moonshine whiskey up in the -hills. He calls his still an aeroplane factory because his product sends -people up in the air.” - -“It will send a man pretty high up in the air if he drinks enough of -it,” the mountaineer chuckled. - -“Why don’t you quit it and play fair with the Government?” asked Clay. - -“Sho’, boys,” answered the mountaineer, “I wouldn’t enjoy life if it -wasn’t for the skirmishes I have with the Government officers. Besides, -there ain’t nothing else a man can do in this country. When a man can -make a hundred dollars’ worth of moonshine out of ten dollars’ worth of -corn, and do it with mighty little trouble, what’s the use of his coming -down into the valley and shoveling coal into a steamer for a dollar and -a half a day?” - -The argument was never completed, for at that moment the boys saw the -cabin door open and Teddy, standing erect in a boxing attitude, move -out. He was getting to be quite a good-sized bear now, and he bulked -fierce and heavy against the lights. At first, neither one of the river -thieves on board the _Rambler_ saw him. - -In fact, the first indication Mike had of his presence was when he felt -a sharp claw laid on the arm lying across the gunwale. He turned -quickly, looked for one instant into the pig-like eyes of the bear, and -with a cry which echoed down the river, sprang into the stream. - -“I guess he thought the bear was going to eat him!” Case observed. - -The mountaineer now lay rolling and tumbling on the bank of the river. -The scene had opened so unexpectedly; the bear’s appearance had been so -fierce and intimidating, that he had at first felt a little shiver of -fear, but now he saw that the bear was merely performing tricks he had -been taught While he chuckled, Gid also leaped into the river, and then -he saw Case and Clay, followed by Captain Joe, swimming lustily toward -the _Rambler_. - - - - -CHAPTER IX.—THE THREE BLUE LIGHTS. - - -The entire situation on board the _Rambler_ had not been observed from -the shore. The boys and the mountaineer had seen only Teddy in the -center of the stage, so they had naturally supposed that the swift -departure of the pirates had been occasioned by the sudden appearance of -the grizzly. Had they been in a little different position, they would -have seen Alex and Jule standing in the open doorway of the cabin with -threatening automatics in their hands. - -“Now, that’s a funny proposition,” the mountaineer deliberated, as Clay -and Case clambered to the after deck. “Them pirates are watching the -_Rambler_, and yet they don’t see that the boys are getting possession -of her. They must be a stupid lot.” - -The next minute, however, convinced the mountaineer that he had been -mistaken in his estimate of the intelligence of the pirates. Half a -dozen pistol shots came in quick succession, making little spurts of -water on the surface of the river near the stern of the boat. However, -Clay and Case were soon climbing, dripping with river water, through the -window at the rear of the cabin. - -Still watching from the shore, the mountaineer saw Clay creep up to the -bridge deck which concealed the motors, keeping down below the level of -the gunwale. Bullets from the _Hawk_ continued to spatter about the -motor boat, but seemed to do no damage whatever. - -As those who have read the previous volumes of this series will -understand, the entire exterior walls of the _Rambler_ were sheathed -with bullet-proof steel. This fact, it will be remembered, had preserved -the lives of all the boys during the voyage to the head waters of the -Amazon river. - -Directly the watcher saw the anchor, which had been dropped again when -the boat had taken her position near the shore, lifted and the next -instant, the motor boat went gliding like a shot downstream. - -The moonshiner bent his head forward and rubbed his eyes in wonder. It -was all new to him, this wonderful speed. His acquaintance with motor -boats had consisted almost entirely of a slight knowledge of the large -flat-bottomed scows hardly worthy the name of motor boats. When the -_Rambler_ darted away at a speed not less than twenty miles an hour, it -all seemed to him like magic. - -He stood for a moment on the bank watching the little spurts of flame -shooting from the _Hawk_ and then turned into the thicket with a chuckle -which shook his broad shoulders. - -“Sho’,” he exclaimed, “we mountaineers don’t know much about river -folks, after all. I never knew there was anything on the face of the -earth that could go as fast as that motor boat went.” - -He tramped along in the darkness for a long time and then stopped and -made a small fire, by the side of which he slept until morning. With the -appearance of the day he was out toward the hills, and also forever out -of the lives of those on board the _Rambler_. - -“Now, see here,” Clay suggested as the Rambler speeded beyond reach of -the bullets from the _Hawk_, “we can’t long keep this gait with empty -gasoline tanks.” - -“If we pull in at the landing just below here,” Alex laughed, “we’ll all -get pinched. If you leave it to that old store keeper, we’re pirates, -and Case and I are little rhinoceros birds sent on ahead to see whether -the picking is good.” - -“Well,” Clay continued, “we don’t have to strain the motors right now, -so we’ll keep just enough gasoline burning to give us headway. Perhaps -we’ll strike a more hospitable settlement farther down.” - -“I don’t believe that old fellow had any gasoline to sell, anyhow,” -laughed Case. “If you boys could have seen the rubes fall all over each -other when we pulled our automatics, you’d have nearly died laughing!” - -“Suppose we stop and see how they feel about the matter to-night,” -suggested Alex. “I’d like to drag that constable out of bed!” - -“No use of looking for trouble,” Clay advised. “After all, you must -remember that those fellows have the law on their side.” - -“Yes,” Case declared, “and if they could once get us into jail they’d -keep us there for years. They’re likely good and angry about the way we -bluffed them before their own townspeople.” - -Teddy now came up to where the boys were standing and demanded -appreciation for the part he had played in the recapture of the boat. -Captain Joe, also, advised the boys of his presence by nipping them -quietly on the legs. - -“I know what’s the matter with the menagerie,” Alex exclaimed. “They -haven’t had any supper. And that makes me think,” he went on, making a -dive for the cabin, “that I haven’t had any supper, either.” - -“What are you going to get for supper?” Clay asked, following the boy to -the cabin door. - -“Oh,” Alex replied with a grin which wrinkled his freckled nose, “it’s -almost midnight now, and we’ll just get a light little luncheon.” - -“You make lots of bad breaks trying to talk the English language,” Case -advised. “You mustn’t say ‘luncheon’ unless you have pie. It’s ‘lunch’ -when you don’t have pie, and ‘luncheon’ when you do have pie.” - -“I said ‘luncheon’, didn’t I?” asked Alex. - -“You certainly did,” was the reply. - -“Well,” Alex said, “then we’re going to have pie. - -“The only kind of pie we can have now,” Case objected, “is fish pie. -I’ll go and catch a couple of river perch and you can make a fish pie.” - -“Say, look here,” Alex said, shutting the cabin door in Case’s face and -talking through the glass panel, “what do you know about pie? I suppose -you’ll be wanting me to make a liver pie next.” - -“That would be fine fodder!” laughed Case. “I guess you are joking!” - -“You’ve forgotten about those canned apples,” Alex insisted. “I’m going -to make hot apple pie for our midnight luncheon. And we’re going to have -ham and eggs, and potatoes, and soda biscuit, and a whole lot of good -things.” - -“Go to it!” grinned Case, as he went back on the prow and sat down to -watch the river. - -The boat slipped steadily down with the current for about an hour before -any lights were seen on the Kentucky side. Then Clay got out his map of -the river and they all examined it intently. - -“Here’s the big bend below Brandenburg,” Case said with his finger on -the representation of the river. “Just now, we are free of the big bend, -and so that light on the south bank must be at Wolf Creek.” - -“Je-rusalem!” Jule exclaimed. “The name sounds fierce, all right!” - -“Anyway,” Clay went on, “there’s a little stream enters the Ohio at Wolf -Creek, and we can tie up there until morning. If they haven’t got any -gasoline there, we can shoot over to the Indiana shore as soon as it -gets daylight and see what we can do there.” - -The suggested plan was carried out so far as entering the mouth of Wolf -Creek was concerned. The first thing the boys did, however, was not to -search the few stores the village boasted for gasoline. In the first -place, they did not care to awaken the store keepers, as there was no -necessity for their going on that night. In the second place, they -desired to keep their arrival at the landing as quiet as possible, as -some rumor of the show of arms at the landing above might have filtered -down the river, in which case they would all be regarded with suspicion. - -As soon as the boat was fairly at rest in the mouth of the creek, Alex -opened the cabin door and announced in a joyous voice that dinner was -served “in the dining-car.” - -For the next hour the boys paid little attention to anything save the -bountiful meal provided by their chum. Alex’s soda biscuit and hot apple -pie proved very attractive to the hungry boys. - -“Now then,” Alex declared, walking out on deck after leaving the table, -“I’m going to bed for the night!” - -“You’ve surely earned a little sleep!” Case grinned. “That’s the best -dinner we’ve had in many a day.” - -“Oh, I guess I can go some when it comes to cooking,” laughed Alex, “and -I’ll wake up in shape to cook another good breakfast in the morning.” - -“I’ll be thinking all night what we’re going to have for breakfast,” -Clay suggested. “How did you ever come to think of that hot apple pie?” - -Before Alex could answer the question, Jule caught him by the shoulder -and pointed out to the surface of the river almost directly opposite the -mouth of the creek. - -“What do you know about that?” he asked. - -“About what?” demanded Alex. - -The three blue lights!” answered Jule. - -The other boys were all attention now, but all declared that they could -see no lights whatever. Presently Jule bounded to the top of the -gunwale, steadying himself by the roof of the cabin, and looked toward -the distant Indiana shore. - -“There they are!” he shouted, “There they are! Three blue lights! Now -what do you suppose they mean?” - -“They’re probably in a boat?” Clay asked, tentatively. - -“Nix on the boat!” Jule protested. “They’re just floating right down -flat on top of the wet water.” - -Clay now vaulted to the gunwale and followed the direction of the boy’s -pointing finger. As he did so, a sharp detonation came from the river, -echoing down the stream weirdly, and then the lights he had seen only a -moment before disappeared from view. - -That was the boys’ first experience with the three blue lights! - - - - -CHAPTER X.—ANNIVERSARY OF A WRECK. - - -There was a blank look on Clay’s face as he stepped back to the deck of -the _Rambler_. Jule also showed great excitement as he faced his friend. - -“Did you see them?” the latter asked of Clay. - -“See what?” demanded Alex. - -“The three blue lights!” Jule answered. - -Alex and Case punched each other in the ribs and chuckled. - -“You’re the boy that’s been reading out of the dream book,” the latter -said. - -“Didn’t you see three blue lights right down on the surface of the -river?” asked Jule, again turning to Clay. - -“I certainly did!” the latter answered. - -“Then they’re there yet,” Alex insisted, vaulting to the top of the -gunwale. “They must be there yet, for no boat could disappear so -quickly. I’ll take a look at them myself.” - -“But I tell you they wasn’t in any boat!” insisted Jule. “They were -floating right on the surface of the water—three large and very -brilliant blue lights.” - -“Did you see them, Clay?” asked Alex, scornfully. - -“Yes,” replied Clay, “I did, and they were actually floating directly on -the surface of the river.” - -“Why can’t I see them, then?” demanded Alex from his position on the -gunwale. - -“Because,” laughed Jule, “it is only the eye of the believer that sees. -Clay believed, and he saw.” - -“Honest, Clay?” asked Case. - -“Yes, I saw three blue lights down to the level of the river,” answered -Clay, “and I saw something more. You-all heard the explosion?” he asked. -“Well, when that explosion came, there was a puff of smoke and the -lights went out in a second.” - -“Wasn’t there any one in sight?” asked Alex. - -“No one in sight!” replied Clay. - -“No boat, or anything of that kind?” - -“Not a thing!” shouted Jule. “I tell you those three blue lights came -right up out of the bed of the river. And then there was an explosion, -and they disappeared, just like they’d been winked out. Strangest thing -I ever saw!” - -“Well, that’s enough for me!” Alex declared. “You’ll be seeing green -elephants with blue tails next. I’m going to bed.” - -In a short time all the boys were abed save Jule, who sat on the prow -with Captain Joe and Teddy, the bear. The night had not fulfilled its -promise of rain, and the stars now shone dimly down from a misty sky. It -was very still on the _Rambler_’s deck, for no noises came from the -landing, and there was no wash of the current against the boat. - -The boy was puzzling over the strange appearance and disappearance of -the three blue lights. There was a trace of superstition in the nature -of the boy, and he was half inclined to regard what had been seen as a -manifestation of the supernatural. - -“If Clay hadn’t seen the same thing I did,” he mused, “I wouldn’t have -any trouble making up my mind. Blue lights don’t rise up out of rivers -through human agency.” - -The boys were all astir shortly after daybreak, and Alex went on a -scouting tour up to the little river settlement at the mouth of Wolf -Creek. The _Rambler_ lay only a few feet from a rough pier which had -been spiled out into the stream, so the boys had no difficulty in -reaching the shore. The rowboat, it will be remembered, had been left up -the river when the two boys had set out on their hunting trip. - -Early as it was, the boy found people moving about the one street of the -little town, which lay on the east bank of the creek bearing its own -name. Standing on the rude platform before a small storehouse, the boy -saw two men; one of sober aspect, wearing a long gray beard, and the -other much younger and showing a laughing face under his dilapidated -cap. As he approached the younger man beckoned. - -“What do you want, boy?” he asked. - -“Gasoline,” was the answer. - -The young fellow stepped off the platform and advanced toward the pier -where the _Rambler_ lay. The old man sat down on the platform. - -“Is that your boat?” the young man asked of Alex. - -“Yes, that’s our boat,” replied the boy. “Our gasoline tanks are empty. -Can I buy a supply in town, do you think?” - -“Certainly!” was the answer. “Father keeps it for sale. During the -course of the season a good many motor boats tie up here. We keep all -manner of supplies.” - -“Well, then,” Alex replied, “We’d like to get about a dozen spark plugs. -I don’t think that porcelain insulation is as good as it used to be, for -we break a good many. They go smash at the least little jar.” - -“All right!” the young man replied. “Step up there and tell father what -you want and he’ll open the store now. Are your friends on the boat -awake?” - -“Sure!” replied Alex. “They’re all awake except the bear and the -bulldog.” - -The young man laughed and turned toward the pier, while Alex hastened -toward the place where the old gentleman sat on the store platform. - -The boy explained his wants briefly and the old gentleman unlocked the -battered door of his place of business. It was an uncouth, unpainted, -sidling little store, with broken panes showing in the windows and new -shingles speckling the roof. - -The interior, however, showed considerable care in the arrangement of -goods and the stock seemed to be large and of good quality. Without -making any pretense of waiting on the boy, the old dealer, who -introduced himself as Martin Groger, seated himself in a much whittled -arm chair and pointed Alex to another. - -“Boy,” he said with a very serious expression of countenance, “did you -sleep in the motor boat at the mouth of Wolf Creek last night?” - -“Part of the night,” answered Alex. - -“What did you hear along after midnight, say an hour or two after -midnight?” - -“Nothing special,” answered the boy. - -“Did you hear anything that sounded like an explosion?” the old man went -on, “—something like the explosion of a boiler?” - -“Why, I heard something of that kind,” Alex replied, wondering what the -old gentleman was getting at. “Did you hear that, too?” - -“Yes, I heard it,” answered the old gentleman, drawing his long beard -through his fingers and fixing his grave eyes on those of the lad. “Yes, -I heard it,” he repeated, “and I’ve heard it a good many nights when -there wasn’t any one else awake to hear it—when there wasn’t any one -else astir in the village but me, and no boat tied up at the mouth of -Wolf Creek. Did you see anything?” he added eagerly. - -“What would you expect me to see?” asked Alex, with a smile. - -“I ain’t saying anything about that,” replied the old gentleman. “I’m -asking you a plain simple question. Did you see anything just before -that explosion?” - -“No, I didn’t,” the boy answered, “but two of my chums did.” - -The merchant leaned forward with suspicion in his eyes. - -“You’re not lying about this?” he asked. - -“I would have no object in doing that.” - -“Then tell me what you saw.” - -“Two of my chums saw three blue lights floating on the surface of the -river—at least that’s what they said.” - -“And this was just before the explosion?” queried the old man. - -“The lights disappeared after the explosion,” Alex explained. “Do you -know anything about them?” he asked. - -“Boy,” the old man exclaimed, moving about in his chair excitedly, “your -chums have seen what only one person in this section has ever been able -to locate.” - -“Why,” Alex declared, “any one, I guess, might have seen the lights. The -boys said they stuck out from the river like a sore thumb.” - -“Just so!” answered the old gentleman, eagerly. “Just so! Now let me -tell you something about those blue lights,” he went on. “I’ve seen them -time and time again, but the people hereabouts always deny seeing them.” - -“Isn’t that remarkable?” asked Alex. - -“There’s my son Charles, now,” continued the old man. “I’ve tried to -point them out to him, but he says they don’t exist. Flings out at his -old father just like that. Says they don’t exist!” - -“How often do they appear?” asked the boy. - -“I haven’t heard of their being about before last night for several -months,” answered the old merchant. “I was in hopes they’d never be seen -here again.” - -“What’s the matter with ’em?” asked Alex. - -“Matter enough,” was the reply. “They bring disaster!” - -“Alex restrained a burst of laughter with difficulty, but finally -managed to face the old gentleman gravely. - -“Bring disaster, do they?” he asked. - -“Indeed they do!” was the reply. “Whenever the ghosts of the river dead -walk on the surface of the water, it means trouble for all river -dwellers.” - -“Many years ago,” the old man continued, “the _Mary Ann_, as trim a -passenger packet as ever sailed between Cincinnati and the Mississippi, -blew her boilers all to flinders right opposite the mouth of Wolf Creek. -There were two hundred passengers on board and they were dancing when -the explosion took place.” - -“The deck where they were amusing themselves was lighted by three blue -lights! Ever since that night, the three blue lights have warned of -impending calamity.” - -“So you think they’re ghost lights, do you?” asked Alex. - -“I know they are!” replied the old merchant. “And I’ll tell you why. -Those lights never fail to appear on the anniversary of the wrecking of -the boat. - -“The Mary Ann went down ten years ago to-night, and on every anniversary -of the drowning of those two hundred people, the three blue lights are -seen rising over the exact place where she sank.” - -“That’s remarkable!” exclaimed the boy. - -“Those who were drowned,” the merchant continued, “went down in their -sins. They were dancing to the devil’s music when they sank. Their -bodies rest uneasily on the bottom of the river, for none of them were -ever found.” - -“Why, that’s singular!” Alex remarked. “It would seem that the bodies -might have been recovered.” - -“They never have been found,” was the reply. “River men say they were -carried off by an undercurrent and whirled down into the Mississippi, -but I believe the bodies are in there yet.” - -“And every anniversary of their death, they show three blue lights, do -they?” asked the boy wonderingly. - -“Three blue lights!” said the old man, “and after the three blue lights, -the explosion. I have watched for the lights and the noise every night -for nine years and I have never failed to see and hear.” - -“And trouble always comes after the exhibition?” queried the boy. “Then -there is another mystery for the crew of the _Rambler_ to solve.” - - - - -CHAPTER XI.—CATCHING BIG CATFISH. - - -On his way back to the _Rambler_ after his rather remarkable -conversation with the old merchant, Alex met Clay and the old man’s son -hastening toward the store. - -“It’s all right!” Clay announced to the boy. “They’ve just got in a big -stock of gasoline, and we’ll fill all the tanks and buy a few red cans -on the side.” - -“And for the love of Mike,” Alex interposed, “buy about a peck of spark -plugs. And say,” he called out as Clay mounted the little platform in -front of the place of business, “buy a couple of fish lines that would -bring a freight car out of the water, and the right kind of hooks to go -with them.” - -“What’s the idea?” Clay called back. - -“Well, you just bring the hooks and lines and I’ll show you where the -idea is,” replied the boy. - -When Alex reached the deck of the _Rambler_ he found Case and Jule busy -over a great stack of pancakes. One was spreading them thick with honey -and the other was making them more eatable by the use of bacon gravy. -Eggs were frying in the skillet over the stove and a great pot of coffee -was simmering on the electric coils. - -“Whew!” shouted the boy, sticking his nose into the cabin, “you fellows -smell good in here.” - -“Yes,” Case laughed, “and you took good care that you didn’t help -produce the fragrance which pervades this apartment.” - -“I got supper last night,” pleaded Alex. - -“That’s all right,” Jule cut in, “it was your turn to get breakfast this -morning, too. You know what we all agreed to when we left Chicago on the -first trip. The boy that talked slang had to cook the meals and wash the -dishes.” - -“Aw, when did I talk slang?” demanded Alex. - -“You’ve been talking slang for a week!” Case declared. - -“What’d I say?” demanded Alex, scornfully. - -“You said one of those river pirates was balmy in the head,” answered -Jule. “You’re always making some break like that. If I had a twirler -like that you carry around with you, and couldn’t keep it under any -better control than you do yours, I’d throw the belt off the wheels.” - -“I know who’ll cook meals and wash dishes now,” laughed Alex. “When it -comes to talking slang, you’ve got me backed up on a blind siding with -my fires drawn.” - -“Go to it, boys!” roared Case. “Go to it. Get it all off your chests, -and I won’t have to do any work for a month.” - -Alex was soon busy at the breakfast table, and when Clay returned with a -great load of gasoline and provisions from the store, everything was -neatly cleared away in the little cabin. - -“There!” Clay said, throwing a great package at Alex’s, head, “there’s -your fish line and your fish hooks, and for fear you’d want to use the -coal stove or one of the motors for a sinker, I brought along a section -of railroad iron. I guess that’ll hold your line.” - -As the boy spoke, he threw about four inches of steel railway iron down -on the deck with a great thud. - -“What did that old gentleman at the store say to you about the three -blue lights?” asked Alex, as Clay prepared to get the boat under way. -“Did he have a ghost story to spin?” - -“He didn’t say a word to me about the three blue lights,” Clay replied. -“We didn’t have any time to talk about such things, and we haven’t any -time now, so you fellows just get up here and help fill these tanks.” - -All four boys were busy in a moment and young Groger from the store -assisted materially in getting the gasoline on board. - -In less than an hour all was ready for departure. The young merchant -shook the boys heartily by the hand and asked them to call if they -returned home by way of the river. - -“Oh, we’ll come back all right,” Alex called out. “At least, I’m coming -back. I’m bound to know something more about those three blue lights. -I’m the original mystery investigator!” - -“So father told you about that, did he?” queried young Groger. - -“Of course, he did!” Alex replied. “He couldn’t talk about anything -else. He seemed to be glad that Clay and Jule saw the three blue lights. -I guess he’s got an idea that the people around here think he’s been -talking about something that never existed.” - -“I’m afraid he is,” replied the young man. “He’s always talking about -the three blue lights and the wreck of the _Mary Ann_, and the -explosion, and all that, but he’s the only one about here who ever saw -the lights or heard the explosion.” - -“Well, you’re mistaken there!” replied Alex. “Clay saw them last night -and Jule saw them, and all four of us heard the explosion.” - -Watching the young man’s face closely as he stepped ashore, Clay thought -that he saw a sudden pallor come over it. The son was evidently as fully -superstitious as his father. - -“Now, what did the old merchant tell you about the three blue lights?” -demanded Jule, as the boat swung off down the river. - -In as few words as possible Alex explained the mystery of the three blue -lights according to the aged merchant’s theory. - -“Well,” Jule said, after a moment’s thought, “the three blue lights did -bob up out of the river. There wasn’t anything there to keep them -floating down with the current, or to sustain them on the surface. And,” -he went on, “there wasn’t anything there to cause an explosion.” - -“Ho!” Alex scorned. “You’ll be saying next, that you believe in the -ghost story! Now, just to show you that there’s nothing to it,” he -continued, “I move that we come back up the river after a time and find -out where those blue lights come from, and where they go to.” - -“What do you say to that, Clay?” asked Jule. - -“You needn’t ask me whether I’m interested or not,” Clay replied. “I’ve -been thinking about those three blue lights a whole lot. I don’t believe -in ghosts, or superstitions of any kind, but I do believe that there is -something significant about those lights.” - -“Then it’s settled that we’ll return and investigate?” Alex asked. - -The boys all replied in the affirmative and then Alex opened the package -Clay had brought him and unrolled his fish lines, which looked more like -cables than anything else. Case and Jule laughed until they found it -necessary to hold their sides. - -Clay looked on with an amused expression on his face. He knew that Alex -usually had a pretty good reason for anything he did, and was expecting -something novel and original. He was not disappointed. - -Paying no attention whatever to the jeers of his chums, Alex bent the -great hooks to the cable-like line, took a turn with each around the -section of railroad iron, and moved the whole contraption to the stern. - -“Now, you fellows help me to get these lines in right,” he commanded. -“It wants one boy to a line so they won’t get tangled when I dump this -sinker in. Hurry up now, we want this fish.” - -“Sinker?” repeated Jule. “I thought your idea was to build a submarine -railroad.” - -“Fish!” laughed Case. “What kind of fish do you expect to catch with -that layout? That won’t catch fish!” - -“Huh!” answered Alex. “If I had a book containing all you boys don’t -know about catching fish, I’d have to rent the Coliseum in Chicago to -put it in. You boys mean well, but you’re ignorant.” - -“Where’re you going to put this fish after you get it?” demanded Jule, -snickering. “We haven’t got any contract for feeding any state troops, -have we? What do you want a big fish for, anyway?” - -Alex merely thrust his hands inside the waist band of his trousers and -grinned. - -“I’ve got plenty of storage room,” he finally declared. - -“Honest, now, Alex,” Clay asked, “what kind of a fish do you expect to -catch?” - -“Catfish!” was the short reply. - -“Wow!” exclaimed Jule. “I wouldn’t eat a catfish any quicker than I -would eat a cat.” - -“What are you putting all that weight on the lines for?” asked Case. - -“It’ll sink the hooks into the mud about a foot,” Jule put in. - -“Sure it will!” continued Case. “And catfish are never found at the -bottom of the river. They call them catfish because they climb up on -things.” - -“You’re the wise little fisher boy,” laughed Alex. “A catfish couldn’t -climb to the surface of the river if they had an electric elevator. They -live in the mud and eat in the mud. After they get a square meal, they -stretch out on a bed of silt like a cat on a sitting room floor. Now get -these lines over and I’ll show you what a real catfish looks like.” - -The boys took the lines into their hands and leaned over the stern. Alex -with the iron poised in air stopped suddenly and laid it down on deck. - -“I guess I need a little instruction myself,” he said. “You can’t catch -catfish by trolling for them. You’ve got to let the line lay wiggling -from a weight in the mud of the river.” - -The boy rushed back to the motors, shut off the power, and then dropped -the anchor. - -“Now, boys,” he said, “if you’ll all get back into the cabin and remain -quiet, I’ll coax a catfish two feet long out of the river.” - -“You have my sympathy,” Case answered, “and I’ll help you all I can. -I’ll go back into the cabin and make a noise like a dish of cream.” - -Regarding Case’s offer as light and trifling, Alex got his lines into -the water and sat down to await results. - -“I don’t know,” he said after a while, “but I ought to have waited until -we came under that wooded island just ahead. Catfish have a way of -hovering in the mud around the towheads.” - -“We can drop down if you think best,” Clay proposed. - -“Just you wait a minute!” Alex exclaimed all excitement, “I’ve got a -bite right now. Two bites!” he yelled the next moment. “Both lines are -running out! Catch one, quick!” - -The boy’s announcement that the lines were moving out brought his three -chums instantly to the front. Case and Jule both grabbed for the same -line, with the result that the tops of their heads came together with a -thud and the line continued to wiggle along the deck. Clay stepped on -the moving line and Alex seized it. - -The boy now held a line in each hand and was drawn tightly against the -after gunwale. - -“Hold on, Alex, hold on!” shouted Case. - -“Pull ’em in, pull ’em in!” yelled Jule. - -“You bet I’ll hold on!” panted Alex. “Why don’t you boys catch on to the -line?” - -The boy sprang for the lines again, but their fingers met only the bare -deck. Alex, hanging on like grim death, stood for a moment with his feet -braced against the gunwale and then went head-first into the river. - -“Great spoons!” Jule exclaimed. “Talk about catfish! I’ll bet he’s got a -team of wild colts at the end of those lines!” - -Alex, hanging to the lines, went bobbing down the stream. - - - - -CHAPTER XII.—THE GHOST OF THE MARY ANN. - - -“Don’t loose your fish!” jeered Jule, leaning over the gunwale, his face -red with laughter. - -“What do you think you are?” called Case. “A blooming pilot?” - -Alex could make no headway swimming in the direction of the boat, for -the creatures he had hooked were pulling him, iron and all, toward the -Indiana shore. Now and then the boy was drawn beneath the surface and -came up spluttering, but still grimly holding to the lines. - -“Why don’t the little idiot let go?” asked Jule as the boy’s head -disappeared under water for the third or fourth time. - -“He’ll never let go!” Case exclaimed. “Why don’t we get the _Rambler_ -under motion and pick him up?” - -The motor boat was soon racing toward the boy. Alex was still hanging to -his fish lines, and the catfish, or whatever was at the other end, were -making fast for the center of the stream. - -It took some moments to reach the boy, and more time to land him on -deck, for he still persisted in hanging on to the fish lines. - -Not until the thick lines were securely fastened to a deck cleat would -the boy release his hold. - -“Now,” Clay laughed, “if anybody can find a derrick, we’ll get these -fish on board.” - -“Aw, those are not fish,” Jule exclaimed, “they’re alligators!” - -“Whatever they are,” Alex grinned, “I didn’t let ’em get away with me! -They ducked me, but they didn’t get away!” - -“Well,” Clay said in a moment, observing that the lines had ceased to -move about in the water, “your fish must be pretty well tired out by -this time, so we’ll take them ashore.” - -“All right!” Alex replied. “While you’re towing them to a shallow place, -I’ll go and get on some dry clothes.” - -When at last the motor boat drew the hooks and the sinker to a shallow -spot on the Kentucky side, the boys saw two monstrous catfish squirming -weakly. In grabbing for the raw beef with which the hooks had been -baited, they had been caught far back in the jaws, so no amount of -pulling could have released them. - -“They’re alive yet!” shouted Jule. - -“I’ll fix that in a minute!” Alex declared, appearing on deck in a dry -suit. “I’ll administer a couple of lead pills which will cure the ills -of life.” - -“Hear him talk Shakespeare!” jeered Jule. - -Alex considered this remark too immaterial to notice. He leveled his -automatic at the fish and fired a volley at their heads. - -“Now, where’s that derrick?” asked Case. - -As the fish were nearly two yards in length, it was evident that only -one need be brought aboard for food, so one was sent sailing down the -stream and the other was, with no little difficulty, lifted to the deck. -Alex danced about his prize joyously. - -“Why, look here!” Case exclaimed. “This fish hasn’t got any scales!” - -“Do you think I’ve been going through all this to get a sturgeon?” asked -Alex. “I should think not!” - -“The catfish,” Clay explained, “belongs to the bullhead tribe, and has a -hard, tough hide instead of scales.” - -“Is it good to eat?” asked Jule. - -“Of course it’s good to eat,” answered Alex. “Do you think I’d go to the -floor of the river with a fish that wasn’t fit to eat?” - -“I’d like to know why they call these things catfish,” Case exclaimed, -turning the monster with his foot. - -“Huh!” snickered Jule. “They have back fences at the bottom of the -river, and these fish climb up and give midnight concerts.” - -“Jule,” said Alex gravely, “your imagination seems to be getting the -best of your conscience. If we had an Ananias club on board this boat, -you surely would be the Perpetual Grand.” - -“All right,” Jule said, “when you get a club formed I’ll take the -office. But who’s going to cook this fish?” he went on. - -“I’ll cook him if you’ll skin him,” Case offered. “We want only a few -pounds of catfish steak,” Clay observed. - -“I’m going to boil about half of him!” Alex declared, “so as to give -Captain Joe and Teddy the feast of their lives.” - -“It’s a wonder Captain Joe didn’t jump into the river after you when the -fish invited you down into the mud,” Jule laughed. - -“Captain Joe and the bear were both asleep in the cabin,” Case -explained. - -The boys had a merry time preparing that fish for cooking. It is not -hard work to dress a catfish if you know how, but these boys did not -know how. At last, however, a great hunk was boiling in a pot and slices -were ready for frying. By noon the meal was ready, and the boys all -admitted that Alex’s, catfish was a very good substitute for salmon, -although nothing at all like it in appearance. - -The boys drifted slowly on the river that day, taking in the wild -scenery and stopping now and then at cosy little landings on the -Kentucky side. It was a warm, clear day in September, and the world -never looked brighter to them than it did at that time. - -They passed river craft of all shapes and sizes during the day. There -were monstrous steamers having the appearance of floating hotels, there -were great freight boats loaded to the guards, there were house-boats, -motor boats, and great coal tows which dominated the stream as they -passed. - -“There’s a boat,” Clay said just before twilight, “which looks to me -like a river saloon and I think those on board are watching the -_Rambler_.” - -“If it is,” Case suggested, “we’d better take to our heels. We don’t -want any more experience with river pirates.” - -“I should say not!” broke in Alex. “Those fellows don’t own the river. -We’ve got just as much right here as they have. If they try to come -aboard, we’ll set Teddy on them.” - -The suspicious steamer checked her speed as the boys slowed down on the -_Rambler_, and it was soon evident that those in charge of the whiskey -boat were desirous of speaking with the boys. - -“Hello, boys!” called a voice from the cabin deck of the steamer. - -“Hello, yourself!” Alex called back. - -“How’s the bear?” asked the voice. - -“Fine!” Alex answered. - -“What do you know about our bear?” Case demanded. - -“I was on the _Hawk_ last night,” was the reply. - -“Did you see those two men head for the water?” Jule asked with a -snicker. - -“Funniest thing I ever saw!” the other answered. - -There was a short silence and then another voice called out from the -steamer: - -“Why don’t you boys come on board?” - -“Nothing doing!” answered Clay. - -“Some of our people want a look at the dog and bear!” the first speaker -said. “So, if you don’t object, we’ll come on board.” - -“No, you don’t!” Clay answered. - -“We’ll see about that!” came from the boat. - -The steamer shot ahead so as to come up to the port side of the -_Rambler_. - -“Keep off!” ordered Clay. “We don’t want any of that whiskey crowd on -board! If you try to put foot on our deck, we’ll shoot.” - -“I guess not!” laughed the other. - -While Clay had been talking with those on board the steamer, Case had -been at work with the motors, and the _Rambler_ now shot ahead at full -speed, drawing swiftly away from the steamer. - -There was an instant commotion on the deck of the saloon boat and then -she, too, shot ahead at a good rate of speed. - -Given a clear stretch of water, the _Rambler_ would soon have been out -of sight of the steamer, but on turning a bend, a monster coal tow came -into view. There were rows on rows of barges heaped high with coal, all -headed for the Mississippi. In the rear was a gamey tug swinging from -side to side in order to keep the fleet under control. - -“Now we are up against it!” exclaimed Clay. “We never can get by those -barges!” - -“How do the steamers get by?” asked Jule. - -“They don’t get by at all when the coal tow is passing around a narrow -bend like that!” was the answer. - -“Well, what are we going to do?” Alex asked. “Let those fellows come on -board here and eat us up?” - -“If there weren’t so many people on board that saloon boat,” Case -declared, “I’d dynamite it. She ought to be blown out of the water, -anyway. We can’t be bothered all the way down with these whiskey boats!” - -“We shall be if we don’t make a record in some way!” Clay said. “I move -we run into the little creek there on the Indiana shore and shoot if -they come near us.” - -“Say!” Alex said in a moment. “That isn’t a creek at all. Don’t you see -that the main river is on the other side of it? That’s a big island with -a lagoon in the middle, and an opening on the upper end.” - -“That’s not the main river on the other side!” Case observed. “It is -wide, but it looks shallow. If it was the main river, we could pass -through there and so get in ahead of the coal tow.” - -“Well, then, suppose we run into the lagoon,” suggested Alex. - -It was now quite dark, and the lights of the saloon boat showed that -those on board were holding some sort of conference with those on board -the tug in charge of the tow. The boats were some distance apart, yet -even in the gathering darkness the boys could see the crew of the barges -racing over the coal in order to do business with the bartender on the -steamer. - -“Before morning,” Case observed, “those saloon pirates will have every -dollar there is in that bunch of rivermen. I wish there was some way to -separate the two crews. - -“What do we care?” laughed Alex. “Either bunch would rob us if they -could.” - -“Now,” Clay said in a moment, “turn the boat in toward the entrance to -the lagoon, keep all the lights off, and let her drift. They’ll think -we’ve gone downstream on the other side of the island.” - -“That lagoon looks pretty good to me,” Jule observed. “I feel like I -hadn’t had any sleep for a week. We’ll just tie right up in that little -pond and sleep all we want to.” - -“That will be a nice place to tie up!” laughed Case. “Alex won’t run any -risk of being towed down the Mississippi if he goes fishing again.” - -And so, with no lights showing, the _Rambler_, under the impetus of the -last push of the propeller, glided noiselessly into the mouth of the -lagoon. Both arms of the island were heavily wooded and in a moment, the -boys were out of sight of the tow and the saloon boat. It was dark and -still along both shores of the lagoon. Wild birds settling for the night -called to each other across the narrow stretch of water, but otherwise -all was silent. - -“Nice and quiet,” Jule declared, “but just look ahead there, if you -will. You can all see the three blue lights, now, if you want to! The -ghost of the _Mary Ann_ must have lost his bearings.” - - - - -CHAPTER XIII.—EXPLORING A LAGOON. - - -“Are those blue lights on the water or on the shore?” asked Clay. - -“You can search me!” Alex replied. - -“They’re on the water!” insisted Jule. “Can’t you see the blue gleam -shining on the waves?” - -“Wherever they are,” Clay said, “I’m going down and investigate.” - -“That’s a good idea,” said Alex. “We’ll go down and see what the ghost -of the _Mary Ann_ has to say for himself.” - -“I was thinking of taking Captain Joe for company,” Clay laughed. - -“All right,” Alex grinned, “go on with Captain Joe if you want to.” - -“I’m afraid two will make too much noise making their way through the -thickets,” Clay said thoughtfully. - -“How are you going to get ashore?” asked Alex, briefly. - -“I’m going to pole the _Rambler_ up close enough so I can jump,” was the -answer. - -“I guess you can do that all right,” Case cut in. “This water seems to -me to be about fifty feet deep.” - -“This is an odd looking island,” Jule observed. “The land seems to be -shaped like a horse shoe.” - -“There are numerous odd-shaped islands in the Mississippi and Ohio -rivers. You can see easily enough how this peculiar formation came -about,” Clay observed, “some forest fire burned the timber out of the -center of the island. When the roots and stumps died out, the river -carried the soil away. If the big trees on the two arms of the island -should be cut down, the river would eat the soil away in a very short -time.” - -“Well, what are you going to do when you get over to shore?” asked Alex. - -“I’m going to sneak down to where the lights show, and see what it is -that makes them.” - -“All right,” Alex said with an aggrieved air, “while you’re out having -fun with the blue lights and the dog I’ll go to bed.” - -“Oh, come along if you want to,” Clay laughed. - -“No,” Alex replied more cheerfully, “I think I’ll go to bed. You boys -can blunder around all night if you want to.” - -The boy made his way to the cabin, and Clay warped the boat toward the -north shore. In a few moments the keel seemed to strike bottom and then -the boy examined the bank with a searchlight. All was clear so he sprang -lightly across the narrow stretch of water and disappeared in the -darkness. - -The three blue lights were still observable not far from two hundred -yards from the boat. They lay in a straight line up and down the lagoon. - -The boys heard Clay making his way through the thicket for a few -moments, and then all sounds on the shore ceased. - -“I don’t believe he’ll find anything in there,” Jule said. - -“Then what makes those lights?” demanded Case. - -“The old merchant up at Wolf Creek told us what made the three blue -lights,” chuckled Jule. - -“I just believe,” Case replied, “that that is some signal.” - -“What would be the use of a signal, out in the middle of the river -opposite Wolf Creek?” demanded Jule. - -“I can’t explain it,” Case answered, “but it’s a signal, just the same. -It just can’t be anything else.” - -“And what would be the use of a signal in this little old shut-in -lagoon?” continued Jule. - -“Then if it isn’t a signal, what is it?” asked Case. - -“It’s just some natural phenomenon,” was the reply. “When Clay gets down -there he won’t see anything at all. It may be that you can’t see the -lights from any direction except this! You’ve seen wandering lights in -swamps, haven’t you? Well, it’s my idea that this is that kind of a -light.” - -“We may know something more about it when Clay comes back,” Case -suggested. “He may find out what it means.” - -While the boys sat on the deck watching the mysterious lights with -puzzled eyes, there came a quick, sharp explosion and the lights -disappeared. The explosion sounded like the touching off of dynamite. - -Both boys arose to their feet and leaned over the gunwale of the boat, -gazing down the lagoon with mystified faces. - -“Alex went to bed too early!” Case suggested. - -“Yes, he should have seen that little old Fourth of July celebration,” -Jule replied. “Let’s wake him up and tell him about it.” - -“You wake him up,” Case answered. - -Jule made his way into the cabin and felt around on the bunk occupied by -the boy. Teddy, the bear cub, lay there sound asleep but Alex had -disappeared! Jule returned to the deck with a grin. - -“That little idiot,” he said, “has left the boat again.” - -“We might have known he would!” answered Case. “He runs away from the -boat in the night every time he gets a chance, especially if Clay is -ashore. They’ll both be back here before long.” - -“Clay probably will,” Jule observed, “but we don’t know when Alex will -return. We usually have to get him out of some scrape.” - -In the meantime Clay was pushing steadily through the thicket which -lined the north arm of the peculiar-shaped island. For some moments he -guided his steps by the blue lights which seemed to him to rest upon the -water. Then came the explosion which the boys had heard and the lights -were no longer in view. - -“Now that’s a funny proposition,” the boy mused. “Why should those -lights be hidden in this out of the way lagoon, and why should they pop -out like that?” - -Captain Joe, following close at the boy’s heels, now forced his way -through the underbrush to the water’s edge and began uttering a series -of low growls. Clay whistled softly but the dog refused to return. In a -moment he ceased his verbal demonstrations and lay still, looking across -the lagoon to the other shore. - -“What’s the matter with you, Captain Joe?” Clay demanded in a whisper. -“If you see some one who might have produced those lights, why don’t you -say so? And don’t make so much noise about it, either!” - -The dog advanced a few feet into the water until his shoulders were well -covered and then backed out again. All this time his snarling muzzle was -directed toward the opposite bank. - -Directly he came out of the lagoon and crouched down at Clay’s feet. - -“There’s something going on here, dog,” Clay whispered, patting Captain -Joe on the head, “and we’ll just settle down right here and find out -what it is. All you’ve got to do in order to help out is to keep still.” - -The dog nodded his head knowingly, and the two crouched down in the -darkness of the thicket to listen and to watch. - -While they waited, the lights of the _Rambler_ showed farther up, and -Clay understood that something unusual was in progress there. - -“They might as well invite that saloon boat to come sailing in here as -to turn on those lights!” Clay muttered. “There must be something -serious or they never would illuminate the _Rambler_ in that way.” - -Captain Joe now began moving restlessly about, and finally started up -the lagoon toward the motor boat. Clay followed slowly, and soon came -within the circle of light from the deck. He found Case and Jule looking -over the gunwale. - -“Why don’t you put out the lights?” he asked. - -“We turned them on to direct you boys home,” was the reply. - -“You boys home?” repeated Clay. - -“Yes, you boys!” answered Jule. “Alex jumped out about as soon as you -left. Did you see him anywhere?” - -“I don’t think he came out on this side” Clay replied. - -“If he didn’t,” Jule went on, “he’s in some mixup over on the south arm. -There’s doings of some kind over there.” - -“How do you know?” asked Clay. - -“Because, just a few moments after we discovered that the boy had gone, -a large rowboat came in at the mouth of the lagoon, passed along our -port side and ducked into the bank some distance down. We couldn’t see -her, of course, only just for a second as she came opposite us, and then -only indistinctly, but we could hear her when she landed.” - -“The question before the house now,” Case observed, “is about getting -you on board again. You can jump from the gunwale to the shore but you -can’t jump from the shore back to the gunwale.” - -“There’s a long board under the forward deck between the storage bins,” -Clay answered. “Get that out and I’ll climb it.” - -The board was brought, and Clay was soon on deck. The first thing he did -was to turn off the lights. - -“What did you do that for?” asked Case. “Alex never will find his way -back here in the darkness!” - -“Alex can hide in some thicket until we find out what’s going on,” Clay -answered. “As for the _Rambler_, we want to drift down so those in the -boat won’t know exactly where she lies.” - -The boat drifted down on the sluggish current of the lagoon for perhaps -two hundred yards, and then the anchor was dropped at a point very near -to where the three blue lights had shown. - -“Now, we’ll keep as quiet as three bugs in a rug till we find out what’s -going on,” Clay said. - -“What did you find out about the lights?” asked Jule. - -“They went out before I got to them,” Clay answered. - -“What do you think about them?” Jule insisted. - -“I don’t think!” was the reply. - -“Case insists that they are merely signals,” Jule went on. - -“That’s my idea, too,” Clay answered. “The lights certainly do not come -up out of the water.” - -“But who would be signaling in this lonely old lagoon?” demanded Jule. - -“That’s what we don’t know,” Clay returned. “All we’ve got to do is to -lie here and watch.” - -“Say!” Case exclaimed in a moment. “What did you do with Captain Joe?” - -“Why, he was right there when I came on board,” Clay replied. “I thought -he came up the long plank right after me.” - -“Well, he didn’t?” Case went on. “I took in the board after you came up, -and the dog was nowhere in sight.” - -“I’m glad of that!” answered Clay. “I certainly am glad of that!” - -“I don’t see any good reason for celebrating the disappearance of the -dog!” growled Case. - -“I do!” Jule cut in. “Captain Joe will go and find Alex.” - -“Sure he will!” admitted Case. “I never thought of that.” - -The three boys sat for a long time on the deck of the motor boat looking -out into the darkness. Now and then they heard the sound of rustling -bushes on the shores, but as a rule the scene was very still. It must -have been near midnight when Jule caught his chums by their arms and -drew them closer to the port gunwale. - -“There,” he said, nodding his head to the west, “there are the three -blue lights. They are close to the south arm of the island this time. -Now what do you make of it?” - -“Let’s wait and see if they blow up like the others did,” suggested -Case. “They, too, may explode with a loud noise.” - -“What else can we do?” chuckled Jule. - -“There’s only one thing we can do,” Clay advised, “if we want to settle -this mystery right here and now, and that is to turn on the motors and -shoot down there like a rocket.” - -“I’m for it!” Jule declared. “Let’s ram the ghost out of the water!” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV.—CAPTAIN JOE HELPS SOME. - - -Alex did not remain long in the cabin of the _Rambler_ after Clay’s -departure. His two chums were seated on the prow of the boat, and the -lights were out, so he had little difficulty in dropping unobserved into -the water. Before leaving the cabin, he had drawn on an old suit of -clothes used for just such purposes, so he did not mind getting wet. - -Once in the water, he struck out for the south arm of the island. It was -his idea that the coal tow and the saloon boat would hover about that -spot for some little time. Those who had whiskey to sell would be sure -to keep in the company of the tow, and those who had the whiskey thirst -would be pretty apt to rush on board the steamer for the purpose of -satisfying it. - -The boy, of course, did not understand that the tug in charge of the -barges could not have held them against the push of the current in any -event. His idea that the tow and the saloon boat would keep company, -however, was the correct one. - -Almost as soon as his feet came in contact with the sloping shore of the -south arm, he heard shouts of laughter coming across the wooded stretch -of land between the lagoon and the main channel of the river. Proceeding -on as rapidly as was possible in the darkness, he soon came to a -position from which he could see the lights of the steamer. She was -standing perfectly still some distance down the stream from the mouth of -the lagoon, and the tug and barges seemed to have halted, too. - -Directly he saw lights flashing along the barges and heard exclamations -of anger and dismay from the front ranks. Then he saw what had taken -place. The crew of the tow had paid too much attention to whiskey and -too little to navigation. - -The front line had grounded at a bend just below, and the others were -piling against them. Even with his limited knowledge of river work, the -boy saw that it would be hours before the barges could be towed off the -bar. A good many of the men supposed to be in charge of the tow were -still drinking on board the saloon boat. - -“That’s always the way with whiskey,” Alex said. “It jumps into the -places where it can make the most trouble. “If I ever take a drink of -the stuff, I hope I’ll get five years for every drop I swallow. A person -who drinks whiskey is no good, anyway, and might as well be in prison as -anywhere else.” - -There was now a great commotion on board the steamer, and the boy saw -that those in charge of the tow were forcing their unruly employes back -to their duty. Directly the steamer anchored a short distance up the -river. The barges which were grounded were detached from the main tow, -and the whole mass went swinging down the river again, followed by -shouts of laughter from the steamer. - -“Now,” mused the boy, “I wonder whether that pirate boat will keep on -after the tow in order to get what little money those poor fools have -left, or whether it will be kept here in the hope of annexing the -_Rambler_?” - -The question was answered in a moment, for the steamer edged in close to -the shore and threw out an anchor. - -“That’s fine!” Alex muttered. “Now they’ll be running over this island -to find the _Rambler_, caught like a rat in a trap. I’m glad they -haven’t got sense enough to run up and block the lagoon!” - -The lights of the steamer made a fair illumination on the bank where -Alex lay, and directly he saw a boat put out and head for the very -thicket which concealed him. He crept softly back toward the interior -and waited for developments. When the boat touched the shore two men -stepped out and pressed through the thicket toward the lagoon. - -“This is foolishness,” the boy heard one of the men say. “I tell you, -Bostock,” he went on, “that the motor boat made the north passage and -went on down the river while we were fooling with that tow crowd.” - -“I don’t believe it, Davis,” was the reply. “They just doused their -lights and dropped into the lagoon. I was watching the river and no -lights showed below the island.” - -“Well,” Davis said, “we can soon find out. It isn’t far from here to the -lagoon, though it’s mighty unpleasant traveling in the night time. You -may be right, but I don’t believe it.” - -The two men passed within six feet of where Alex lay, concealed, and as -soon as the thicket closed behind them, he crept along in their wake. As -the men made considerable noise themselves, he figured that they would -not be likely to hear any racket he might make. - -In fifteen minutes the three reached the highest point on the island, -from which, in daylight, both the main channel of the river and the -lagoon might be seen. Just at the moment they came within sight of the -inner channel the lights flared out on the _Rambler_. - -Alex restrained an exclamation of disgust with great difficulty. - -“The confounded idiots!” he said under his breath. “To go and light -those lamps at this time! Why, we crawled in there to hide!” - -“There!” the boy heard the man who had been called Bostock exclaim, “I -told you the motor boat had made for the lagoon!” - -“Well, you were right,” was the reply. - -“Now, all we’ve got to do,” Bostock went on, “is to run the steamer up -to the mouth of the lagoon and nail these boys in good and tight.” - -“That’s right,” the other answered, “and once we get hold of that motor -boat there isn’t a thing we can’t do on this river. I’ve heard of the -exploits of those boys all the way down from Pittsburg. That boat is -built with the motors of a sea-going tug, and can outrun anything on the -river. Besides that, unless I am greatly mistaken, the cabin and the -deck under the gunwales are bullet-proof.” - -“Right you are!” Bostock answered. “There isn’t a thing we can’t do -after we get hold of that boat, but what are we going to do with the -boys?” - -“We’ll have to make some arrangements for keeping them out of the way,” -Davis suggested. “If they put up a fight, well, the lagoon is a pretty -good place to leave them.” - -“Now, then,” mused Alex, “the thing for me to do is to shoot both of -those murderers, and so get the _Rambler_ out of this scrape!” - -Without any intention of following his own advice, the boy thrust his -hand into his pistol pocket and found it empty. - -“Anyway,” he muttered, “it wouldn’t have been any good after swimming -over here. It seems as if I never did have a gun when I wanted one.” - -The boy struck off to the east, his idea being to gain a position a -short distance above the _Rambler_ and then swim aboard. He had -proceeded but a few yards when a rustling in the bushes just ahead -attracted his attention. The rustling was soon followed by a low growl, -and directly the damp muzzle of the bulldog was thrust into the boy’s -face. - -“So you’ve gone and run away, too, have you Captain Joe?” demanded Alex. -“I’ve a great mind to send you out to eat up two pirates.” - -It was too dark to see the bulldog distinctly, but Alex knew that he was -accepting the commission joyfully. - -“I don’t think it will do any good, doggie,” the boy finally whispered. -“Those pirates are about like skunks—you kill one and half a dozen more -come to the funeral. If those fellows don’t get back to their steamer -directly, there’ll be a mob of their companions on this island before -daylight. All we can do now is to get to the _Rambler_ and head her out -of this lagoon before the steamer gets to the entrance.” - -With this object in mind, the boy and dog made their way swiftly through -the thicket, paying little attention to the noise they made. Far in the -rear they heard the river pirates calling out to them, but paid no -attention. When Alex reached the shore of the lagoon he was at a loss -which way to turn. There was now no illumination to show the location of -the _Rambler_. - -“What’s your notion now, Captain Joe?” he asked of the dog. “If you can -tell me which way to turn to find that motor boat, I’ll give you a chunk -of catfish as big as your head when we get aboard.” - -Thus urged and bribed, the dog lost no time in turning to the west. - -“I think you’re wrong, Captain Joe!” Alex urged. - -The bulldog insisted that he was right, and as the boy had no good -grounds upon which to dispute his judgment, he followed along after him. -It was by no means good walking along the bank, for in many places trees -and shrubs had been undermined during high water, and trunks and masses -of smaller growth often stretched out into the water. - -“I tell you what it is, Captain Joe,” Alex said as they went along. “If -you dare to take me back where those saloon pirates are, I’ll advise -Teddy to take a bite out of your ear when we get aboard the _Rambler_ -again, if we ever do.” - -Captain Joe’s only reply was to seize Alex by one trousers’ leg and -hustle him along over a mass of boughs which seemed to the boy to be -several miles high. - -At last, after a great deal of this climbing, Joe stopped on the bank of -the lagoon and pointed with his nose out over the water. The two of them -must have made considerable racket scrambling along the beach, for just -as Joe stopped a soft whistle came out of the darkness. - -“Captain Joe,” whispered Alex, patting the dog on the head, “you’re the -candy kid! That’s Clay, without the shadow of a doubt. Now you tell him -that we want to come aboard.” - -As if understanding every word spoken to him by the lad, the dog fawned -about for a moment and then uttered a short, sharp bark. - -“Come aboard, you runaway!” a voice whispered from the boat. - -“Don’t you think we won’t! exclaimed Alex. “Can’t you show a light just -for a minute? It’s so dark I wouldn’t know the river was wet if I didn’t -feel it.” - -A flashlight was turned on for just an instant and then shut off. -Captain Joe greeted the finger of light with a joyous bark and plunged -into the lagoon. Alex was about to follow his example in the matter of -taking to the water when he felt himself seized by the collar and drawn -back. It was evident that the two had made altogether too much noise, -and had been followed by the men from the steamer. - -“Keep your mouth closed now!” whispered one of the men in Alex’s ear. - -“Ram your gun down his throat if he doesn’t!” another voice said. - -Alex knew that the purpose of the pirates was to prevent his warning his -companions of the presence of the steamer and its crew in that vicinity. -He knew, too, that unless he could notify those on board the _Rambler_ -of the intentions of the pirates, their retreat from the lagoon would -soon be shut off. - -He knew, too, that he was taking great chances in making the situation -understood. Still, he decided to risk his own life in order to warn his -friends. With the pirate holding him by the collar, he sprang forward -and cried at the top of his voice: - -“Captain Joe! Captain Joe!” - -Something in the tone of the boy’s voice told the dog as well as those -on board the motor boat that Alex was in deadly peril. It was not his -habit to ask for assistance unless it was very badly needed. - -Answering the indefinite but well-understood appeal, the dog turned back -to the shore, unseen but plainly heard in the disturbed waters. - -One of the men struck fiercely at his head with the butt of a gun as he -swept past him. The man who had hold of the boy fired a shot at the dim -rushing figure. The bullet went wide of its mark. - -The next instant the bulldog had a set of very capable teeth clamped -about the throat of the outlaw. The man struggled and gurgled horribly -as the impact of the dog’s body threw him back, releasing Alex from his -grasp. The boy sprang away and shouted: - -“Turn on the lights, boys, turn on the lights!” In a second the powerful -searchlight on the prow of the _Rambler_ was turned on the spot from -which the call had proceeded. It revealed one of the men lying helpless -on the ground, writhing under the dog’s jaws and the other disappearing -in a thicket. - -Alex picked up the outlaw’s revolver, which had fallen to the ground, -and called the dog away. He was stooping over the prostrate figure to -ascertain, if possible, the extent of the injuries inflicted by the dog -when a shot came from a tangle a short distance away. - -“Come on, Captain Joe!” the boy shouted. “Let him alone.” - -Leaving the two outlaws on the bank, one-half unconscious, the other -raging helplessly in the jungle, the boy and the dog sprang into the -lagoon. As they did so another harmless shot came from the interior, and -then the lights on the _Rambler_ were switched off. - -Several spiteful shots were now fired toward the boat, but the two -swimmers were, of course, out of sight of the outlaws, so the bullets -were not directed at them. - -In a very brief space of time, Alex and Captain Joe were hauled on deck, -where they lay dripping and panting for an instant before a word was -spoken. The lights were still out. - -“You’re a beautiful pair!” Jule whispered, then. “We were just talking -about you two getting into a scrape before we got out of the lagoon.” - -“Never mind the scrape!” Alex panted, still breathing hard. “Put on full -power and steam up out of the lagoon. That whiskey boat is going up to -block the way!” - -Without waiting for further information on the subject, Clay sprang to -the motors and the _Rambler_ was soon making her way upstream. - -When they came to a low-lying portion of the south arm, they saw the -lights of the steamer across the point, trying to head them off. - - - - -CHAPTER XV.—THE RAMBLER STRIKES BACK. - - -“Just let me get up on the prow with a gun!” Alex exclaimed, pulling -himself out of a puddle of water on the deck. “I want to get a couple of -shots at those devils on board that steamer!” - -“What did they do to you?” asked Case. - -“They didn’t do nothing to me, only choked me nearly to death with the -collar of my own shirt,” said the boy, “but I heard them planning to -leave us lying at the bottom of the lagoon and steal the boat.” - -“That’s what they’re here for!” Clay answered. “When you see a whiskey -boat on any river, you may make up your mind that the men on board will -commit murder if they find it necessary.” - -“If we don’t get more speed on,” Case exclaimed, pulling Alex away as he -made a dash for the prow, “they’ll beat us to the entrance to the lagoon -now.” - -Clay rushed back to the motors to see if another ounce of power could -not be turned on while Jule seized the lines and headed the boat off on -the port side. - -“They’ll come in from the river side,” he said to Case, “and we may slip -through between their prow and the little bend which tops the lagoon on -the north side.” - -The _Rambler_ was moving much faster than the steamer, but the latter -had several rods the start. As they raced desperately for the narrow -strip of water between the two arms of the island it was an open -question as to which would win. - -“I just believe she’s going to get there first!” Jule said drawing still -farther away to port. “Can’t you make her go any faster, Clay?” - -“Every pound of power is on!” Clay replied. “You boys would better be -getting your guns ready. If we come together they may try to board us. -If you shoot, shoot to some purpose.” - -“We ain’t a-going to come together!” Jule whispered to Alex, who now -occupied a position at his side. “At least, we’re not going to come -together so they can jump over on our deck.” - -“What are you going to do?” Alex asked. “Look here!” Jule queried. “The -_Rambler_’s sides and prow are braced with steel, aren’t they?” - -“You know it!” Alex answered with a chuckle as he began to understand -the purpose of his chum. - -“Well, then,” Jule declared, “I’m going to ram her! If that steamer gets -her nose in our way, I’m going to send the _Rambler_ plumb through her. -I wonder how they’ll like that?” - -“If you do,” Alex advised, “reverse the minute you strike. If you don’t, -you are likely to get wedged into any hole you may make.” - -“I tell you I’m going to send the _Rambler_ clear through her!” insisted -Jule. “I’m going to bang her with all the force of the motors.” - -“Go to it!” Alex exclaimed. “I’m game for any racket of that kind. Only -don’t you say anything to Clay about it. He’d be afraid of breaking the -motors or something.” - -The _Rambler_ was now almost to the entrance. The steamer was still -moving upstream. As the boys looked the prow of the whiskey boat turned -almost directly into the path which the motor boat must follow in order -to leave the lagoon. - -Jeers of triumph arose from the cabin deck of the steamer as those on -board took in the significance of the situation. They now considered it -certain that the _Rambler_ would soon be at their mercy, blocked beyond -the possibility of escape in the lagoon. - -Jule at the helm of the motor boat, however, had a very different idea -as to how the scene ought to terminate. In a second the great steamer, -lumbering and loosely built, lay broadside to the oncoming _Rambler_. -Clay gave a cry of warning as the boy swirled the boat so as to strike -the steamer amidships, but Jule held on to his course. - -Before Clay could utter another cry of warning, the steel prow of the -_Rambler_ crashed into the steamer about a third back from the prow! - -It seemed for a moment as if Jule’s prediction that he would go clear -through the lumbering old steamer was to be fulfilled, for the steel -prow cut into the thin sides of the steamer as a knife cuts into cheese. -The shock was terrific. - -The boys were knocked off their feet, and Jule found himself rolling on -the deck with the tiller ropes still grasped in his hands! - -Shouts of rage and alarm came from the sinking boat, and there was an -immediate rush for the railing overlooking the motor boat. The steamer -was still staggering under the impact of the blow, and those on board -were reeling like drunken men. - -Clay’s first act was to reverse the motors. Much to his delight and -surprise, the _Rambler_ backed slowly out of the cavity she had cut into -the side of the steamer. The side wall of the ponderous old boat had -been shattered into bits many feet on either side of the actual cut! - -As the _Rambler_ backed away, the steamer began drifting downstream, -moving as chance would have it, toward the main channel of the river -instead of toward the lagoon. The boys saw at once that she was filling -with water, and would probably sink where she lay. They saw, too, that -men with pistols in their hands were threatening them from the cabin -deck of the steamer. - -With fear and trembling Clay set the motors going again, wondering -whether they had been injured in the collision so as to render the -_Rambler_ unmanageable. The motors responded nobly, however, and in a -moment the boys had the satisfaction of seeing her glide past the -dipping prow of the steamer. - -It was dark as ink over the surface of the river, and Alex turned on the -lights as the _Rambler_ rounded the sinking saloon boat and swept on -downstream. Once well under way, Clay walked up to the prow and looked -it over. - -“Any harm done?” called Jule. - -“No harm that paint and putty won’t repair,” answered Clay. “That is, -not here,” he added. “Some of you boys would better look into the -cabin.” - -The cabin certainly was in a mess. Alex’s cherished catfish lay rolling -on the floor, with Teddy shambling back and forth after it. Many of the -lockers had been burst open, and a heap of broken crockery lay on the -floor not far from the electric coils. The glass panel in the cabin door -was shattered, and the coal stove, which had been used in lower -latitudes to keep the boys warm, lay on its side. - -“Everything’s all right in here!” Alex cried sticking his freckled nose -through the sash formerly occupied by the glass panel. “Nothing wrong in -here at all, except that the stove is tipped over, and the dishes are -all broken, and our expensive wardrobes are rolling in the dirt, and -Teddy’s eating up my catfish. Oh, we’re all right in here!” - -Clay left the prow and looked through into the cabin. - -“We ought to charge this to Jule!” he said with a laugh. - -“All right!” said Jule. “I wouldn’t have missed that for a thousand -dollars. Do you think I sunk that boat?” - -“You certainly did!” answered Clay. “The last I saw of her as we came -around the bend her cabin lights were shining mighty low.” - -“And now,” Case complained, “they’ll be sending word on down the river -to have us arrested for piracy on the high seas.” - -“Don’t you ever think they will!” Alex put in. “I don’t believe there’s -a man on board that boat that dare step foot either into Indiana or -Kentucky. They sell drugged moonshine whiskey, and they rob every man -that comes on board, so it’s a sure thing that there’s a warrant for -them in every town along the river.” - -“I didn’t think you had it in you, Jule!” Clay laughed. - -“What’s the answer?” Jule questioned. - -“I didn’t think you had the nerve to ram a boat the size of that one. It -was a desperate thing to do.” - -“Huh!” grinned Jule. “I guess if I hadn’t rammed her, we’d be packed -like sardines in some dirty old steamer hold now.” - -“And that’s no dream!” Alex shouted. - -With her prow light burning brightly, the _Rambler_ proceeded slowly -down the river. In a few moments they came to four great coal barges -stranded on a sand bar. As they glided by a man in a rowboat shot out -into the circle of light and called out: - -“What’s the trouble up the river, boys?” - -“Oh,” Alex answered, “a saloon boat ran into something and broke in two. -I guess she’s sinking.” - -“I thought I heard a crash of some kind,” answered the stranger. -“Anybody likely to get drowned?” - -“I hope so!” Clay answered. “That’s one of the meanest outlaw boats on -the river. I was glad to see her going down.” - -“Indeed it is,” agreed the other. “I saw the men on board of her getting -the bargemen drunk. You see the result here. Hundreds of tons of -perfectly good coal wasted.” - -“Suppose we run into a cove here, or up against one of those barges,” -Jule whispered, “and see if this man knows anything about the three blue -lights.” - -The _Rambler_ was steered under the lee of the lower barge downstream -from the sand bar and the stranger rowed alongside. - -Clay was about to question him regarding the phenomenon, now twice -witnessed, when the hum of low voices came from the shore. The boy -listened intently and the next moment the heavy tramping of horses’ feet -came to his ears. Directly the sharp whinny of a restive horse cut the -still air! - - - - -CHAPTER XVI.—THE COAL BARGES INTERVENE. - - -The stranger looked at the boys sharply as they stood listening to the -noises on shore. There was an expression of displeasure on his face as -he noted how watchful they were. - -“What’s that?” asked Alex. - -“Sounds like horses and men, replied the stranger, speaking sharply and -turning away as he did so. - -“What are they doing out on the river bank at this time of night?” -queried Jule. “What’s coming next, I wonder?” - -The stranger, who had turned away abruptly, now moved back so that his -face was plainly seen under the prow light of the _Rambler_. When he -spoke it was with an attempt at heartiness, but the boys saw that he was -worried. - -“I may as well tell you all about it,” he began with an insincere air. -“You’ve heard the horses trampling, and heard the men talking, so you -may as well understand what they’re here for. These river pirates have -been making a lot of trouble lately. They coax our plantation hands on -board their pesky boats and that’s the last we ever see of them. There’s -many a good crop gone to waste along the Ohio river because those -outlaws carry whiskey to sell.” - -“We’ve seen quite a lot of that,” Clay suggested. - -“Everybody who is on the river sees a lot of it,” the stranger -continued. “Well, now we’ve decided not to stand it any longer. We came -here to destroy that boat, and I’m half sorry that an accident prevented -our accomplishing the work. One boat nicely blown up would warn a score -away. They need the lesson.” - -“Well,” Clay laughed, “it wasn’t an accident that destroyed the steamer. -She tried to block us in the lagoon and we rammed her with our steel -prow. That boat will never make you any more trouble.” - -“You are to be congratulated!” the stranger observed. “You have my -permission to ram every whiskey boat on the river.” - -The man’s face was smiling enough, and his manner was sufficiently -friendly, still the boys all found themselves wondering if he was -telling the exact truth. They knew very well that many people scattered -along the river on both banks were in touch with the whiskey boats, even -supplying them with moonshine and tobacco. - -“Why don’t some of those men with the horses show up?” asked Jule -presently. “Why are they hiding in there now?” - -“Because they don’t care about being identified as being mixed up in a -raid on a whisky boat!” was the reply. “Only for the fact that you got -the start of us we could have destroyed that boat without one of us -being recognized. We don’t care for lawsuits.” - -“If they remain here a few hours,” Case suggested, “they will probably -have a chance at another boat. The _Hawk_ was not far from this place -not very long ago.” - -“And you had a bit of a tussle with her?” laughed the stranger. - -“Oh, they got a little gay, but we managed to keep away from them,” was -the reply. “They tried to steal our boat.” - -“Yes, I presume they would like a trim little motor boat like yours,” -suggested the stranger. “And now,” he continued, “I may as well get back -to my friends. It will be daylight in an hour or two, and we’ve got to -work at this dirty business in the dark if we work at all.” - -Jule opened his lips to ask the man a question regarding the three blue -lights but Clay, as if understanding his purpose, drew him back and -whispered in his ear: - -“No more questions just now, boy.” - -“Why not?” Jule asked impatiently. “That’s just what we came up here -for—to find out something about the three blue lights.” - -“I have an idea,” Clay explained, “that this man didn’t tell the truth -about the other things, and that he won’t tell the truth about the three -blue lights—that is, if he knows anything about them at all.” - -“I’ve been a little bit leary of him all along,” Jule replied. - -While the boys were talking together, the stranger left the stranded -coal barge upon which he had been standing and, pushing his boat along, -joined his friends on the bank. The boys could hear a murmur of -conversation following his arrival there, and now and then the light of -a match flared up. - -“There’s one thing I can’t understand,” Clay said as the boys put out -into the current again, “and that is, why we have seen no wreckage from -the steamer coming down.” - -“That’s easy,” Alex grinned, “the boat must have dropped into the mouth -of the lagoon.” - -“No she didn’t!” Case cut in. “She sunk south of the arm of the island. -She’s lying there now in twenty feet of water unless I am very much -mistaken. Still, we should have seen wreckage by this time.” - -“Suppose we take a run up and see what the situation is there,” -suggested Alex. “It would give me great joy to see a lot of those -fellows marooned on that island, with nothing to eat or drink for a -week.” - -“We’ll only get tangled up in some kind of a mess if we go there,” Clay -advised, “so I think we’d better go on down the river and see if we -can’t shake off all this trouble and have a pleasant, leisurely river -trip. We’ve had trouble in plenty on all our other trips, but I thought -the Ohio journey would mostly consist of floating in the sunshine -through cities and back yards.” - -“All right!” Alex said. “I’m just as willing to get out of this mess as -any one. Anyway, it will soon be daylight, and we’ll then be needing -breakfast. Who does the cooking this morning?” - -“We all cook,” answered Case, “for we all talk slang except Captain Joe -and Teddy, and they probably have done something in that line themselves -only we didn’t understand them.” - -“Look here!” suggested Jule when a faint line of daylight began to show -upstream. “Suppose we pull over to that wooded cove and build a roaring -fire on the bank. Then we’ll send Alex out to get another catfish and -bake it Indian fashion.” - -“He didn’t make a success of Indian cookery on the St. Lawrence,” -suggested Case. “I don’t want any foolishness about this breakfast.” - -“Well,” Alex laughed, “there was something the matter with the soil over -there. I guess it leaked gas or something of that kind. Anyway, the clay -along the Ohio is all right.” - -“Very well,” Clay said, “we’ll run into the cove and give the boy a -chance to serve catfish a la Indian. The combination of gritless clay -and green leaves ought to produce fine results.” - -“You just watch me!” Alex insisted. - -The _Rambler_ was accordingly anchored in a pretty little cove whose -banks were covered with trees of large growth. At first, Alex tried to -capture a fish from the stern, but, not succeeding in this, he ran out -into the river and anchored there, leaving the other boys on shore. It -was broad daylight when he felt a strong pull at his line and knew that -he had hooked some denizen of the stream. - -So busily was he engaged in playing the fish that he heard nothing of -the shouts from upstream, or the warning from his chums on the bank. -Directly, however, he glanced up to see that a coal tow which appeared -to fill the entire width of the river was drifting down upon him. - -“Get into the cove! Get into the cove!” cried Clay. - -“You’ll be struck in a minute!” shouted Case. - -“Release your anchor line and shoot downstream!” Jule suggested. - -This last advice appeared to be not only the most desirable but the -easiest to follow, so the boy severed the manilla line with one blow of -a sharp hatchet and sprang to the motors. When at last the boat was -under way headed downstream, the foremost barges were almost upon her. - -The men on board the tow seemed to be taking great delight in the -thought that the _Rambler_ would soon be completely at their mercy. -Several of them stood at the top of their barges making crude and -humorous suggestions to the boy. - -With the boat under way and headed downstream at a speed with which the -tow could by no means compete, Alex amused himself by making scornful -faces at the men on the tow. - -“Come back here, you river rat!” one of the men shouted. “You’ll get a -bullet in your back if you don’t!” - -“Fire away!” shouted Alex and promptly ducked down under the protected -gunwale of the boat. - -The boys on shore saw the _Rambler_ speeding away with many expressions -of disgust. Jule even started on a run down the bank, but soon gave over -the attempt to catch the swiftly disappearing boat. - -The men on the tow, observing the boys on the bank, greeted them with -insulting epithets and amused themselves by heaving chunks of coal -toward them. Case replied with a pistol shot but did not succeed in -wounding any of the men. The coal came thicker after that for a time, -but the barges were soon too far down the river to make such an attack -effective. - -“Now, we’re in a nice box!” Jule cried, as the steamer in charge of the -tow disappeared around a bend in the river. “How do you suppose that -little monkey will ever get that boat back to us?” - -“Aw, that’s easy enough!” Case answered. “River boats pass those coal -tows every day in the week, and I guess Alex can get the _Rambler_ -upstream again. In fact,” he added, “I don’t think he needed to run down -so far. He might have ducked over to the other shore and let the barges -go by. Anyway,” the boy added with a smile, “he’ll lose his fish. And -serve him good and right at that!” - -“And we lose our fish breakfast!” Clay returned. “And that won’t serve -us good and right!” - -“That’s a fact!” shouted Jule. “We haven’t got a thing to eat on this -bank!” - -“We probably won’t have to wait long for the boy to come back,” Clay -assured the others. “He may be afraid the bargemen will make trouble for -him, and may run down until he comes to the mouth of a creek or deep -cove in which he can hold the _Rambler_ until the tow passes by. In that -case, he may be away an hour or so, but I reckon we won’t starve to -death in that time.” - -“I’ve a good notion to go and hunt out some farm house and buy something -to eat!” Jule declared. “We’re most out of eggs, anyway.” - -“It seems to me,” Clay laughed, turning to Case, “that Alex and Jule -have been having most of the adventures lately. Now what I propose is -that you two boys stay here and wait for the _Rambler_ to return while I -cut back into the country and see what I can buy in the way of -provisions.” - -“That will be all right,” Case replied. “And while you are gone, Jule -and I will flop into a thicket and go to sleep. I’ve had to prop my -eyelids open with my fingers for the last hour. The bulldog can keep -watch while we get our forty winks.” - -“Why,” Clay said, “I didn’t see Captain Joe come on shore. I guess -you’ll find that he’s on board the boat with Alex and the bear.” - -“Oh, he was here all right,” Case insisted. “I saw him running about on -the other shore of the cove acting as if he had got scent of a rabbit or -a squirrel.” - -“Then he’ll be back all right!” Clay replied. “Be sure that he is before -both of you go to sleep. He’ll stand guard, all right, if you tell him -to watch for Alex. You wouldn’t like to have the _Rambler_ come back -here and not find you!” Clay added. - -And so, leaving the boys preparing a bed of leaves in the thicket, Clay -turned away to the south and disappeared in the forest. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII.—THE TWO CLAIMANTS. - - -Sailing swiftly down the stream in the early morning, Alex was not at -all in bad humor as he regarded the general situation. He figured that -he could very readily elude the coal tow and return upstream to his -chums. In fact, the portion of the incident which he regretted most was -the loss of his fish. - -“Now,” he pondered as he whirled the boat over towards the Indiana shore -in order to find open water for his passage upstream, “I’ll have to go -and hook another catfish before we can have breakfast.” - -He chuckled softly to himself as he thought of the chums marooned on the -shore of the little cove without a thing to eat. At the time of his -sudden departure with the _Rambler_, no supplies of any kind had been -carried ashore. He laughed as he thought of the rage of the boys. - -“I’ll throw out a troll-line as I go up,” he mused, “and perhaps I’ll -have a pickerel or something of that kind all ready for the hot stones -when I get up to the cove.” - -When within a short distance of the Indiana shore, the boy saw a long -line of floats extending out from the bank, indicating the location of a -fishing net. The boy sprang to the motors in the hope of saving the net -by shutting off the power, but he was too late. In fact, his effort only -made the meeting with the net more disastrous. - -Running at full speed, the boat might have cut the net and passed on, -but drifting with the current as she was when she came to it, something -like two hundred feet of stout fibre were wound about the propeller, -about the skag, and about the rudder and rudder-post, as the motors were -reversed in an effort to back away. - -As the boy leaned over the stern to ascertain the extent of the damage, -the clatter of the motors died out and he knew that the clogging of the -propellers had been responsible. - -In a moment the _Rambler_ was drifting aimlessly downstream, swinging -this way and that with the current, spinning along broadside to the wash -of the river oftener than in any other position. - -“Now, I’m in a beautiful mess!” the boy declared. “I shall never be able -to get that stuff out of the propeller without beaching the boat.” - -As the boy was lifting a heavy oar in the hope of sending the motor boat -over to the Indiana side of the river, he heard a slow, drawling hail -from the mouth of a little creek some distance down. - -“’Tend to your rudder!” shouted a hoarse voice. “You’ll go over the -rapids in a heap if you keep on that way!” - -“Propeller and rudder clogged!” shouted Alex. “Come on out and tow me -in! You’ll be well paid for your work.” - -The boy thought, in a moment, that the last sentence had been entirely -superfluous, for their experience on the river had been that waterside -characters were always too willing to assist any crippled boat. At all -times their charges were exorbitant. - -“All right!” the man called from the shore, and then the boy saw a small -skiff shoot away from the side of a dilapidated-looking shanty boat -which lay half hidden by a thicket at the mouth of the creek. - -When the man in the skiff reached the _Rambler_, he rowed completely -around her as if examining her good points. He was a long, lanky, -sour-visaged individual with long black hair and beard. He was dressed -in the homespun cotton so common with rivermen. - -“Right pert boat you’ve got there,” he said, at last. - -“Never mind the boat now,” Alex answered. “She’s drifting downstream -every minute. Tow her to shore and help me to get this net out of the -propeller.” - -“So it’s a net in the propeller, is it?” snarled the man from the -houseboat. “I hope you hain’t gone and took up my net.” - -“Did you have a net out in the river?” asked the boy. - -“I certainly did!” was the reply. “And if you’ve gone and cut it up, -you’ll pay for it.” - -Alex knew very well that the man from the houseboat had never owned a -net of the value of the one he had destroyed, but he decided to have no -words with the fellow until the _Rambler_ was ready to proceed on her -journey. He saw that the man was evidently seeking a quarrel. - -“Yessir!” the riverman went on. “If you’ve gone and cut up my net you’ll -pay me a good price for it. There’s too many of you sports romping up -and down the river with your gasoline boats.” - -“Time enough to talk about that when we get the boat over to the shore,” -Alex declared. “I don’t want to drift downstream any farther.” - -Scowling and complaining over the exertion required, the fellow finally -managed to work the _Rambler_ into the mouth of the creek where the -houseboat lay. As Alex took in the situation at one quick glance, he saw -two evil-faced fellows lounging on the deck of the houseboat. - -“What you got, Mose?” one of them called out to the riverman. - -“I’ve salvaged a motor boat!” was Mose’s reply. - -“What’s the trouble with her?” was the next question. - -“She’s got my net wound around her propeller!” answered Mose. - -“Sho’,” returned the other. “That new net of yours that cost a hundred -not a week ago?” - -“Yessir, that same new net!” returned the riverman. - -Alex saw that the men were preparing to make trouble for him. He knew -that they could not collect a cent of salvage for towing his boat out of -the stream. He was positive that the net did not belong to them. -Houseboat people of their class consider themselves fortunate in the -possession of ordinary fishing lines and spears. - -However, he only smiled as they talked of their hundred-dollar net, and -dropped over into the shallow water of the creek to inspect the damage -done to the propeller and rudder. - -So far as he could see, there was nothing broken. The net which was -wound about everything at the stern of the boat seemed to him to make a -bundle as large as a whiskey barrel. He took out his knife preparatory -to cutting it away. - -“Look here, you boy you!” shouted Mose. “Don’t you go to cuttin’ up that -net. You just take your consarned old propeller and rudder off the stern -so that we can unwind it.” - -Alex knew that this would be impossible. His idea was to cut the net -away, spring to the motors, and pass out of the reach of the houseboat -men before they suspected what he was up to. - -Therefore, he at once set to work with his knife and began slashing the -strong threads of the net. The three men looked on angrily for an -instant and then Mose said: - -“I told you not to cut that net, boy!” - -“I’m afraid there is no other way,” Alex answered very civilly. - -“I hope you’ve got the money in your jeans to pay for it,” Mose shouted. -“If you haven’t, I’ll just naturally have to take charge of that boat. I -can’t afford to lose that net.” - -“All right,” Alex replied, cutting industriously away at the -obstruction, “my chums are up the river a short distance and they will -be down here directly. Then we can talk about paying. We’ll fix you out -all right as soon as they get here.” - -“You better see that you do!” Mose responded angrily. - -It took some time to cut away the great net, but the propeller and -rudder and skag were free at last and then Alex climbed back on the -deck. - -“Here, you,” shouted Mose, presenting the muzzle of an old-fashioned -double-barreled shotgun. “Don’t you go near those motors. I’ve been -expecting you’d try to run away without paying your just debts.” - -“No fear of my going away just yet,” Alex answered. “I’ve got to wait -somewhere along here until my chums come.” - -While Mose held the rusty old gun in a threatening manner, his two -companions attached a heavy cable to the forward bitts of the _Rambler_ -and carried it ashore. After winding it around the trunk of a great -tree, they returned to the houseboat and lay down on the forward deck to -gaze impudently at the boy. - -“Now, we’ll see if you make a sneak down the river!” Mose cried -triumphantly. “The best way for you to get away from this creek is to -lay down about a hundred and fifty dollars.” - -“I didn’t know there was so much money in the world!” laughed Alex. - -“If your chums don’t come in one hour,” Mose went on, “we’ll take -possession of your boat. This man here,” pointing over his shoulder with -his thumb, “is a constable! Ain’t you, Clint? And he can sell your boat -right here on the river bank. Can’t you, Clint? We’ll see if these -sports are coming down here and destroy our property without paying for -it!” - -In all his experience in river journeys, Alex had never been confronted -by so puzzling a proposition. He knew that the rivermen had no claim -upon him whatever, although he considered Mose entitled to some -compensation for his friendly act. Still he realized that for the time -being the fellows held the whip hand. - -It happened that he had considerable money—two or three hundred dollars -in his possession, having taken charge of the expense fund only a few -days before. His inclination now was to pay the men the money demanded -and get away. Then he reasoned that the exhibition of such a sum of -money would only arouse the greed of the outlaws. That they would never -let him depart with any money at all in his possession, he knew very -well. It was a trying situation. - -While he stood deliberating over the problem, a a loud hail came from -upstream and turning he saw the coal tow sweeping down the river. - -“Hold that boat!” shouted a harsh voice from one of the foremost barges. -“Hold that boat ’till we get there.” - -Scenting an additional profit in the arrival of the tow, Mose sprang -into his skiff and rowed out. As the first barge came down, Alex saw two -men spring into the skiff which was at once headed for the shore. The -two men lounging on the houseboat at once sprang over to the deck of the -_Rambler_, the man with the rusty shotgun keeping it in full view. - -When the skiff reached the _Rambler_, the two men clambered on deck -while Mose ran the skiff up into the creek. The two men were extremely -well-dressed although their clothing showed connection with the water of -the river and the smut of the coal barges. They were both very much -excited, and the first thing one of them did was to shake his fist under -Alex’s, nose. - -“Now, you young thief!” he shouted. “We’ve got you at last!” - -“No rough house, pardner!” exclaimed the houseboat man who held the gun. -“No rough house here, because, you see, we’ve got a claim on this boy -ourselves. He just destroyed a net worth a hundred dollars!” - -“A hundred dollars!” snarled the whiskey boat man. “Do you know what he -did to us?” he went on. “He stole this motor boat and sunk our steamer -with it. He’s cost us more than twenty thousand dollars!” - -Alex stood silent in the face of all these accusations. He had -recognized the two men from the barge as men he had seen on the whiskey -boat, and he knew that they would do their best to make him trouble. For -a moment it seemed to him that the fate of the _Rambler_ was sealed. - -“What do you say to all this, boy?” asked the man with the gun. - -Alex sat down dejectedly on the gunwale. - -“I guess I’ll let you fellows fight it out between you,” he said. - -“I can’t see as there’s anything to fight out!” one of the men from the -whiskey boat shouted. - -“This is our boat and we’re going to take it away! As for this boy, -we’ll place him in the custody of the first United States marshal we -come to!” - -Once more the rusty barrel of the old shotgun in the hands of the -houseboat man was hoisted to a threatening position. - -“Don’t you forget,” the man said viciously, “that this boat busted our -net. We don’t care whose boat it is, we’re going to hold it until we get -paid for our property!” - -“You talk like a fool!” shouted the man from the steamer. - -“And you act like a fool!” insisted the other. - -“I don’t believe you fellows ever owned any net!” the enraged outlaw -shouted. “I’ve seen your old houseboat sneaking along the river here for -months. You’re the kind of men who never have the price of a drink -unless you can steal it. If you try to hold this boat, I’ll fill you -both full of bullet holes!” - -The eyes at the stock of the shotgun flashed wickedly, but the man’s -voice was remarkably smooth as he said: - -“If you move, either one of you, or try to get out a gun I’ll blow the -tops of your heads off! You observe,” he went on, “that there are two -barrels to this gun, and I’ll tell you right now that they’re both -loaded with slugs.” - -“This is nonsense!” roared the man from the steamer. - -“That’s what I’ve been calculatin’,” replied the other. - -Alex was thinking fast. It seemed to him at that time that it would be -better to leave the _Rambler_ in the hands of the houseboat men than in -those of the men from the steamer. - -The houseboat men would be satisfied with a small amount of money as -soon as they discovered that they could get no more, while the other -outlaws would insist on taking the _Rambler_ for their alleged debt. - -Taking this view of the situation, he turned to the man who was holding -the shotgun. - -“These two men,” he said, “are whiskey boat men. They have no more claim -on this boat than you have.” - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII.—A FORBIDDEN SUBJECT. - - -While Alex was having his troubles with the two gangs of outlaws, and -while Jule and Case were asleep in a thicket at the cove, Clay was -pushing his way through a heavy undergrowth in the direction of a -shabby-looking farm house which stood in the center of a weed-grown -tobacco field not far away. - -As he approached the uncared for fence which surrounded the field, he -heard horses stamping and champing at their bits in the woods not far -away to his left. - -At first he thought seriously of visiting the undergrowth on a tour of -investigation, but finally decided that his actions might be -misconstrued, so he passed on toward the house in the tobacco field. - -It seemed to him that half a hundred dogs of all sizes and breeds leaped -out as he advanced through the weeds toward the front door. - -He was having his hands full with the dogs, fending them off, when the -door opened and a woman made her appearance on the threshold. - -“Down, you ornery purps!” she shouted in a voice that sounded more like -that of a man than that of a woman. “Come right along in, stranger,” she -added. “I reckon they won’t bite you up none.” - -Under the protection of the woman’s voice and presence, Clay finally -succeeded in making his way to the house. - -“I’m sure ashamed of them ornery purps,” the woman declared, striking at -a large brindle dog with a mop stick. “Somehow I can’t beat no manners -into ’em!” - -“They appear to be a fine lot of dogs!” Clay said, resolved to -conciliate the woman if possible. “I’m used to Kentucky dogs, so I was -not at all afraid of them.” - -“What mought be your business, stranger?” the woman asked then. - -“Well,” Clay answered, “I’m looking for something to eat.” - -“Sho’!” answered the woman. “A nice, likely lookin’ lad like you goin’ -around hungry! I’d be glad to give you a set-down of flapjacks and -coffee. Come right in.” - -“That would help some!” laughed Clay. “But what I want is provisions to -carry away to my chums—eggs, chickens or anything of that sort you may -have to sell.” - -“And where mought your chums be?” asked the woman, a little suspiciously -as Clay thought. - -“We came down the river in a motor boat,” the boy replied, “and I left -the boys in a cove some distance from here.” - -“I wonder, now,” the woman queried, “whether you might have been on the -river last night.” - -Clay replied in the affirmative. - -“Well,” the woman went on, “I’ve been waiting all morning for news from -the river. My men went out last night at dusk and haven’t returned.” - -“There were horsemen along the river last night,” Clay suggested. - -“That would be them.” - -“And I heard horses champing their bits just as I came up to the fence,” -Clay went on. - -“Sho’!” answered the woman. “My men always have fresh hosses near the -house. What did you hear on the river last night?” she added. - -“It seemed rather quiet,” Clay replied, “except that a whiskey steamer -got wrecked some distance up.” - -“That’s too bad, now!” declared the woman. - -“There’s one thing peculiar I noticed about the river last night,” Clay -went on, “and that was something which looked to me like a signal. We -saw three blue lights resting on the surface of the water. Then there -came an explosion and they disappeared.” - -The woman almost staggered back in the doorway. Her ruddy face became -slightly pale, and Clay saw that the work-worn hands were trembling. - -Clay sprang to a pail of water which stood near, dipped up a liberal -supply in a gourd which hung on a wall, and approached the woman with it -in his hand. - -“Sho’, now!” the woman almost gasped, placing her hands at her sides, -“here I be havin’ another spell with my heart. Seems like I was always -havin’ trouble with that pesky organ.” - -Clay did not believe the explanation given by the woman for her sudden -fright. He had no doubt that the mention of the mysterious three blue -lights had led to this alleged heart failure. - -“I’ll shore be better in a minute,” the woman said, dropping into a -home-made chair which stood just inside the house. “What was it you said -about the three blue lights? I was took sudden just as you began -speaking of them.” - -Clay repeated what he had said regarding the mysterious lights, watching -the woman closely every second. She did not again show sign of emotion -of any kind. - -“Why,” the woman said directly, “them’s the ghost lights that are often -seen on the Ohio. The steamboat _Mary Ann_ went down with a dancing -party on board ten years ago, and ever since then the lights have been -seen on the river.” - -“But the _Mary Ann_ went down just off Wolf Creek,” Clay suggested. - -“There is a story,” the woman began in a hushed voice, “that the lights -show every year about the time the boat went down, at the exact place -where she sunk. And then, again,” she continued, “they do say that -wherever a body from the _Mary Ann_ remains unburied at the bottom of -the river the three blue lights show at least once a year.” - -“So they really are ghost lights?” asked Clay. - -“Why, stranger,” the woman continued, “boats have been pushed directly -into them lights as they floated on the surface of the river, and they -have burned right on after being submerged! Them explosions have been -heard time and time again, and nothing has been found which could have -produced them. We people along the river are mighty skeery of them ghost -lights.” - -“I have heard that they bring disaster,” Clay suggested. - -“They sure do!” replied the woman. “But come in,” she went on, “here -I’ve been talkin’ like a foolish old gossip, and you standing hungry in -the doorway. Come in and sit down.” - -Clay took the proffered chair but he was not thinking of the breakfast -being prepared for him. - -He was thinking, instead, of the sudden panic into which the old woman -had fallen at the mention of the three blue lights. He saw now that -there was some significance to the signal. - -He came to understand, sitting there watching the still troubled face of -the woman, that the three blue lights indicated some desperate action on -the part of the river people—some desperate action which took the men -away from their homes and left the women anxious and afraid. He saw that -the woman in trying to deceive him by her words was still telling the -story of some terrible situation by her voice and manner. He wondered -but could reach no conclusion. - -The boy was supplied with a bountiful breakfast of corn pancakes, fried -eggs and coffee, and then he opened negotiations with his hostess for a -supply of provisions for the _Rambler_. The woman looked distressed and -answered his inquiries with downcast eyes. - -“I’m sure sorry,” she said, “but we had a lot of friends here to dinner -yesterday, and they eat about everything in the house. Them eggs you’ve -just et were laid this morning.” - -“I’m sorry, too,” Clay replied, “but if you haven’t got provisions, you -can’t sell them. Perhaps I can find a supply at some near-by farm house. -How far is it to the nearest one?” - -“It is a long way through the thicket,” the woman answered, “and I -wouldn’t advise no boy like you to be wandering in the woods in this -vicinity right now. It ain’t safe!” - -“Why, there ought not to be anything to be afraid of!” Clay suggested. - -“You don’t know this region as well as I do, boy!” the woman replied. -“These folks that come up from the river are mighty bad sometimes, and -I’ve known people that didn’t live on the river to do desperate, bad -things occasionally.” - -Clay sorely puzzled, looked the woman frankly in the face and asked: - -“Do you imagine trouble because the three blue lights showed on the -river last night?” - -“Well,” was the reply, “they surly do bring trouble.” - -“In what way?” insisted Clay. - -“Oh, there’s wrecks, and burnings, and shooting, and all manner of -things going on, somehow, after them three blue lights show.” - -“Then perhaps I’d better be getting back to the river!” Clay suggested. - -“I wouldn’t leave no boat that was worth ready money long alone along -the Ohio river at this time of year,” the woman answered. “And let me -tell you another thing,” she went on. “If you see three blue lights, -keep away from them! Don’t go near where they are, and get out of the -vicinity of them as fast as you can.” - -“We’re not afraid of ghosts!” laughed Clay. - -“I can’t say more!” the woman continued. “I don’t know but I’ve said too -much now. I hope you’ll take an old woman’s advice and keep out of -trouble. Where might you boys be from, now?” - -“Chicago,” replied Clay. - -“Sho’, now!” exclaimed the old woman. “I’ve never seen any one from -Chicago before. “I’ve heard of it often, though. Must be a right pert -place. Some one told me it was almost as big as Paducah.” - -“Yes,” Clay replied, “Chicago is some city. Will you accept pay for my -breakfast?” he continued. - -“You’re only a boy,” the woman replied, “and so don’t know any better -than to offer a Kintucky woman pay for a feed. But I wouldn’t do that -any more if I were you.” - -Thanking the woman from the bottom of his heart for her hospitality and -her kindly advice, the boy started away in the direction of the river. - -On his return he took care to pass through that portion of the thicket -where he had heard the horses on his way in. He found three remarkably -fine-looking animals, all saddled and bridled, standing in the thicket. -As he stepped toward one of them, a boy, certainly not more than twelve -years of age, leaped at him. - -“What you doing here?” the youth demanded. - -“I have just come from the house,” Clay replied. “Your mother gave me a -fine breakfast.” - -“Did she, now?” asked the boy suspiciously. - -“She certainly did,” answered Clay resolved to continue the conversation -with the lad until he learned something more concerning the three blue -lights. The boy dropped his hostile attitude at once. - -“I was going on to other houses in search of provisions,” Clay went on, -“but your mother advised me that it wouldn’t be safe.” - -“It shore ain’t safe!” the boy replied. - -“She told me,” Clay resumed, “that it was never safe in this section -when three blue lights burned on the river.” - -“Did she, now?” asked the boy. “And did you-all see the three blue -lights?” - -“Twice,” answered Clay. “Last night and the night before—once opposite -Wolf Creek and once in the lagoon at that odd-shaped island just up the -stream.” - -Clay thought that the boy shivered a little in his ragged clothes. - -“What is all this about the three blue lights?” he asked in a moment. - -The boy shook his head gravely. - -“We-uns ain’t allowed to talk about the three blue lights,” he answered. - -“You think they are ghost lights, eh?” asked Clay. - -“We-uns ain’t allowed to talk about the three blue lights,” repeated the -boy. “We never mention them.” - -Seeing that further conversation with the boy was likely to prove -without result, Clay again turned to face in the direction of the river. - -“I wish I knew,” he mused, as he pushed his way through tangled thickets -and descended and ascended rocky slopes, “I wish I knew exactly why that -woman came near fainting when I mentioned the three blue lights. - -“I have an impression,” he went on, “that there’s some feud coming to -life. In the first place, I don’t believe the story told at the stranded -coal barges last night. - -“Those men never sought the river with the intentions of destroying that -steamer. They wouldn’t have brought their horses along if that had been -their object. - -“The horses, of course, might have been used in the way of -transportation to the river, but, at the same time, men out on such a -mission would not care to be seen riding so openly through the country.” - -It is needless to say that the boy did not believe one word of the story -told him by the woman who had given him his breakfast. He was too -hard-headed to believe in ghosts or supernatural demonstrations of any -sort. - -He knew however, that there must be some reason for the display of the -lights, and knew that no little ingenuity had been shown in the placing -and extinguishing of them. So studying over the problem, the boy finally -came to the little cove where he had left Case and Jule. - -Captain Joe fawned about him as he advanced, but when he approached the -thicket where the boys had been preparing their rough beds, he saw that -they were not there. He lost no time in making a close examination of -the ground, both at the landing and at the entrance to the thicket. - -What he saw set his heart to bounding excitedly: At both points there -many indications of a desperate struggle. - -Had he known the plight in which Alex found himself at that moment, Clay -would have been doubly alarmed. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX.—TEDDY MAKES A SENSATION. - - -“What’s that you say?” thundered one of the men from the steamer, as -Alex explained to the houseboat men that neither party had any interest -whatever in the _Rambler_. - -“You’d better keep truth on your side, young man!” the other whiskey -boat man put in. - -“That’s right,” Alex declared, dodging away from one of the men who made -an attempt to seize him. “That’s right! These whiskey boat men never saw -this craft until last night. We rammed their steamer because they tried -to block us in a lagoon, and I hope we sunk her.” - -“You did all of that!” one of the others replied. - -“According to the boy’s statement,” Mose cut in, “you fellows have no -right on this boat at all, so I’d advise you to make yourself skurce.” - -The recent arrivals saw that they were not making good in their bluff to -the houseboat men and so resorted to sterner measures. - -Quick as a flash one of them seized the muzzle of the rusty old shotgun, -drew it away from the clumsy hands holding it, and dropped the weapon -into the river. Almost at the same instant, two automatic revolvers -flashed out of the hip pockets of the outlaws. - -“Now,” the man who had been doing most of the talking thundered, “you -river thieves get off this boat!” - -“We will when we get pay for our net!” - -“You never owned a net!” shouted the other. “You never had the price of -a dozen fish hooks at one time, say nothing about a net!” - -“Anyway,” Mose insisted, “I brought you over to this boat and kept the -boy from running away before you got here.” - -“Now, you’re talking sense,” the outlaw sneered. “Throw him a couple of -dollars, Chet,” he added. - -The fellow’s companion tossed two silver dollars scornfully down on the -deck and turned to Alex. - -“You get into the cabin,” he said, “and stay there. We’ll settle with -you later on.” - -Alex had no idea of remaining on board the _Rambler_ after it had passed -into the possession of the outlaws. He knew that the desire for revenge -on their part might lead to murder. He had no fear of being turned, over -to the officers of the law, for the outlaws were in no position to make -charges against others. He stepped into the cabin as requested and -closed the door after him. - -“Now, Teddy Bear,” he said, “you and I have got to jump away from this -darling old boat, and we’ve got to do it right soon.” - -Teddy, awakened from a sound sleep, scratched his nose with a soft paw -and replied in the most polite of bear talk that he would do whatever -Alex thought best. - -The men who belonged on the houseboat were by this time off the deck of -the _Rambler_. The outlaws, however, were watching the boy very closely. -They laughed when they saw him talking with the bear. - -“That’s a cute pet you have there!” one of the men exclaimed, speaking -through the broken panel of the door. - -“It is indeed,” Alex answered cheerfully. “Teddy Bear is a pretty good -friend. We’ve had him a long time.” - -“What’re you going to do with him?” asked the outlaw. - -“Take him back to Chicago with us.” - -The outlaws laughed and regarded the boy and the bear with humorous -faces. Alex sat down and watched them curiously. - -“I don’t see you getting back to Chicago right away,” one of them -finally said. “That is, not to-day nor to-morrow.” - -“Oh, we’re going down to Cairo first!” Alex grinned. - -The two outlaws turned away with a laugh, and as soon as their backs -were in view Alex opened the swinging sash of the rear window and -motioned for Teddy to leap out. - -The bear cub followed instructions, and landed lightly on the after -deck. In an instant Alex was through the window and the two sprang into -the water and made for the shore. - -The outlaws would doubtless have remained unconscious of the escape -until the boy and his companion had reached the thicket only that the -men on the houseboat shouted and pointed at the bear. - -“Look at the menagerie!” one of them cried. - -This brought the outlaws to the shore-side of the boat, and directly -several harmless bullets whizzed close to the two swimmers. - -“Go it, boy! Go it, bear!” was shouted from the houseboat. - -The three men already disgruntled by the manner in which they had been -treated by the outlaws, were now inclined to support Alex and the bear -in their efforts to escape. - -While the men on the _Rambler_ sent badly aimed bullets after the two in -the water, the men on the houseboat hurled billets of wood and whatever -else they could lay their hands on at the outlaws. - -This action on their part, while doing no physical harm whatever, had -the effect of directing the attention of the outlaws from the boy and -the bear to the three men. When Alex and Teddy disappeared in the -thicket on the east side of the little creek, immediately in the rear of -the houseboat, the outlaws were still firing, and the others were still -pitching wood and pieces of coal over the deck of the motor boat. - -After a very long run upstream, out, perhaps fifty yards from the -water’s edge, the boy and the bear threw themselves down on the moss -beneath a forest tree and panted out congratulations to each other on -their escape. - -“Teddy,” almost whimpered Alex. “We’ve gone and lost the _Rambler_!” - -The bear looked very grave indeed. - -“We’ve gone and lost the _Rambler_!” Alex went on, “and have nothing to -show for it at all! I set out to catch a fish, and lost the boat!” - -Teddy rubbed his soft muzzle against Alex’s, cheek and looked -sympathetic. He seemed to understand every word said. - -“And now, bear,” the boy went on, “we’ve got to walk five or ten miles -up this bank of the river and swim across. I guess the boys must be -pretty near a dozen miles away.” - -Teddy, while looking sympathetic, thrust his muzzle into Alex’s, pocket -looking for crackers. - -“Je—rusalem!” exclaimed Alex. “I wish I had some, Teddy. I never was so -empty in my life!” - -After a short rest, the boy arose and the two proceeded on their -difficult journey. Now and then they came to weedy fields where corn had -been grown and where great shocks of stalks still stood, but for the -most part their way lay through a narrow slice of forest which fringed -the river. Alex took occasion, after a time, to investigate some of the -corn shocks but found no ears. - -“Pretty soon,” the boy mused, “I’ll be hungry enough to eat the stalks. -And the boys must be hungry, too,” he went on, “but all the provisions -we had are on board the _Rambler_. I don’t know what they’ll say to me -when I go back and explain what happened.” - -After a long, long walk, during which it seemed to the boy that he had -covered at least a score of miles, he discerned on the opposite bank of -the river the little cove in which the _Rambler_ had been moored that -morning. Although he strained his eyes hoping to see the familiar -figures of his chums, he could see no motion whatever. - -“I guess they’ve got starved out and gone away,” the boy complained. “I -suppose when I get over there, there’ll be only a burned-out camp-fire -and nothing to eat. The next time I go out fishing for catfish, I won’t -go. It always brings bad luck.” - -Realizing that he might have to swim across the whole width of the -river, the boy kept on upstream knowing that it would be better to have -the current in his favor when he entered the water. - -While he sat looking across the stream, several river craft passed, some -going up and some going down. Once he thought of calling to a small -motor boat and asking the occupants to ferry him across the river. But -he soon changed his mind not knowing what sort of people he would be -likely to find in any of the river boats. - -While the boy stood near the bank of the river looking out, Teddy, as -usual, was nosing about looking for something to eat. The boy had hardly -noticed the absence of the bear when a succession of long shrill -squealings came from a thicket not far distant. - -“There!” the boy mused, starting away on a run. “Teddy has gone and -scared the life out of some one.” - -“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake! Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” - -The voice died away, and was succeeded by a commotion in the bushes just -ahead of the running boy. - -The next moment a little short, fat, dumpy negro with a fringe of gray -hair running around an otherwise bald head, came into view, trying to -run very fast, but succeeding only in stumbling over every obstruction -which came in his way, and landing flat on his back with his heels high -up in the air. The sight was indeed a comical one. - -“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake! Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” repeated the negro, his eyes -rolling in his head like great white marbles. - -Teddy, evidently unconscious of the sensation he was creating, came -dashing after the fallen darkey, and at once assumed a boxing attitude. - -“Take him away! Take him away!” roared the negro. “Ah’s done bein’ eat -up! Take de b’ar away, take him away!” - -Instead of taking the bear away, Alex, hungry and tired as he was, threw -himself down on the grass and roared with laughter. - -“Ah’s done bein’ eat up!” shouted the negro although Teddy was at least -two yards away. - -“He won’t hurt you,” Alex said as soon as he could control his voice. -“Teddy is a tame bear.” - -“Ah never did take to bears!” the negro shouted rolling his fat body -farther away. “Ah don’ see no good in b’ars.” - -After some persuasion the boy induced the negro to come nearer. This he -did with fear and trembling, and ever with a watchful eye on the playful -cub. - -“What’s your name?” asked Alex. - -“Uncle Zeke,” was the reply. - -“Do you live here?” was the next question. - -“Ah libs way up de ribber,” was the guarded reply. - -“Then you must have come down in a boat?” asked the boy. - -“Ah sure did!” answered the negro. - -“Well,” Alex said then, “we want to get over to the other side of the -river. Will you take us across?” - -The negro backed away from the bear again and seemed to be about to take -to his heels. He turned back in a moment, however, as if anxious to be -friendly with the boy and declared: - -“Ah nebber did cotton to no b’ar!” - -“Oh, he won’t hurt you,” the boy explained, “he’s just a tame cub. We’ve -had him ever since he was as big as a kitten. Row us across to that -little cove over there and I’ll give you a dollar.” - -Uncle Zeke fingered his bald pate and entered into negotiations for the -job, still with his eyes fixed suspiciously on Teddy. - -“Ah’ll done row you over for a dollar,” he said. - -“But the bear’s got to go,” Alex insisted. - -“Dat’ll be anudder dollar,” insisted Uncle Zeke. - -“All right,” Alex laughed, “where’s your boat?” - -Delighted with having made so good a bargain, Uncle Zeke led the way to -the river bank not far away and pointed out a fair-sized rowboat rocking -in the water. - -“Why!” Alex exclaimed excitedly. “Where did you get that boat?” - -“Ah bought it,” replied the negro. - -The boat was the one belonging to the _Rambler_! - -It had been left, it will be remembered, on the Kentucky shore of the -river some distance above Wolf Creek. The boys who had landed in search -of gasoline and spark plugs had left it hidden in a thicket. During -their absence, the _Rambler_ had made her way downstream for some -distance, and so the rowboat had not been recovered. It looked familiar -to Alex now. - -“Where did you buy it?” asked the boy. - -“Niggerman sold me dat boat,” answered the other. - -“All right,” Alex said. “Take us across and I’ll give you the two -dollars.” - -He had no intention of leaving the _Rambler_’s boat in the possession of -the negro, but he thought it advisable not to make any claim to the boat -until he had reached the other side of the river. - -With Teddy sitting at the very stern of the boat as far as possible from -the rower, the two were ferried across, striking the bank a few paces -above the east shore of the cove. - -“Now,” Alex said as he stepped ashore, “come on over to the camp and -I’ll give you your money.” Uncle Zeke eyed the bear critically. - -“Ah nebber did cotton to no b’ar!” he said. - -“Well,” Alex went on, “you’ll have to come over to the camp or I can’t -give you your money.” Very reluctantly the fat, old negro waddled over -to the heap of embers which was all that remained of the fire the boys -had built early that morning. Alex’s wandering attention was brought -back to the negro directly by a short, sharp cry of alarm. - -“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” he cried. “Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” - - - - -CHAPTER XX.—THE PIRATES’ NEST. - - -Alex sprang to his feet just as Captain Joe came dashing up to the -negro, looking fierce enough to consume him at one bite. - -If there had been any extra hair at the top of the old negro’s pate it -must have stood horizontal at that moment, for Teddy shambled up to the -bulldog and began a series of boxing antics such as the old fellow had -never witnessed before. - -“Gimme mah two dollahs!” he finally managed to shout. “Gimme mah two -dollahs, and Ah’ll done go ’way!” - -Before Alex could reply, Clay came into the little opening and stood -gazing about with wondering eyes. - -“Did you see Case and Jule?” was the first question he asked of Alex. - -The boy shook his head silently. - -“I left them here!” he said. - -Clay stepped toward the bank and looked out over the cove. - -“Where is the _Rambler_?” he asked, not without anxiety in his voice. - -“The pirates got her!” was Alex’s reply, and there were actually tears -in his eyes as he spoke. - -During this short conversation between the two boys, Uncle Zeke had -stood, trembling, by the heap of embers, gazing from boy to boy and from -bear to dog. - -“Ah nebber did cotton to no bulldog!” he said. - -“Where did you get that?” asked Clay, forgetting for a moment what -Alex’s reply meant to the party. - -“That’s Uncle Zeke,” answered Alex with a grin. “He rowed Teddy and I -across the river.” - -“Ah’m goin’ to hab two dollahs!” put in the negro. - -Clay again turned toward Alex, his manner showing great excitement. - -“Tell me about it!” he said kindly. - -Alex told the story, already well known to the reader, in as few words -as possible. Clay did not interrupt him, and at the close stood looking -out on the river with a very grave face. - -“We’ve got to get her back!” Alex shouted in a moment. “We’ve just got -to get the _Rambler_ back!” - -“Of course,” Clay said stubbornly, “of course! I was only thinking how. -There surely must be some way.” - -“Where are Case and Jule?” Alex now asked. - -“I don’t know!” was the reply. “I went away to look up something to eat, -and when I came back, they were not here.” - -“They probably went after something to eat, too!” Alex suggested. - -“No,” Clay went on, “I was to bring back provisions, if I succeeded in -finding any. When I returned, Captain Joe was here, but they were gone.” - -“That’s strange!” Alex muttered. “I don’t see why they should leave camp -when they were expecting you to bring them something to eat.” - -“I don’t think they left the camp voluntarily,” Clay continued. “If -you’ll look at the head of the cove, and at the side of the thicket -where they were preparing their beds, you’ll see evidences of a -struggle.” - -“I’ll tell you what it is,” Alex began, “those pirates from the steamer -we sunk got down here on that coal tow and swam ashore.” - -“That is very likely!” Clay replied. “We know, at least, that two of -them were on the coal tow.” - -“Yes, sir,” the boy went on, “they saw the fire here, and recognized the -_Rambler_ lying just below the barges, and swam ashore to punish us for -ramming their old whiskey boat.” - -“There may be something in that,” Clay returned. - -“And, then, after the _Rambler_ was crowded downstream, and after you -went away to get something to eat, they attacked the two boys and lugged -them away. I wish we’d killed them all.” - -“You’re the bloodthirsty little fellow this morning!” Clay smiled. - -“I don’t care!” Alex responded. “Just think of our motor boat, with all -the provisions and ammunition on board, falling into the hands of those -outlaws! I’ll just tell you right now, Clay,” he went on, flushing with -anger, “if I’d had a stick of dynamite handy, I’d have set the fuse on -fire before I crawled out of the cabin window.” - -“Then I’m glad you didn’t have any dynamite handy!” smiled Clay. - -Uncle Zeke, who had been standing motionless in mortal terror of the dog -and the bear, now stepped forward. - -“Ah done hear what you-all said,” he remarked. - -“Of course,” Clay answered, “have you any idea in your head at all which -points to the recovery of our motor boat?” - -“Ah nebber done cotton to dem pirates,” said the negro. - -“Well, then, show us how to get our boat back!” Alex laughed. - -“Ah suah will,” replied the negro. “Dem pirates,” he continued, “has a -nes’ nex’ de big bend Ah been dere many a time. You go more ’n forty -miles aroun’ de ben’ an’ you go ten miles across.” - -“Aw!” laughed Alex. “There isn’t any such bend on the Ohio river in this -vicinity. There’s a bend below here that makes a circuit of about ten or -twelve miles to get one mile downstream.” - -“Ah don’ know ’bout no miles,” Uncle Zeke answered. “Ah know ’bout dat -pirate’s nes’ at de horseshoe ben’.” - -“Can you get across the neck in a rowboat?” asked Clay. - -“Ah suah can,” was the reply. - -“You didn’t know, did you, that the boat you have is one that belonged -to our motor boat? We lost it a ways up the river.” - -“Ah done gib two yaller-legged hens for dat boat,” insisted Uncle Zeke. -“Ah buy it of a black nigger.” - -“Well, I suppose it was abandoned property, anyway,” Clay said, “so -we’ll pay you for it if we find that we need it again.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXI.—FATE TAKES A TRICK. - - -Left alone in the thicket at the head of the cove, Case and Jule waited -for some time for the appearance of Captain Joe. While not actually -afraid of any attack upon themselves in that quiet place, they much -preferred leaving the bulldog on watch when they went to sleep. - -“Captain Joe ought to be here before long,” Case observed searching the -thickets with his eyes in the hope of discerning the bulky form of the -dog. “It is a rare thing for him to go away alone, but when he has done -so in the past he soon returns.” - -“I wish he’d come back right now,” Jule replied, “I’m so sleepy I -couldn’t eat a breakfast if we had one. Look here, Case,” he went on, -“why is it that we always have such infernal bad luck when we start out -on a river trip? Its been night-and-day trouble ever since we left -Pittsburgh.” - -“Yes,” Case replied, “and it was night-and-day trouble on the Amazon, -and on the Columbia, and on the Colorado, and on the Mississippi, and on -the St. Lawrence. I’ll tell you what I think we ought to do,” he -continued with a grin, “we ought to take an aeroplane along so we could -mount up into the blue sky when things got mixed.” - -“I wouldn’t mind being several miles up in the blue sky right now,” Jule -laughed, “if I could find a nice soft cloud to sleep on. They look like -feather beds, don’t they?” he asked, pointing to wandering clouds in the -sky some of them tipped with the early sunlight. - -“They certainly do,” answered Case, “but I’m afraid you wouldn’t find -them very soft or very dry. In fact, you’d fall right through and -probably tumble into the river. Did it ever occur to you,” he went on, -“that a cloud is a great big bluff? It looks solid and handsome, and all -that, from the surface of the earth, but it’s nothing but a great big -fog.” - -“I never lost much time considering clouds, Jule replied. “Suppose you -go out into the woods and see if you can’t find Captain Joe.” - -“No use to look for him,” Case replied, “if he’s got the trail of a -rabbit, he’ll run from now until next week at two o’clock.” - -“Then let’s go to sleep,” Jule proposed. “We can lie right down here in -the thicket, and if anyone should come poking around, they wouldn’t be -able to see us. We didn’t have any sleep last night at all, you know.” - -“I don’t know what’s the matter with the bunch, anyway,” Case said, -rather crossly. “Clay goes off to get breakfast and doesn’t come back, -and Alex goes out to get fish and gets chased off by a coal tow, and -Captain Joe runs away and doesn’t return!” - -“Alex ought to be here by this time,” Jule complained. “There’s plenty -to eat on board the _Rambler_, so if Clay doesn’t find any provisions we -won’t go hungry. Everything seems to be going wrong.” - -“Moved and supported that we go to sleep,” Case replied. “The ayes have -it! Motion prevails! You just watch now and see me flop down here in the -bushes. I’m going to sleep a week!” - -“All right!” Jule answered with a yawn. “When it comes to sleeping, you -haven’t got anything on me.” - -“And when we wake up,” Case continued, “we’ll see the _Rambler_ riding -out there in the cove, with Alex cooking the catfish a la Indian, and -Clay exhibiting the eggs and milk he bought at some romantic farm -house.” - -“Go to sleep and dream all that!” Jule snorted. - -The boys lay down on the beds of leaves which they had prepared in the -undergrowth and were soon sound asleep. After all, they had nothing -serious to worry over, for they both believed that a situation something -like that forecast by Case would present itself when they awoke. - -The sun rising over the river cast long lances of light into the thicket -where they lay. The cool breeze of the morning stirred the leaves about -them like a lullaby. The birds darted and sang in the sweet air. The -scene was as peaceful and pastoral as one might well imagine. - -But only for a time. Directly the heavy tramp of horses was heard, the -rattling of rings and the champing of bits. - -The riders, a score or more, advanced through the woods to the cove and -halted on the east shore. There they tied their horses to trees and -threw themselves upon the ground. They were sturdy men, clean-limbed, -alert, with fierce eyes and determined faces. - -All unconscious of the presence of the riders, the boys slept on. -Presently a lean hound belonging to the company ran sniffing and -snarling around to the thicket where Case and Jule lay. There he sat up -such a baying as might have awakened the Seven Sleepers. - -The two boys sleepily rubbed their eyes and looked about. It seemed to -them at first that Captain Joe had returned, but they soon saw the -difference between the lean hound and the white bulldog. - -“What’s got into your dog, Peck?” one of the men asked. - -“He’s found something in the bushes.” - -“The consarned brute is always finding something in the bushes, when we -want to keep under cover!” snarled the other man. - -“Look here, Hart,” Peck said sternly, “you let the dog alone. He’s done -us many a good turn in his time, and he’s likely to do more. I wasn’t -thinking about the dog at all,” Peck went on. “Just take a couple of -sniffs at the air and see if you can locate that wood fire.” - -“There surely is a fire hereabouts!” Hart answered in a conciliating -tone. “Perhaps there are tramps here and the dog has come and caught -them. If so, we’ll send them about their business.” - -The two men arose, passed around the cove and soon came to the thicket -where Case and Jule were struggling to their feet rubbing their eyes -sleepily as they did so. - -“Hello here!” Hart exclaimed. “This seems to be quite a find.” - -The two boys, now thoroughly awake, reached for their automatics as they -gained their feet. The men’s faces glared down upon them sinister and -suspicious. - -They glanced eagerly about hoping to see the _Rambler_ riding in the -cove but, as the reader understands, the motor boat was not there. Clay -had not returned and the fire built for the purpose of cooking the fish -had burned down to embers. - -“None of that, boys!” Peck threatened as Case and Jule reached their -hands back to their hip pockets. “You don’t have to draw any guns on -us.” - -“If you try it,” Hart cut in angrily, “you’ll get a taste of good birch -rods. We have no time to fool with boys.” - -By this time the men lounging on the bank of the cove were on their -feet, taking note of what was going on near the fire. Seeing their -companions talking with two boys who seemed to them to be tramps, they -dropped back to the ground again without interest. - -A tall, rather pleasant looking man however soon left the group and -approached the place where the boys were standing. - -“What seems to be the trouble, Peck,” he asked as he drew near. - -“Well, Ball,” Peck answered, “we seem to have come upon two boy tramps. -They’re harmless enough, I guess.” - -“Where are you going, boys?” Ball asked. - -“Waiting for our chums to come back with the boat,” answered Case. - -“So you’ve got a boat have you?” Hart exclaimed. - -At the mention of a boat, Ball leaned forward and eyed the boys -critically, a suspicious gleam in his eyes. - -“Where is the boat now?” he asked. - -“Down the river,” was the reply. - -“You see,” Jule went on, helping Case to answer the question, “one of -the boys went out to catch a fish and a coal tow chased him down. He’ll -be back directly. Ought to be here now.” - -“What kind of a boat is it?” asked Ball. - -“Motor boat,” replied Case. - -Ball beckoned Peck and Hall a short distance away and the three stood -for some moments in earnest conversation. - -“Oh, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the boys,” Peck was -heard to say. “No use to trouble them.” - -“We can’t afford to take any chances,” Hart replied. “Just where did you -see that motor boat?” he went on turning to Peck. - -“Some distance up the river,” was the reply. “I went out to a bar where -several coal barges had stranded to see if the pirates had had anything -to do with the trouble, and there I saw a motor boat.” - -“Did you talk with the boys?” Peck asked. - -“Yes,” Peck answered, “I talked with the boys, and they talked straight -enough, but I didn’t like their suspicious actions. They couldn’t give -any account of themselves, except that they were going down the river -just for the fun of the thing. Besides, I’m certain they heard the men -talking and the horses fussing on the bank. I saw them looking that way -several times. I’m rather afraid of them!” - -“Did they ask you a lot of questions?” demanded Hart. - -“Why,” was the reply, “I told them we were out after the river pirates, -and they seemed satisfied with that.” - -“It seems to me,” Hart insisted, “that we ought not to turn these boys -loose. I just believe they’re spies sent here by our enemies. It can’t -do any harm to take charge of them for a little while, anyway.” - -“Still, this motor boat,” Peck suggested, “is a mighty fine craft, and -these boys appear to me to belong to wealthy families. The boat will -soon be back here, if what the boys say is true, and then inquiries will -be made, and the first thing we know the District Attorney will have -every one of our names before the grand jury.” - -“You may be right,” Hart said reluctantly, “and if I thought the boys -would go on about their business as soon as the boat returns, I’d be in -favor of letting them alone, but I don’t believe they will. They’ll just -sneak and pry around here until they get us into trouble.” - -“Perhaps we’d better put the whole matter up to the others,” suggested -Ball, “then, whatever action is taken, we can’t be blamed.” - -“Now see here, fellows,” Peck exclaimed, “there are quite a number of -reckless fellows in that company over there, and I’m afraid they -wouldn’t take into consideration the fact that they are dealing with -little boys. Now I’ll tell you what I propose. - -“If you think best, I’ll take the boys up to the house and leave them -there with the old woman. Then we’ll scatter, and by the time the boys -get back with their friends, the country will be as peaceful as a stony -farm in Massachusetts.” - -“That will be all right,” Hart agreed, “provided some of us remain here -and take charge of the other boys when they return.” - -“Yes, I think that advisable,” Peck admitted. “Now, I’ll tell you what -you do, Ball, and perhaps you’d better go with him, Hart—you take these -boys over to my place and leave them there with instructions to the old -lady to keep them safe and sound until I get back. While you’re gone. -I’ll dismiss the company and stay on watch here.” - -“That’s a good idea!” Ball declared. “We don’t mean any harm to these -boys, but we certainly must keep track of them until they get out of the -country. If their friends come back here and seem to be all right, we’ll -pack them all off in their own boat, and wish them good luck on their -trip down the river. We can’t be too careful, you know.” - -The plan mapped out in this conversation was carried out. Case and Jule -were marched to the farm house where Clay had taken his breakfast and -locked up in a room guarded by the motherly old lady who had been so -kind to Clay. Dismayed but not disheartened at the sudden change of -fortune, the boys sat down on rude chairs in their not very secure -prison and regarded each other with humorous glances. - -“And when we wake up,” Jule mocked, “well see the _Rambler_ riding in -the cove and Alex cooking a catfish a la Indian at the fire! If I -couldn’t get things any straighter than you can, Case, I’d certainly go -out of the prophet business! As a forecaster of future events, you’re -about as big a frost as the weather department of the United States -Government! What does all this mean, anyway?” - -“You can search me,” Case answered a little sourly. “I don’ know whether -we’re under arrest, or whether we’ve been snatched up by a choice -collection of river pirates, or stored away for ransom by whitecaps.” - -“The leading impression in my mind, if you want to know,” Jule -announced, “isn’t in my mind at all; it’s in my stomach!” - -“You’re always hungry!” laughed Case. - -“Hungry!” repeated Jule. “The word hunger doesn’t express it. I wonder -if the old lady will give us something to eat.” - -“And indeed I will!” cried a feminine voice from the other side of the -door. “Sure I will, boys! Somehow it seems to be raining boys on this -’tarnal old farm this morning!” - -“Let us out,” Clay suggested, “and we’ll help you get something to eat. -You’ll want water or wood to be brought, or something of that kind. We -won’t run away.” - -“I reckon my old batter pail will be empty if any more hungry lads come -up from the river,” Mrs. Peck went on, opening the door. - -“Did you have one hungry boy here this morning?” asked Case. - -Mrs. Peck replied in the affirmative, and Case and Jule exchanged -significant glances. They understood very well who that hungry boy was, -and, in answer to questions asked of the friendly old woman, were soon -in possession of all the facts connected with Clay’s visit to the place -and return to the river. - -And while the boys were eating a generous breakfast prepared by their -kind-hearted jailor, Alex, Clay and Uncle Zeke were discussing the -possibility of reaching the _Rambler_ by the cut-off across Horseshoe -bend. - -While they talked and planned two pair of black, suspicious eyes were -gazing out at them from the undergrowth on the east side of the cove, -and the dog was sniffing suspiciously in that direction. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII.—THE NIGHT-RIDERS. - - -While the two boys laid their plans by the embers of the camp-fire, Peck -and his companion, the watchers, moved stealthily over in their -direction and came within sound of their voices. - -“Now, Uncle Zeke,” they heard Alex say, “if you can get us through the -cut-off and bring us out to where the pirates have their ‘nest’, as you -call it, we’ll give you ten dollars, and if we succeed in getting the -_Rambler_ away from them, we’ll take you down the river with us and get -you a good job up north.” - -“Ah’d hab to work up norf!” Uncle Zeke answered with a grin. - -“You certainly would,” Clay laughed. - -“Ah nebber did cotton to no work!” the negro replied. - -“Well, then,” Alex promised, “if we get the boat, we’ll give you -twenty-five dollars. Now, you’ll do your best to get us through, won’t -you? We’ve just got to get that craft and slide out of this country.” - -“That’s about what I thought!” Peck whispered to his companion. “All the -boys want is to get their boat back and get out of the country.” - -“What was it that kid said about pirates?” asked the other. - -“Perhaps the pirates stole their boat,” suggested Peck. - -“If we keep still, we’ll soon find out, probably.” - -“Before we leave this country,” Clay said in a moment, “we ought to get -even with those pirates in some way. They tried to shut us into the -lagoon so they could get possession of the boat, and we got away from -them. Now they’ve actually captured the _Rambler_, and may do a lot of -harm to the motors before we can get it back. I don’t believe they know -how to run a boat like the _Rambler_!” - -“There!” Peck exclaimed, nudging his companion in the side. “Them pesky -pirates are to blame for the boys being here. Now if these boys have -seen anything that might make us trouble, these river robbers are to -blame for it. I wish we hadn’t sent the two kids we found here up to the -house. They are having troubles enough of their own.” - -“Well,” Peck’s companion observed, “I don’t see any necessity for us to -remain here after this. We’ve got to see a lot of the boys to-day, after -we find out exactly what is to be done to-night, and so we may as well -go on about our business.” - -Peck hesitated for a long time before he replied. - -“The boys,” he said then, “seem to be bribing the old nigger to show -them the way through the cut-off.” - -“That’s the way I get it.” - -“And the old coon’s been telling them that the pirates have a rendezvous -somewhere near the end of the cut-off. Is that the way you understand -it?” - -“That’s what the boy said,” was the answer. “Anyway, they’re expecting -the nigger to take them to the pirates’ rendezvous and help them get -their boat back.” - -“Then,” Peck continued, “if you’re satisfied that it’s the right thing -to do, I’ll go back to the house, turn the other boys loose, and tell -them where they can find their friends.” - -“That’ll be all right so far as I’m concerned.” - -Captain Joe ran inquisitively toward the thicket as the men moved away, -but made no demonstration, as the intruders were not approaching the -fire. - -“Now,” Alex said, “if we can persuade Uncle Zeke to bring in a large, -long piece of firewood, or a stone from the river, or some edible thing -of that sort. I’ll have breakfast. If you can’t find anything of that -sort that I can digest, Uncle Zeke,” he went on whimsically, “pass me -one of the oars and I’ll take a light lunch off that.” - -“Why,” Clay laughed, “what’s the matter with Uncle Zeke going out and -getting a fish?” - -“That may be all right,” Alex replied. “But look here, Uncle Zeke,” he -went on, “if you get hold of a fish of the forty-mule-power variety, -don’t you ever try to pull him in! He’ll drag you down the river, and -there’s a party of thieves in a houseboat down there who are waiting for -some nice fat darkey to cook for their dinner.” - -“Ah nebber did cotton to no houseboat trash!” the negro exclaimed. - -“Can you catch a fish for this starving boy?” demanded Clay. - -“Ah suah can!” answered Uncle Zeke. “Dar’s plenty ob fish in de ribber, -but Ah hain’t got no hook an’ line.” - -“Can you find bait?” asked Alex. - -“Worms and grubs!” replied the darker pointing to the bank of the river. - -“Well,” Clay informed him, “there are hooks and lines under the prow of -the rowboat. You’ll find all kinds of fishing outfit there, including a -piece of a jointed bamboo rod. If I wasn’t so nearly dead for want of -sleep, I’d go and catch a fish myself!” - -“That’s the ticket!” cried Alex. “You crawl under there and go to sleep, -and when Uncle Zeke and I come back from our fishing trip, you’ll be -somewhere up in the blue sky looking for Case and Jule.” - -“Mighty funny thing where those boys went to!” Clay suggested. “Do the -pirates ever come over into this cove, Uncle Zeke?” he added. - -The negro, being somewhat puzzled at the abrupt question, Clay explained -to him that two of their chums had disappeared in a mysterious manner. -After listening to the explanation, the old negro made a circuit of the -cove, examining the turf closely as he passed along. - -When he returned to the embers of the fire, what was left of his gray -hair was standing almost on end notwithstanding its natural kinkiness. -The terror he had felt at the sight of the bear was nothing to this. - -“What is it, Uncle Zeke?” Alex asked. - -“Night-riders!” replied the old darkey. - -“You’ll have to get a new dream book, Uncle Zeke!” Alex laughed. “Ten or -fifteen years ago there were night-riders, and all that sort of thing in -Kentucky, but nothing of that kind goes now.” - -“Ah nebber did cotton to no night-riders!” exclaimed the negro. - -“What makes you think night-riders have been here?” asked Clay. - -“’Cause,” answered the negro, “dey’re gettin’ mighty promiscuous lately. -Ah’m feared ob dem night-riders.” - -“What did you see over there?” demanded Clay, - -“Hoss tracks!” answered the negro. - -The two boys looked at each other with understanding in their eyes. - -“Do you remember the trampling we heard at the bar where the barges were -stranded?” asked Alex. - -“Yes,” replied Clay, “and I remember, too, the horses tied in the -thicket near the house where I had breakfast.” - -“Do you think the night-riders carried the boys away?” asked Alex. - -“Ah sure do!” replied Uncle Zeke. “Mighty ’spicious people, dem -night-riders! Ah nebber did cotton to ’em.” - -“Well,” Alex suggested in a moment, “you go see if you can get a fish. -I’ll stay here with Clay and watch for night-riders. If they show up -while you’re gone. I’ll pick out the fattest one and eat him for -breakfast. I’m hungry enough to eat a night-rider, horse and all!” - -Uncle Zeke disappeared in the direction of the boat with a grin on his -black face, and in a few moments Alex had the satisfaction of seeing him -haul a couple of good-sized perch from the river. The boy instantly -darted into the thicket after dry wood, and before many minutes the old -darkey was on shore with his catch. - -“Now,” Alex asked, “how am I ever going to get them cooked?” - -“Why,” Clay answered, “there’s a small frying-pan in the bow locker of -the boat. Don’t you remember how we always kept a few provisions and -cooking utensils in there in case of accident?” - -“What kind of provisions?” shouted Alex, dancing about. - -“Why, canned beans, and tomatoes, and chicken!” answered Clay. - -“Je—rusalem, my happy home!” shouted Alex. “Do you mean to tell me that -all that good eating has been in the boat all this time while my stomach -has been growing to my back bone?” - -He dashed off to the boat as he spoke, and soon returned with a beaming -face, his arms piled high with tinned goods. He soon had some of the -cans opened and before many minutes, the perch were sizzling in the -frying-pan. - -“Ah sure should know ’bout that chicken!” grinned Uncle Zeke as he -watched the boys open a tin can. - -Clay sat back and laughed heartily at the puzzled expression on the -negro’s face. - -“If you’d only known about that chicken being there, you’d have found a -place for it long before this, wouldn’t you. Uncle Zeke?” he asked. - -“Ah sure would!” replied the old darkey. “Ah sure done gettin’ hungry -right now! Yaller-legged chicken! Huh!” - -“All right!” Clay suggested. “As soon as Alex gets the fish ready, we’ll -all have breakfast. I’ve had one good feed this morning, but I can stand -another.” - -“Tell you what,” the old darkey continued with his eyes fixed ravenously -on the frying fish. “Ah don’t go through no cut-off wid de sun up! Dat -country’s full of pesky pirates.” - -“Mother of Moses!” cried Alex. “Have we got to wait here until night? If -we have, I’ll spend the time eating.” - -“That might not be a bad idea!” Clay exclaimed. “Case and Jule may come -back before long. If they really have been captured by the night-riders, -they won’t be held very long.” - -“We don’t know that,” Alex insisted. “The man we talked with up at the -barges was probably a night-rider, and he talked fair enough, but if -they suspect the boys of being spies, it will be a long time before they -gain their liberty.” - -“Anyway,” Clay suggested, “if we have to remain here until twilight, we -can look about on the chance of finding the kids.” - -“Ah’m advisin’ you boys not to do no lookin’ about in dis here country!” -Uncle Zeke exclaimed. “Mighty ’spicious people, dem night-riders!” - -“That’s exactly the idea, Alex!” Clay expressed himself. “The -night-riders probably suspect that we are here as spies and that’s why -they have taken the boys away. Now there’ll probably be something doing -here before long, for the riders seem to be out in force. - -“After they have accomplished the purpose of their gathering, they’ll -probably disband, and there’ll be no more trouble with them until they -get ready to burn down another tobacco warehouse, or beat up some -defenseless grower, whose only crime is to want to get rid of his -product.” - -While these events had been taking place at the landing, Case and Jule, -very much to their surprise, had been released from surveillance at the -farm house and advised to make their way back to the river. - -“My old man declares there’s no harm in you-ins,” Mrs. Peck said, as she -patted the boys on the shoulder in a motherly way and wished them good -luck. “You’ll probably find your friends at the cove,” she said, “for -our folks just returned from there, and the boys were waiting for you to -show up. Only don’t say a word about having been brought here at all. It -will be better for you not to.” - -The boys agreed to this, and shot away at a double-quick pace toward the -cove, anxious to meet their chums, and doubly anxious to be on the deck -of the good old _Rambler_ again. They were hardly outside the clearing -in the middle of which the old farm house stood when a party of a dozen -men came dashing across the weed-grown field and approached the old -woman now standing in the doorway. - -“Where are those boys?” the man who seemed to be the leader of the party -demanded. “Bring them out here, quick!” - -As he spoke, several members of the party flourished long beechen whips -which had evidently been cut from the forest very recently. - -“What do you-uns want of the boys?” asked the old lady mildly. “We’ll -explain that to them!” answered the leader, his face flushing with -anger. “We don’t have to be cross-examined by you.” - -“I sho’ hope those boys hain’t done no mischief,” the woman replied. - -“They’re spies!” the leader shouted. “We’ve just found out that they’re -spies! The word came down the river! Where are they?” - -“I’m sure sorry,” Mrs. Peck answered, “but Ball done brought me word -from my old man to turn the lads loose.” - -“Which way did they go?” demanded the leader. Mrs. Peck hesitated. She -knew what her fate would be should she attempt to deceive these lawless -night-riders, and should be detected. Her idea was to protect the boys -as far as lay in her power, yet she did not want to render herself and -family liable to the wrath of the riders. - -“Sho’, now,” she said after a moment’s silence, “them boys ducked out of -the clearing somewhere west, and I was that stupid that I didn’t see -whether they kept straight on west or not.” - -“Oh, what’s the use of talking with a woman?” demanded one of the -riders. “The boys undoubtedly returned to the river. We’ll find them -there if we make haste.” - -“And when we do find them,” the leader declared spitefully, “we’ll give -them a bit of instruction according to Doctor Birch. We have desperate -work on hand for the next week, and we can’t afford to have our plans -frustrated by a few school-boys!” - -The party dashed away at a gallop. The old lady saw them approach the -forest with a sinking heart. - -Before they reached the tumbled-down fence, however, she saw them wheel -suddenly about and point with their whips to the south, where a mass of -flame and smoke was roaring skyward. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII.—THE RAMBLER’S LIGHTS. - - -Unmindful of the peril which they had so fortunately escaped, Case and -Jule made their way through the forest in quick time and finally came to -a point from which the camp at the head of the cove was to be seen. It -is needless to say that the sight of their chums was more than pleasing. - -At the moment of their approach, Alex was taking the fish from the fire, -Clay was opening tinned goods, and Uncle Zeke stood mourning over the -fact that he had not sooner discovered the presence of the yellow-legged -chicken. - -The boys dashed down to the fire with shouts of joy, and the reader may -well understand that their welcome was a hearty one. - -“Where’s the _Rambler_?” Case asked of Alex after the greetings were -over. “She ought to be put there in the cove.” - -“The pirates got her!” Alex answered briefly. - -“Have you been to breakfast?” Clay cut in. - -“Have we been to breakfast?” repeated Case, - -“We’ve been captured, and fed, and released since we saw you. Do you -know, boys,” he added, dancing cautiously around, “that I’ve got an idea -that we’re mixing up with night-riders.” - -“We have just been informed of that fact by Uncle Zeke,” Clay answered. -“Where did you see night-riders?” he added. - -“Just after you left,” Case explained, “a company of men came here on -horses. We heard them talking about our being spies. Then we were taken -to a house back in the country and locked up. Then we were given a peach -of a breakfast by the kindliest old lady you ever saw and turned loose. -Now what do you think of all that?” - -“Night-riders!” exclaimed Alex. “Why do the riders ride, and why do the -riders ride at night?” “You’ve come to the right shop for information,” -Jule replied with a grin. “Just before we left Chicago I was reading a -book about night-riders. They ride because they can’t get over the -ground fast enough on foot, and they ride at night because they don’t -want any one to see them riding.” - -“That’s all right!” chuckled Alex. “Now tell me what they ride for. In -other words, what’s the answer?” - -“The night-riders want ten or twelve cents a pound for their tobacco, -and the planters on the lower lands near the river are willing to sell -theirs for five or six cents a pound, because they can raise more crops -a year and because their land is easier tilled.” - -“And so they’re getting up a combination in restraint of trade, eh?” -laughed Alex. “That seems to be the proper thing to do.” - -“I don’t know about that,” Jule went on, “but they’re trying to equalize -prices by reducing the supply. Whenever these river planters get nice -big warehouses packed full of the weed, the night-riders make their -appearance in the dark of the moon and burn them down.” - -“This night-rider business was all right ten or fifteen years ago,” Clay -insisted, “but I don’t believe there’s anything doing in that line now.” - -“Then what are all these men out with their horses for?” demanded Jule. - -“Yes, and why did they lug us off to a farm house, and lock us up until -some one sent word that we wasn’t spies?” Case demanded. - -The boys now turned their attention to the old negro who stood on a -little elevation at the back of the cove sniffing suspiciously at the -air. - -“Where did you get that coon?” asked Case. - -“He brought our boat down the river to us,” laughed Alex. - -“Honest, did he?” demanded Jule. - -“If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t be eating tinned goods would we?” asked Clay. - -“Why, you might get those out of the _Rambler_,” Case ventured. “That -was a joke about the pirates getting the motor boat, wasn’t it?” - -“Indeed it wasn’t!” Alex replied gravely, and in a short time the story -of the boys’ morning adventures was told. - -“Now, that’s what I call rotten!” Jule cried out. “And I move that we -get to a telegraph office somewhere and notify some central point from -which all the police boats on the river can be notified of what has been -done. We’ve got to get the boat back!” - -“I don’t like to call out the state troops,” Clay grinned. “We got into -this scrape, and I want to get out of it without any help from the -officers if possible. Uncle Zeke thinks he can take us to the _Rambler_ -to-night, and we’re going to wait here until the edge of the evening and -make the attempt.” - -“What’s the matter with Uncle Zeke?” asked Case. “He stands up there -snuffing the air as if he smelled more chicken.” - -In a moment the old negro came dashing down to where the boys stood, his -eyes almost starting from his head. - -“It doesn’t take much to frighten you, Uncle Zeke,” Clay laughed as the -old darkey came up on a run. “According to all accounts, you have fits -on the slightest provocation. The bear and the dog and the tracks of -horses’ feet have all set you going this morning. What is it this time?” - -“It’s done broke out! It’s done broke out!” exclaimed the negro looking -wildly about and even starting for the rowboat. - -Clay caught him by the arm and held him back. “Here,” he said, “you -ain’t going away with that boat right now! See if you can’t catch your -breath long enough to tell us what’s ‘done broke out’. Put us wise to -what the trouble is.” - -“De night-riders done broke out!” cried the old negro. “Ah smell ’em!” - -“What is it you smell?” asked Clay. - -“Burnin’ ’baccy!” was the reply. “Dey done fire some warehouse!” - -“Not in the daytime!” exclaimed Jule. “They don’t set fire to warehouses -in the daytime!” - -“Cain’t nebber tell whut dem night-riders gwine do nex’,” answered Uncle -Zeke. “Dey’re pow’ful ornery trash!” - -“I know what I’m going to do next!” Alex exclaimed. “I’ve got a misery -in my stomach and I’m going to quell it right now!” - -“You hungry, Uncle Zeke?” asked Clay. - -“Ah sure got mah eye on dat chicken!” - -“Well,” Clay went on, “if you run up through that fringe of trees and -see what’s burning, I’ll give you some chicken as soon as you get back.” - -The old negro was off like a shot. In ten minutes he was back with the -report that he had learned from a farmer who was hastening toward the -conflagration that the Slocum warehouses, not more than half a mile -away, had been set on fire just before daylight and had smoldered for -hours before bursting into flames. - -“It strikes me,” Case suggested, “that the best thing we boys can do is -to get out of this country right now. We’ve bumped into river pirates, -and night-riders, and the next we know, we’ll be arrested by some fresh -officers charged with being in cahoots with the incendiaries.” - -“I’m not going to run away without that motor boat,” Alex muttered, his -mouth full of fried fish. - -“What’s the use?” asked Jule. “If we start out now, we’re likely to be -followed, and if we remain here in camp we may escape observation. The -night-riders know we’re here, of course, but they’ll be too busy getting -under cover to pay any attention to us to-day.” - -“That listens good to me!” Alex put in. “We’ll stay here till night and -work our way through the cut-off by the light of burning warehouses. I -wish I could say ‘by the light of burning saloon boats’, too.” - -“Talk about your wild life at the head waters of the Amazon!” roared -Clay, “this peaceful little old Ohio river beats anything we have -encountered yet. We seem to get into the thick of it everywhere we go.” - -The boys were not molested during the day. - -Shortly after noon a negro who looked about as badly frightened as one -could imagine, came down the river in an old canoe and stopped to talk -with Zeke. - -He stated that the night-riders had destroyed several warehouses the -night before, and had also whipped several planters who had resisted. - -“Ah nebber did done cotton to no night-riders!” the old darkey informed -the boys as he repeated the story. - -“I wonder if those outlaws will make trouble for Mrs. Peck for letting -us go,” mused Case. “Say, Uncle Zeke!” he said in a moment. “If you’ll -send this friend of yours up to a farm house in the interior, we’ll give -you a dollar.” - -“Ah wants dat dollah!” Zeke exclaimed. - -“All right, go yourself if you want to,” Case answered. “We want to know -if the woman in the farm house has been troubled at all by the -night-riders. We want you to go and tell her that we’re down here in the -cove, and will do all we can to help her if she gets into trouble.” - -“Dat’s mah dollah!” cried Uncle Zeke already on his way. - -In a couple of hours the negro returned with the information that he had -talked with the woman, and that she had seemed grateful for the offer -made. He stated, too, that there were men about the house, and that they -had been highly amused at the message he had delivered. - -“Dey sure done laugh at dis ol’ coon!” Uncle Zeke added, “when ah tole -’em you-all wanted to come up an’ fight for de lady what gib you-all -pancakes an’ coffee. Dey sure did roar!” - -“What did they say about the burning warehouse?” asked Clay. - -“Ah sure don’ mention no burnin’ warehouse where dem men is,” replied -the darkey. “Mought be dey set dat fire demselves.” - -“Well,” Case said handing the darkey a silver dollar. “Here’s your -money. I would have given more to have informed the old lady that we -felt grateful for what she did for us this morning.” - -“She shore glad you-all feel so!” Uncle Zeke replied. - -At five o’clock in the afternoon, Alex sent Uncle Zeke out to catch more -fish and began building up the fire. - -“What’s coming off now?” asked Jule. - -“What do you ’spose is coming off?” demanded Alex. “I haven’t had -anything to eat for two or three hours.” - -“The kid is all right!” Clay declared. “We must get supper early and -make up a lot of sandwiches for midnight. We may have to lay and wait in -the cut-off for hours before we can get to the _Rambler_. We can’t show -any lights, and so it will be impossible to cook. So, as Alex will be -sure to be hungry, we’ll take our midnight supper with us.” - -“What you going to make your sandwiches of?” asked Jule. - -“Huh,” laughed Alex, “I’m going to take fat perch and stuff ’em with -beans and chicken. How would a sandwich like that go on South Clark -street?” - -“It would go down mighty quick!” laughed Jule. - -After eating their supper and putting up a large supply of provisions -for the night, the boys made ready for their trip to what Zeke declared -to be the pirates’ nest. They were at twilight, moving slowly, silently -across the river and then down the cut-off, which at high water was -navigable for small boats, and which would soon make an island of the -peninsula enclosed within the rim of the river. - -By nine o’clock it was very dark. The trees overhanging the narrow -channel through which the boat was poled and dragged—the water being too -shallow in places for the use of the oars—stood like grim walls, -shutting out what little light came from the uncertain sky. - -Owing to fallen trunks and heaps of rubbish washed in by a recent -freshet, the cut-off was difficult of navigation, but just after -midnight the lads saw across a wooded point of land a strong light flash -out for a moment and then die away. - -“And there burn the _Rambler_’s light” Alex cried. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV.—THE LIGHTS HELP SOME. - - -I’d give a good deal to know just how many people there are around that -boat!” Clay whispered. - -“If you’ll just push this old scow up a little closer, I’ll sneak over -there and find out,” said Alex. - -“If he tries to get away, tie him up with a rope!” whispered Jule. -“Every time that boy gets out of sight, he lands in trouble up to his -long ears!” - -“There were only two when I left the _Rambler_,” Alex exclaimed, making -a sly face at Jule. “They shot a dozen bullets at me while I was getting -away, and never turned a hair!” - -The boat was worked slowly through another hundred yards of the cut-off, -and then the boys could see the bulk of the _Rambler_ outlined against a -cloudy sky. There were no lights on board and no sounds were heard. - -The boat lay in a sort of a bight carved out by the river as it bent -away to the north just before it made the western turn. Behind it was a -tangle of swamp. - -In front swept the heavy current of the river. The rowboat halted within -perhaps a hundred yards of the place where the stolen _Rambler_ lay. - -“If they had had the good sense to anchor on the other side of the -river,” Case whispered to Alex, “they might have made us a lot more -trouble. I’m glad they stopped where they did.” - -“I’m afraid there are a whole lot of outlaws on board,” Clay whispered, -as the boys sat in the rowboat, watching the dim bulk of the _Rambler_. - -“Then the two thieves who stole the boat have picked them up out of the -river,” Alex insisted. “There were only two when I left the deck, and -they came off from a coal tow which was going downstream.” - -“If there were only two, we ought to go and blow the tops of their heads -off, and take the boat away from them, just to show that we can,” said -Jule. “We ought to do something to show them that they’re not the only -apples on the tree. Don’t you think so, boys?” - -“You’re the bloodthirsty little pirate now!” laughed Clay. “I’ll be -satisfied if we can dump them in the river and get on board the good old -_Rambler_ again.” - -The boys sat still in the boat for a long time, hardly knowing what -course to pursue. The sky was clearing of clouds, and the glow of the -stars shone dimly down on the _Rambler_. Although no lights showed on -board the motor boat, suspicious noises in the cabin and on the deck -informed the lads that people were moving about there. - -“They’re awake and watching us, all right!” Alex whispered, after a -time. “We’ve got to do something to place them off their guard!” - -While the boys were listening and waiting, Captain Joe sprang out of the -boat and waded and swam over to the hard ground on the south of the -cut-off. The boys saw only a white flash as the bulldog left the water -and disappeared in the darkness of the jungle. Teddy, the bear, seemed -inclined to follow him, but the boys held him back by main force. - -“Now I wonder,” whispered Jule, “if the pirates are over there, too! If -they’ve got us surrounded, we’re likely to open a barrel of trouble in -about a minute.” - -The noise made by Captain Joe and also by the struggle with the bear -apparently attracted the attention of those on board the _Rambler_, for -a faint light blazed up in the cabin of the motor boat for an instant -and was then extinguished. - -“They’re getting their guns ready, I guess,” Clay whispered. “Suppose we -pull the boat under the shadow of the bank and take to the shore. We -might be safer there.” - -“I’ll tell you what I think,” Case observed. “When those fellows turned -on the light they were getting ready to set the motors going. If we -don’t watch out, they’ll have the _Rambler_ whizzing downstream at the -rate of twenty miles an hour.” - -“Well,” Jule declared, “if we go ashore we may get into trouble there, -so I propose that we land on the north side of the cut-off and try to -make a sneak on board.” - -“Whatever we do,” Clay advised, “we ought to keep the boat within reach -so that, if they do go on downstream, we can follow them as fast as the -current will carry us.” - -The boys argued in whispers for some time over Clay’s proposition and -then Alex broke out: - -“If you fellows will push over to the south shore for a minute, I’ll get -out and see what is going on there. I don’t like the idea of having a -gang of pirates come up behind us after we land and advance to the -_Rambler_. That wouldn’t look well.” - -“Don’t you never let him go!” Case advised. “If you do, he’ll get mired -in a swamp or bring a company of night-riders on top of us.” - -Alex, however, did not wait for the boys to either pole the boat to the -south shore, or to decide as to whether he ought to land. Before any -further objections could be offered, he was up to his waist in water -moving toward the shadows on the south bank. - -“The little monkey!” whispered Case. “I wish I had a rope around his -neck!” - -“What shall we do now?” asked Jule. “We can’t go away and leave him in -that patch of woods.” - -“I think we’d better go on over to the north shore and see if we can -retake the _Rambler_” Clay answered. “Alex, probably, has some notion in -his head which we don’t understand, and, anyway, he is capable of taking -care of himself.” - -In accordance with this idea, the three boys landed and, leaving Uncle -Zeke in charge of the boat and the bear, with instructions to answer -Alex’s call from the south bank, they took their way to the bight in -which the _Rambler_ lay. They had only a shore distance to go, and were -soon within a few feet of the motor boat, which lay within a couple of -yards of the shore. - -From the position they now occupied, they could see a dilapidated old -houseboat lying beyond the _Rambler_, her nose resting lightly on the -bank. - -“That’s where the pirates have been living!” whispered Case. “If we -could only do something to drive them back to the old hulk, we might -possibly get the _Rambler_ away.” - -All remained dark and silent on board the motor boat, still the boys -knew that the men on board were awake and alert. They had seen the prow -light turned on when farther up the cut-off, and only a few moments -before a light had shone in the cabin. - -The boys waited for what seemed to them an hour or more, watching and -listening, hoping for Alex’s return, and hoping, too, for some -indication of the intentions of the pirates. - -“We’ve just got to make a break pretty soon,” Jule said. “I believe -those fellows on board the boat know that we’re in the vicinity. They’re -not asleep, and they wouldn’t be sitting there in the dark unless they -were suspicious.” - -“If you boys will stay here,” Clay suggested, “I’ll attempt to gain the -after deck of the _Rambler_. If I succeed, I may be able to drive the -pirates out of the boat.” - -“I was just thinking of that myself!” whispered Case. - -“You remain here,” Clay went on, “and I’ll see what can be done.” - -The words were hardly out of his mouth before the “chug, chug, chug,” of -motors was heard, and the _Rambler_, still showing no lights, glided -softly upstream! - -After proceeding a few paces, however, the power was shut off, and she -remained swinging in the almost stagnant waters of the bight. Her -position was, perhaps, a hundred paces to the north of the cut-off, and -perhaps ten paces from the shore where the boys were. - -“I guess they’ve got us going now!” Case exclaimed regretfully. “They’ll -shoot upstream in a minute, and that’ll be the last of the merry old -_Rambler_! We’ll have to build another boat, boys!” - -No one replied, for just at that moment the splash of oars and poles was -heard, coming swiftly down the cut-off. The boys turned their eyes in -that direction and almost shouted in their amazement as three blue -lights, following the channel of the cut-off, proceeded to the west, to -all appearances floating six or eight feet above the surface of the -water! The boys stood silent for a moment. - -“Now, what do you think of that?” whispered Clay. “Three times and out!” - -“I know now what the three blue lights mean!” gasped Case. “They -constitute a signal used by the night-riders!” - -“There ain’t any tobacco warehouses to burn here!” Jule scoffed. - -The three blue lights came on steadily, stopping after a time at the -very mouth of the cut-off, two or three hundred feet from where the -_Rambler_ lay. - -Heretofore the lights had seemed to be floating in the air. Now the boys -could faintly distinguish the bulk of a boat looking weird and ghostly -under the mysterious illumination. - -“I wonder if that won’t scare the pirates?” asked Jule. - -The answer came from the _Rambler_ itself, for the motors were turned on -and the boat whirled swiftly away toward the opposite bank of the river. -Then a volley of shots rang out from the mysterious boat, and a voice -called over the water: - -“Obey the signal, boys! If you don’t, we’ll fill you full of lead! You -know what three blue lights mean!” - -Much to the amazement of the boys, the motors ceased their clatter and -the _Rambler_ lay swaying just at the edge of the current. - -“Do you mind that now?” whispered Case. “The pirates on board the -_Rambler_ don’t know that the outer walls are all bullet-proof!” - - - - -CHAPTER XXV.—GRATEFUL NIGHT-RIDERS. - - -The next moment the great flashlight on the prow of the _Rambler_ blazed -out over the waters. - -“Why!” exclaimed Clay, “that’s our boat, and there’s some one holding -three blue lights up on a stick!” - -“Yes,” exclaimed Jule, fairly dancing up and down in his excitement, -“and that little monkey in the prow is Alex! He’s the one that’s holding -up the three blue lights! Now where do you suppose he got that layout?” - -“He has a way of picking things out of the atmosphere!” laughed Case. - -“Looks like a scene in a play!” cried Jule. - -“That would be a mighty good place to drop a curtain!” suggested Case. - -“Not quite yet,” Clay insisted. “The scene mustn’t close just yet. The -audience wants to know what the three blue lights are going to do to the -_Rambler_.” - -The boys were not long kept in waiting in this regard. The rowboat, sunk -almost to the guards under the weight of four men and a boy, swept up to -the _Rambler_. Directly all were on the deck of the motor boat. Alex -dancing excitedly up and down when he was not waltzing over the deck -with the white bulldog. - -“Why don’t you let us in on that?” demanded Jule from the bank. - -“Oh, there you are!” shouted Alex springing up on the gunwale. “We -thought you boys had gone and got lost. Wait a minute, and I’ll row the -boat over to you.” - -The lad dropped into the rowboat with a tunk, and soon had his wondering -companions on the deck of the motor boat. What they saw there added, if -possible, to the surprise of the previous five minutes. - -Four men, two of whom Alex recognized as the men who had stolen the -boat, lay tied hard and fast on the deck, and four other men, two of -whom had visited the camp at the cove during the forenoon, were standing -over them with guns in their hands. The prisoners seemed to be trying to -the best of their ability to conciliate their stern-faced guards. - -“We didn’t know that you had an interest in the outfit,” one of the -prisoners was saying. “Those boys rammed our steamer, and we were bound -to get even with them.” - -“It’s hands off the boys!” exclaimed Peck sternly. “What do you think we -ought to do with them?” he asked turning to his companions. - -“We ought to stretch their necks!” was the fierce reply. - -“I wouldn’t mind assisting at a necktie party,” Peck answered, “but, -under the circumstances, I think we’d better not become too prominent in -any such society event. You three men pitch them over into the old -houseboat and drift along the river until you come to a Government -steamer. Then turn them over as outlaws and return on the Government -steamer if it’s going upstream to the cove. If it’s going downstream, -get the first upboat you can.” - -Peck’s authority seemed to be supreme, for in five minutes the four -bound men were transferred to the houseboat which was then nosed out -into the stream by the _Rambler_. This done, Peck sat down in a deck -chair and regarded the four boys quizzically. - -“Where’s the old negro?” he asked in a moment. - -“Didn’t you hear him splash in the water?” asked Alex. “When you showed -the three blue lights, he waddled ashore with a face so white it made a -chalk-mark on the night.” - -“What does it all mean?” asked Clay. - -As he spoke he pointed to the blue lights still burning on the prow of -the rowboat. - -“It’s all easily explained,” Peck replied with an engaging smile. “Just -after two of you boys left my house to-day, a gang of good fellows -laboring under a misapprehension came up with a supply of birch whips -intended for the backs of you kids. Their attention was attracted to a -burning building, or they would have overtaken the lads before they -reached the cove and beaten them half to death. - -“When I reached home, my wife told me of the incident, and I began -worrying for fear the boys would be caught and mistreated. While we were -talking it over, that old nigger came up and said that you boys wanted -to do something for my wife because she had been so good to you. - -“This kindness on your part—this willingness to do anything you could if -we needed your help—stirred me up considerable. So we started out -through the woods for the cove. When we got to the cove, which was after -dark, of course, you were not there, and we’ve been floundering around -in the water and woods and bushes ever since. We crossed the stream in a -rickety old scow and landed on the peninsula, thinking that perhaps the -river pirates, known to have headquarters here, had made trouble for -you. - -“Just as we were about to turn back, this little chap,” pointing at -Captain Joe, “came plunging through the bushes and we knew that you were -not far away. Then this boy came panting along and we grabbed him. He -was frightened half to death for a minute, but when things were -explained, he told us the kind of a mixup you were in. - -“Well, we came down to the cut-off and got into the boat and came down -here. Then we remembered that the river pirates stand in deadly terror -of the three blue lights—our boys having been a little rough with -them!—so we put up the signal you saw, and I guess that’s about all!” - -“I guess I know what the three blue lights mean,” Alex blurted out. -“They constitute a signal used by the night-riders. I don’t wonder the -pirates are afraid of them!” - -“And I guess the night-riders are the ones who keep the ghost stories -about the lights going!” Jule added. - -“Of course,” Peck replied with a whimsical smile, “I don’t know anything -about that. One of my friends, here, just happened to have three blue -lights with him, so we put ’em up to scare the pirates. We thought that -if we could make the outlaws believe that we belonged to the -night-riders, we could throw a bigger scare into them.” - -“Of course,” Case laughed, winking at Peck, “we never thought for a -moment that you gentlemen belonged to the night-riders!” - -“Of course not!” laughed Peck, winking back. “Nobody around here belongs -to the night-riders! You might travel up and down the river, and over -the mountains, for a thousand miles, and not find a night-rider in the -whole country! Fact!” he added, significantly. - -“Do they put out blue lights whenever they’re going to burn some one’s -warehouse?” asked Alex. - -“Boy,” answered Peck, patting Alex kindly on the shoulder, “you mustn’t -ask any questions about the night-riders in this section of the country. -They think they are protecting their own interests in what they do, and -that’s all I know about it.” - -“I’d just like to know how they make the lights go out so quickly,” Jule -grinned. “They go out with a loud noise, don’t they.” - -“I had that explained to me once,” replied Peck with a queer smile, “and -if you won’t say anything about it. I’ll tell you how it’s done.” - -“The three blue lights are placed on a board, either floating on the -water or suspended from some elevation. On the same board is a stick of -dynamite with a long fuse. After the lights burn a few moments—they are -just little kerosene lamps with blue globes, you know—the dynamite -explodes and that ends the display. Perfectly simple, ain’t it, boys?” - -“I should think it was!” answered Clay. - -Peck remained on board the _Rambler_ until daylight, and then the boys -took him back up the river to the little cove near his own home. When at -last he shook hands with the lads at parting, they did their best to -reward him, but he refused every offering made. - -“I did this for you boys,” he said, “just because you sent that word up -to my wife. You thought she was alone, and might be in trouble, on -account of the rough characters you had seen about, and you notified her -that you were ready and willing to fight for her if she wanted any -assistance. That was enough for me!” - -After cooking breakfast at the old camp at the head of the cove, the -boys again set out on their journey. During the rest of the trip they -avoided saloon boats and coal tows. - -They also tied up at night near some city or town. Now and then they -read in the daily newspapers stories of alleged outrages by -night-riders, but their experiences with the men of the three blue -lights led them to make many excuses for them. - -They spent nearly a month loitering along the river, stopping here and -there, sometimes tying up for two or three days at a time. When at last -they saw the lights of Cairo they were heartily sorry that the journey -was ended. - -“We have had a pleasant trip, mixed with a little healthy excitement!” -laughed Case, as they threw out their lines at one of the lower wharves. - -“A little excitement?” repeated Alex. “Say, look here, kid, the Ohio is -the sixth river we’ve navigated, and she’s given us the liveliest run -for our money we’ve had yet.” - -“And now,” Case said rather soberly, “we’ll sail up the Mississippi, -through the Illinois river and the canal, and get back to our little -pier up on the South Branch.” - -“Whew!” exclaimed Alex, “won’t Captain Joe, the old sea-captain, be glad -to see us come sailing in?” - -“I don’t believe he’ll accept half our three-blue-lights’ stories as -true!” Jule put in. - -“Anyway,” Clay replied, “we’ve had the experiences, and Captain Joe can -think what he likes!” - -THE END. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio, by -Harry Gordon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS *** - -***** This file should be named 50327-0.txt or 50327-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/2/50327/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.bookcove.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio - The Three Blue Lights - -Author: Harry Gordon - -Release Date: October 27, 2015 [EBook #50327] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS *** - - - - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.bookcove.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - - - - <div class='figcenter id01'> - <img src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' style='width:100%' alt=''/> - <div style='width:100%'> - “Here you,” shouted Mose, “don’t you go near those motors.” - </div> - </div> - - - <hr class='clearpage'/> - <div class='lgc'> - <div class='line' style='font-size: 1.6em; margin: 20px auto 10px auto;'>The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio</div> - <br/> - <div class='line'>OR</div> - <br/> - <div class='line' style='font-size: 1.2em; margin: 10px auto 20px auto;'>The Three Blue Lights</div> - <br/> - <div class='line' style='margin-bottom: 20px;'>By HARRY GORDON</div> - <br/> - <div class='line'>Author of</div> - <div class='cb-container'><div class='cb'> - <div class='line'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence,”</div> - <div class='line'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Colorado,”</div> - <div class='line'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Mississippi,”</div> - <div class='line'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Amazon,”</div> - <div class='line'>“The River Motor Boat Boys on the Columbia.’</div> - </div></div> - <br/> - <div class='line' style='margin-top: 20px;'>A. L. Burt Company</div> - <div class='line'>New York</div> - </div> - - - <hr class='clearpage'/> - <div class='lgc'> - <div class='line'>Copyright, 1913</div> - <div class='line'>By A. L. Burt Company</div> - <br/> - <div class='line' style='font-size: smaller;'>THE SIX RIVER MOTOR BOYS ON THE OHIO</div> - </div> - - - <hr class='clearpage'/> - <div class='lgc'> - <div class='line' style='margin-bottom: 10px;'>TABLE OF CONTENTS</div> - <br/> - </div> - <div class='cb-container'><div class='cb'> - <div class='line'><a href='#chI'>I.—IN QUEST OF SPARK PLUGS.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chII'>II.—A “FRIENDLY” CAPTAIN.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chIII'>III.—RESISTING AN OFFICER.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chIV'>IV.—A DIVE FOR LIBERTY.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chV'>V.—CAPTAIN JOE ON SHORE.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chVI'>VI.—JULE TURNS THE SWITCH.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chVII'>VII.—THE TRAINING OF TEDDY.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chVIII'>VIII.—CAPTAIN JOE’S MESSAGE.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chIX'>IX.—THE THREE BLUE LIGHTS.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chX'>X.—ANNIVERSARY OF A WRECK.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXI'>XI.—CATCHING BIG CATFISH.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXII'>XII.—THE GHOST OF THE MARY ANN.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXIII'>XIII.—EXPLORING A LAGOON.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXIV'>XIV.—CAPTAIN JOE HELPS SOME.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXV'>XV.—THE RAMBLER STRIKES BACK.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXVI'>XVI.—THE COAL BARGES INTERVENE.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXVII'>XVII.—THE TWO CLAIMANTS.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXVIII'>XVIII.—A FORBIDDEN SUBJECT.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXIX'>XIX.—TEDDY MAKES A SENSATION.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXX'>XX.—THE PIRATES’ NEST.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXXI'>XXI.—FATE TAKES A TRICK.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXXII'>XXII.—THE NIGHT-RIDERS.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXXIII'>XXIII.—THE RAMBLER’S LIGHTS.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXXIV'>XXIV.—THE LIGHTS HELP SOME.</a></div> - <div class='line'><a href='#chXXV'>XXV.—GRATEFUL NIGHT-RIDERS.</a></div> - </div></div> - <hr class='clearpage'/> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chI'>CHAPTER I.—IN QUEST OF SPARK PLUGS.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“That Kentucky shore looks to me like good -hunting.”</p> - -<p>“What can you get over there?”</p> - -<p>“’Possums, coons, rabbits and squirrels.”</p> - -<p>“All right, we’ll go right now and get a coon.”</p> - -<p>Cornelius Witters threw himself back on the -gunwale and laughed and shook until little wavelets -sprang from the sides of the boat and rippled away -over the Ohio river.</p> - -<p>“You’ll get lots of coons in the middle of the -afternoon,” he said, finally. “You have to get -coons in the night.”</p> - -<p>“Well, there’s another night coming, ain’t -there?” suggested Alex Smithwick. “We’re -going to stay here in this eddy until morning, ain’t -we?”</p> - -<p>“I guess we’ll have to stay till morning,” Jule -Shafer cut in. “The motor has gone wrong, and -Clay doesn’t seem to know how to fix it.”</p> - -<p>Clayton Emmett looked up from the motors with -a very smutty face and smiled at the last remark.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what it is, boys,” he said, “this -motor can’t be put in good shape until we get -another consignment of spark plugs.”</p> - -<p>The four boys, Clayton Emmett, Alex Smithwick, -Jule Shafer and Cornelius Witters, gathered -about the motor, looking with disgust at its -motionless cranks. The boat had been turned into an -eddy on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river about -noon, and Clay had been working at the machinery -ever since in the hope of getting farther down the -river that night.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Case said, after a short silence, “some -one must go out to civilization and buy some spark -plugs. How far do you think we’ll have to go? -Of course these little trading points on the river -don’t keep spark plugs. We’ll be lucky if we even -get gasoline there.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” Clay suggested.</p> - -<p>“We may be able to buy or borrow spark plugs -from some passing launch or steamer. There are -store-boats on the Ohio, you know, and they may -carry all kinds of motor boat supplies.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes,” Alex grinned, “there are store-boats -on the Ohio, and whiskey boats, and show-boats, -and house-boats, and about a thousand other kinds -of boats, but I don’t believe they carry such -supplies as we want.”</p> - -<p>“It’s just a chance,” Clay went on. “We may -be able to get a supply from some motor boat, but -in the meantime we’d better be looking about in -other directions.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Case exclaimed, excitedly, “Alex -and I will go out hunting and steer toward any -little river town we get wise to. We may find motor -supplies in any old shanty town.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Clay replied. “Go out and get a -mess of squirrels or rabbits while you’re hunting -for a supply store.”</p> - -<p>The motor boat <i>Rambler</i> lay in an eddy on the -Kentucky side of the Ohio river, some distance -below Louisville. The four owners had put the boat -into the river at Pittsburg, and were making their -way to the Mississippi at Cairo.</p> - -<p>They had only recently returned from an extended -trip up the St. Lawrence river. From Ogdensburg -they had followed the Great Lakes to -Chicago, which was their home. From Ogdensburg -the motor boat had been accompanied by the -launch <i>Cartier</i>, which had been presented to -Captain Joe, one of their old-time friends, because of -important services rendered by the boys. Those -who have read the previous books of this series -will understand the build and speed of the <i>Rambler</i>, -and also the affectionate relations existing between -the four boys and Captain Joe, an ex-sea, lake and -river captain.</p> - -<p>Captain Joe had been urged by the lads to -accompany them on their trip down the Ohio with -his launch, but had objected, saying that the boys -would be sure to get into all kinds of scrapes, and -that he did not care to become responsible for the -actions of a crew going about the world looking -for trouble!</p> - -<p>The old captain, however, had a very alert and -intelligent representative on board the <i>Rambler</i> in -the person of Captain Joe, a white bulldog of -forbidding appearance. This dog had been purchased -at Para, Brazil, by Alex, and had often made -himself useful during trying situations on previous -trips.</p> - -<p>There was also another passenger on board the -<i>Rambler</i> whose name did not appear on the crew -list. This was Teddy, the quarter-grown grizzly -bear which Alex had rescued from a floating tree -in the Columbia river, near the source of that -wonderful stream.</p> - -<p>The bear and the dog were very good friends, -playing together like kittens. During their many -river trips the boys had taught the bear to box, -wrestle and frisk about in the water. Captain Joe -was always ready for a tussle with the bear, and -had a habit of following Alex surreptitiously every -time the boy left the boat.</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was well supplied with provisions -and ammunition of all kinds, but, the supply of -gasoline running low, the tanks being well-nigh -empty, and the spark plug badly worn, the boys -had proposed early in the day to merely drift down -the river, keeping headway with the sweep.</p> - -<p>But a little experience of this mode of traveling -on the great stream had caused them to tie up in -an eddy on the Kentucky side. It was September, -and the Ohio was alive with traffic of all kinds.</p> - -<p>During the early part of the day they had passed -several excursion boats, gay with flags and music, -almost a fleet of shanty-boats, and innumerable -packets, stern-wheelers and side-wheelers. -Drifting with no control to speak of, the -<i>Rambler</i> had several times come very near -collision with larger boats.</p> - -<p>On the Ohio, as well as on the Mississippi and -the St. Lawrence, the traffic-men seem to have a -great contempt for those who go about in gasoline -boats. Captains and pilots unite in making trouble -for the owners of such craft whenever it is -possible to do so.</p> - -<p>Once that forenoon the <i>Rambler</i> had come very -near destruction because of a monstrous tow of -coal barges moving down upon it. Later, the boys -had been annoyed and insulted by a gang of toughs -who were lounging over the railing of a whiskey boat -which was passing up the river.</p> - -<p>It was finally arranged that Alex and Case should -go ashore and look about for a place where supplies -might be purchased. There were no settlements in -sight from the point where the <i>Rambler</i> lay, but -the boys thought that, as she lay just above a great -bend which swept around a long peninsula, -turning to the south at last, there might be business -places not far away which were not in view.</p> - -<p>“And while you are gone,” Jule called out as -the boys rowed ashore, “catch a coon and half a -dozen squirrels. I can make a squirrel pie that will -bring Captain Joe down from Chicago!”</p> - -<p>“All right!” Alex called back. “We’ll bring -game enough to last a week. Get your fires all -ready by dark.”</p> - -<p>The shore on which the boys found themselves -a few moments later was wild and rocky. There -were great oaks towering along the side hills and -immense trees of hickory, beech and walnut shut -out the view on all sides. There was also a heavy -undergrowth.</p> - -<p>“Where are you heading for?” asked Case, as -Alex turned into a thicket and went tramping -through it with a great noise.</p> - -<p>“I think,” Alex replied, “that we’d better keep -off to the west and south. I looked at a map of -the river just before I left the boat, and there’s a -great bend here. We can walk across it in an hour -or two, but it would take half a day to float or row -around it.”</p> - -<p>“I see,” Case answered. “There may be a town -in a nook around the bend. That’s where they -build towns in this country.”</p> - -<p>The boys made good time for an hour or more, -when they came out on the bank of the river perhaps -three miles from the boat, across the bend, -and ten or fifteen by way of the river. Just below -them, hardly forty rods from the point where they -emerged from the underbrush, they saw a little -river settlement composed of half a dozen ramshackle -houses, a fishing dock, and one store -building.</p> - -<p>“There!” Alex said. “I’ll bet we find spark -plugs there!”</p> - -<p>“If we find as many spark plugs there as we -didn’t find squirrels coming through,” Case laughed, -“It will take a long time to get our motor started.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, well,” Alex answered, “we didn’t look -very hard for squirrels, anyway. We’ll see what -they’ve got here, and do our hunting on the way -back.”</p> - -<p>“Clay may get what we want from some of the -boats,” Case suggested. “There are lots of boats -on the river that ought to carry spark plugs. It’s -dollars to apples that every motor boat we’ve seen -to-day carries an extra supply.”</p> - -<p>“That won’t do us any good,” Alex answered, -“if they don’t show a disposition to pass them -around.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know,” Case went on, “I’m afraid of -some of those river boats. There’s a tougher gang -on some of them than you’ll find on Clark street. -They drink third-rail whiskey, made up in the -mountains, and are ready to do murder after a -dozen doses of it.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Alex said, “we’ll just have to watch -out, that’s all.”</p> - -<p>“You remember that red, white and blue boat -we saw yesterday?” Case went on. “That was a -gambling house proper. Just looking over the -gunwale into the cabin windows, I saw roulette wheels -in operation and three faro layouts crowded with -excited gamblers.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Alex assented, “and it looked to me -like they were playing stud poker out in the open. -It’s a wonder the people along the river don’t put -dynamite under those boats some night.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon,” Case suggested, “that the people -along the river are more afraid of the store-boats -than they are of the gambling boats. These -store-boat men steal everything they can get their hands -on. They have been known to raid small towns, -strip the shelves of the business places, and even -take valuable furniture and musical instruments -from the residences. When they get a boat load -of this sort of plunder, they take it down to New -Orleans, where it is disposed of by men who make -a business of doing that sort of thing.”</p> - -<p>Alex scratched his red head and wrinkled his -freckled nose for a minute and then turned to his -chum with a grin on his face.</p> - -<p>“If they try to get the <i>Rambler</i>,” he said, “don’t -forget that we have dynamite under the after deck -near the gasoline tanks.”</p> - -<p>“If they try to get the <i>Rambler</i>,” Case exclaimed, -“they’ll do it while we are away on shore, or asleep. -These river rats are too cowardly to put up an -open fight. They do their work in the dark.”</p> - -<p>“That’s one reason why I don’t like being away -from the boat long at a time,” Alex went on. -“Clay and Jule would do anything any two boys -could do to protect our property, but, all the same, -two boys wouldn’t cut much ice with a gang of -river pirates like I’ve seen on those boats.”</p> - -<p>As the boy ceased speaking he laid an excited -hand on Case’s shoulder and turned his face in the -direction from which they had come.</p> - -<p>“Did you hear that?” he asked.</p> - -<p>Case nodded and turned back to the east.</p> - -<p>“It sounded like a gun,” he exclaimed. “I’m -going back to the boat.”</p> - -<p>Alex held him back and pointed toward the -settlement below.</p> - -<p>“We may as well see about the spark plugs,” he -advised. “It won’t take us very much longer. -That noise may be only hunters, anyway.”</p> - -<p>Trying their best to conceal their excitement, the -boys moved down the slope to the river bank and -stopped on a level platform before the store door. -The shots were now coming in a volley.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chII'>CHAPTER II.—A “FRIENDLY” CAPTAIN.</h2> - -<p class='first'>After the departure of Alex and Case, Clay -and Jule continued their efforts to get the motor -into working order. In the meantime, however, -they kept a sharp lookout for the approach of some -boat which might possibly supply them with what -they needed.</p> - -<p>However, they had little hope of relief from any -river craft.</p> - -<p>“There must be some towns along the river, -below the bend,” Jule insisted. “The boys will find -some sort of place where motor supplies are sold.”</p> - -<p>“If they do,” Clay answered, “I hope they’ll -bring a whole pocketful of spark plugs.”</p> - -<p>“And I hope they’ll bring back a dozen squirrels, -and six rabbits, and a coon, and a ’possum!” Jule -laughed. “Here we’ve been on this river all the -way down from Pittsburg, and haven’t had any -wild game yet! I’ve eaten fish until I believe there -are fins growing on my toes.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a large motor boat coming down,” -Clay said, pointing up stream. “Perhaps we can -get what we want by going aboard.”</p> - -<p>“Looks like a pretty decent sort of a craft,” -Jule suggested.</p> - -<p>“It looks to me like a store-boat, anyhow,” Clay -went on.</p> - -<p>“Then we’ll give ’em a hail!”</p> - -<p>The call from the <i>Rambler</i> was answered -immediately, and a large-sized motor boat turned in -toward the Kentucky shore. The name “Hawk” -was discernible on the prow as she came slowly on.</p> - -<p>“What idiot named a sailing vessel after a -bird?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“She may be a bird, at that,” decided Clay. -“She looks as if she could go some, anyway.”</p> - -<p>“Hello, the boat!” now came from the <i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>“Have you got motor supplies?” Clay called -back.</p> - -<p>“What kind of supplies?”</p> - -<p>“Spark plugs,” was the answer.</p> - -<p>“Come on board and we’ll fit you out.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the talk!” Jule shouted.</p> - -<p>“Where are you bound for?” called out a man -on the deck of the <i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>“Just down the river,” Clay answered.</p> - -<p>The man who had been speaking from the freight -deck of the <i>Hawk</i> now turned away and conversed -for a moment with two men who had been listening -to the conversation. As the fellow talked, he -pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, -significantly, at the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“I don’t like the looks of this!” Clay declared.</p> - -<p>“Then let’s cut it out,” replied Jule.</p> - -<p>“We can’t very well cut it out!” Clay exclaimed. -“They probably know we’re tied up here with a -disabled motor. If they are the kind of people -we fear they are, they’ll come and get us anyway. -I wish Alex and Case were here.”</p> - -<p>“Shall we stay here and shoot if they attempt to -board us?” asked Jule, the light of battle flaming -in his usually merry eyes.</p> - -<p>Clay thought hard for a moment and then turned -back to the cabin for his automatic, which he took -good care to keep out of sight.</p> - -<p>“Are you coming aboard?” the man shouted -from the <i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>“We haven’t any boat,” Clay replied. “Our -friends have gone hunting on shore.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll fix that all right,” was called back, and -in a moment a rowboat rounded the stern of the -<i>Hawk</i> and made its way rapidly to the <i>Rambler</i>. -The boys watched the appearance of the boat with -premonitions of danger. The two rowers looked -like veritable river pirates.</p> - -<p>“Pile in!” shouted one of the men gruffly as he -held on to the anchor-chain of the motor boat. -“Hustle yourselves in here, and I’ll have you over -to the <i>Hawk</i> in a minute.”</p> - -<p>Motioning to Jule to remain where he was, Clay -dropped into the rowboat and told the man to pull -away.</p> - -<p>“Isn’t your friend coming?” one of the rowers -asked.</p> - -<p>“We can’t leave the boat alone,” was the reply. -“Why, we’ll be right here alongside,” urged the -other.</p> - -<p>As he spoke he lifted a hairy, repulsive face -toward the <i>Rambler</i> and shouted:</p> - -<p>“Come on, lad, the captain is fixing up a treat -for you boys!”</p> - -<p>“I’ve got to stay on board,” Jule answered.</p> - -<p>“Oh, come along,” ordered the other, almost -angrily.</p> - -<p>“Pull away,” Clay advised, “we never leave the -boat alone, night or day. It isn’t safe to do so on -the Ohio.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps that isn’t a bad notion, either,” one of -the rowers replied, with a sullen smile. “Perhaps -the captain will send some one on board to keep him -company.”</p> - -<p>Clay saw by the significant and sneering looks -passing between the two men that they considered -him a prisoner already. So much of a prisoner, -in fact, that they did not consider it necessary to -attempt to conceal their contempt and their triumph.</p> - -<p>Had the <i>Rambler</i> been in fit condition he would -have leaped out of the boat and speeded away. It -seemed to him now, however, that the common-sense -course would be to find out exactly what kind -of a boat the <i>Hawk</i> was before taking any steps -having the appearance of alarm.</p> - -<p>“All right!” the boy answered in response to -the rower’s offer to send some one on board to keep -Jule company, “the boy may become lonesome -after a time, although I shall be gone only a very -few moments.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a mighty jolly crowd on board our -boat,” the rower went on. “There’s many a man -gets aboard for an hour’s ride and never gets off -for a hundred miles.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t doubt it!” Clay said with a laugh.</p> - -<p>It was the work of only a moment to land the -unwilling boy on the freight deck of the <i>Hawk</i>. -He was at once surrounded by a group of men who -seemed to represent all grades of society. There -was the well-dressed man wearing diamonds and -the man who was garbed like a river rat!</p> - -<p>The captain was a hatchet-faced man with rat -eyes and a perfect bill of a nose. His manner was -offensive as he approached Clay familiarly and laid -a hand on his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“So you’re going down the river on a little trip -of your own, eh?” he asked. “Nice boat you’ve -got.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Clay answered, “it’s not expensive, but -it’s pretty well rigged out. She’s a bit fast, too, -when in good shape.”</p> - -<p>“Looks like she could go some,” agreed the -captain.</p> - -<p>“What are you trading in?” asked a -handsomely-dressed man who looked enough like the -captain to be his brother.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” Clay replied, “we’re just out for amusement; -taking our vacation on the river.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a good bluff, too,” the other sneered. -“People don’t trail along the Ohio just for the fun -of the thing.”</p> - -<p>“If you’ve got whiskey aboard,” another called -out, “you want to keep off our beat. We’re doing -a little in that line ourselves.”</p> - -<p>By this time Clay was thoroughly frightened. -He saw that he was in the hands of a desperate and -reckless gang of river thieves. While pretending -to be a store-boat, the <i>Hawk</i> was merely a floating -receptacle for stolen goods, with gambling as an -assistant money-maker.</p> - -<p>“You said,” the boy began in a moment, trying -his best to conceal what he really felt, “that you -could fit me out with spark plugs if I came on -board.”</p> - -<p>“Sure, we can!” answered the captain, with a -sty wink at another. We can fit you out with -anything on this little old boat.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Clay answered, “if you’ll get me -the plugs, I’ll pay for them and go back to the -<i>Rambler</i>.”</p> - -<p>“No hurry!” laughed the captain. “No hurry -at all. Still,” he continued, “if you’re anxious to -get back, I’ll send one of the boys into the -storeroom to look for the spark plug while you come -up for a little social visit in the cabin.”</p> - -<p>“No need of that,” smiled Clay, “I may as well -remain on the lower deck. It probably won’t take -long to find what I need.</p> - -<p>The captain took the boy by the arm in a manner -evidently intended to be friendly.</p> - -<p>“Oh, come on!” he said. “We’ve got a slick -little boat here, and I want you to look her over.”</p> - -<p>“You bet we have!” cried another, “and we -don’t let guests leave us without giving them -something of a treat.”</p> - -<p>Clay’s inclination was to deal the insulting -captain a blow in the face, plunge into the river, and -make for the <i>Rambler</i>. He knew very well, -however, that such a course would instantly bring about -hostilities; whereas, if he pretended to be unaware -of their purpose, assistance in some form might -come to him.</p> - -<p>“Yes, come along!” urged the captain. “I’ll -send a couple of boys over to bring your chum, -and we’ll have a jolly night of it.”</p> - -<p>It was useless for Clay to falter or draw back, -so he stepped along as if grateful for the invitation. -His hope was that Jule would understand the -situation of affairs on board the <i>Hawk</i> and stand guard -on deck with a good supply of automatic revolvers.</p> - -<p>“Where’d you say you came from?” asked the -captain as they ascended the stairway to the cabin. -“Chicago,” was the short reply.</p> - -<p>“Nice town, Chicago,” the captain went on with -a leer. “I used to live in Chicago. I know every -foot of the North Branch. Goose Island used to be -my favorite resort.”</p> - -<p>Clay was thinking that if the captain had ever -resided in Chicago he must have left it at the -request of the police, but did not say so. Reaching -the cabin, the captain led Clay to a long, narrow -stateroom looking out on the Kentucky shore. He -took pains, however, to seat the boy so that he could -not look out on the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>Before seating himself the captain proceeded to -a cupboard hanging on the wall and took out two -bottles and a siphon. One of the bottles contained -whiskey; the other wine.</p> - -<p>“It strikes me,” the captain said, “that this -moonshine whiskey is a little bit too strong for boys, -so I’ll give you a glass of wine. That’s prime wine, -too. I bought it in Pittsburg and paid a big price -for it. If you were to buy that wine, kiddo, you’d -pay about two bits a glass for it. It’s the right -kind of stuff.”</p> - -<p>“Then I wouldn’t buy it!” Clay answered with -a smile. “The fact is,” he continued, “we haven’t -got any money to waste on drink, and don’t care -for it, anyway.”</p> - -<p>The captain went to a faucet with a glass and -brought back two goblets of water. Just before -he turned away from the faucet Clay was certain -that he saw him dropping something into one of -the glasses.</p> - -<p>“Well,” the captain said, sitting down at the -table and pushing one of the glasses over toward -Clay, “I don’t urge any boy to drink anything -intoxicating, but it would take a lot of this wine to -creep up to a man’s head. Perhaps a glass of water -will be just as good for you.”</p> - -<p>Clay suspected that if he drank the water he -would soon become unconscious. The captain of -the <i>Hawk</i> was playing a quick game. He had not -been aboard the vessel more than five minutes, and -yet here he was in the captain’s cabin, being urged -to partake of a drugged drink!</p> - -<p>He arose with the glass in his hand, walked to -the open window and looked out. The glass -dropped with a crash. The act was involuntary -for Clay saw the <i>Rambler</i> whirling away down the -stream.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chIII'>CHAPTER III.—RESISTING AN OFFICER.</h2> - -<p class='first'>While Alex and Case stood, hesitating, on the -little platform in front of the store, two men came -rushing out with excitement showing in their faces.</p> - -<p>“What’s the shooting, boys?” one of them asked.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t any idea,” Alex replied. “We just -came from that part of the country, and everything -was quiet when we left.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a sure thing,” one of the men, who seemed -to be owner of the store, declared angrily, “that -those river pirates have broken loose again.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid so,” his companion answered.</p> - -<p>“Do they give you much trouble?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“Trouble!” exclaimed the merchant. “They -come here and strip my shelves. They bring a -howling mob of river rats into the town and take -everything they can get their hands on.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you have them arrested?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Arrested!” exclaimed the other. “They’re -here one night and the next night they’re hundreds -of miles away, with a new coat of paint and a new -name on their boat. Besides all that, you can’t get -half the officers along here to take any action at -all. You go to them and make a complaint and -they’ll say that the robbery wasn’t committed in -their county, or in their township, or in the state -of Kentucky, or something of that kind! My -honest opinion is that they’re afraid of the pirates.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t put it too strong,” the other advised. -“There’s some pretty good officers along the river. -Besides, there’s the Government boats.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there’s the Government boats,” decided -the merchant, “but the Government boats are as -easy to keep track of as a white elephant would be -in our main street. The river rats wait until Uncle -Sam’s boats get out of sight before they attempt -any mischief.”</p> - -<p>During this conversation, the boys had been -listening for more pistol shots from the direction in -which the <i>Rambler</i> lay. They had little doubt that -Clay and Jule were in trouble. They knew, too, -that the <i>Rambler</i> was virtually helpless, so the boys -had no chance whatever of escaping from any -hostile boat. Directly Alex turned to the merchant -and asked:</p> - -<p>“Do you keep motor boat supplies?”</p> - -<p>The merchant turned to his friend and indulged -in a long, slow, insulting wink.</p> - -<p>“So,” he said significantly, “you boys have a -motor boat up the river?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Case replied, “but the motors are out of -order.”</p> - -<p>“Is that where the shootin’ is?” asked the merchant.</p> - -<p>“There was no shooting when we left,” Alex answered.</p> - -<p>“Come, come, now!” the merchant advised. -“You boys may as well tell me the truth. Was it -one of them pirate boats that sent you here after -motor supplies?”</p> - -<p>“We have a motor boat of our own,” Alex answered -angrily. “She is lying in an eddy on the -other side of the bend, and we don’t dare to drift -her down stream.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad!” said the suspicious merchant -with another long and insulting wink. “What is -it you want in the way of supplies?”</p> - -<p>“Spark plugs,” was the short answer.</p> - -<p>“Well,” said the merchant, “extending a bony -finger and poking Alex on the chest, “I keep a few -spark plugs because there are a good many motor -boats passing along the river.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” laughed the man who stood with him -on the platform, “you keep spark plugs, but you -take pretty good care not to sell them to men who -will put them to unlawful use.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the idea!” said the merchant.</p> - -<p>“Will you sell us some?” asked Case indignantly.</p> - -<p>“I might,” was the reply, “after a time. Just -now, you see,” he went on, regarding his companion -knowingly, “just now, we think we’d better hold -you boys until we find out what all that shooting is -about.”</p> - -<p>“Hold us?” repeated Alex and Case in a breath.</p> - -<p>“It’s just this way,” the merchant went on, -“this man here is constable in this township. It -was him I was giving the dig to a little while ago -about the officers not being ready to take action.”</p> - -<p>The officer turned back the lapel of his coat and -ostentatiously displayed a brass badge.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” he said, “I’m constable of this township, -and old Bill, here, never gets tired of telling folks -that the officers ain’t no account.”</p> - -<p>The two men roared lustily, pounding each other -on the shoulders, evidently regarding the whole -affair as a good joke.</p> - -<p>“Come,” Alex said, “will you sell me some -spark plugs?”</p> - -<p>“You can’t buy nothin’ just now,” the constable -declared. “You’re both under arrest!”</p> - -<p>“What for?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“We think,” the constable replied, “that the -pirates sent you here to look over the town and see -what they could get. That’s too thin, your talking -about spark plugs. Why, every boat carries a lot -of them.”</p> - -<p>“If this man is a constable,” urged Alex, “why -don’t he hasten over to the other side of the bend -and find out what that shooting is about?”</p> - -<p>“There,” snarled the constable, “now I know -you’re in cahoots with a gang of river thieves. Old -Bill, here, heard you try to get me to go right up -there where they’re shooting, tried to get me to run -my neck right into a noose!”</p> - -<p>“They’re dangerous boys,” the merchant -suggested. “Why don’t you look them over for -weapons?”</p> - -<p>By this time quite a crowd was collecting about -the little store. The merchant and the constable -were receiving all sorts of advice, and women and -girls stood about with red hands rolled up in their -aprons, watching the two suspects with frightened -eyes.</p> - -<p>“I reckon I’d better be seeing what they’ve got -on,” the constable said with an important air. -“They probably didn’t come down here without -guns.”</p> - -<p>As the constable stepped forward Alex and Case -exchanged quick glances, each asking the other -what ought to be done. They understood that -arrest there meant confinement in a country jail for -several days, perhaps weeks, before they could -establish their identity.</p> - -<p>They knew, too, that their assistance was needed -on board the <i>Rambler</i>. The shooting had disclosed -a situation anything but peaceful.</p> - -<p>“Come on, now, boys!” the constable shouted -“Let’s see what you’ve got in your pockets.”</p> - -<p>“And don’t you try to hide nothing away from -us, either,” the merchant added. “Turn your -pockets wrong side out.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Alex said, so angry that his face -was whiter than Case had ever seen him before. -“We’ll show you what we’ve got in our pockets.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, he drew forth an automatic revolver -and held it threateningly at the head of the -constable. Case was not slow in following his -example. The little crowd instantly scattered; some -dashing around the corners of the store and others -hiding behind barrels and boxes. The women -present let out such screams as the boys had never heard -before. The merchant and the constable both -broke for the store door. Such a scattering the -little town had never seen before that day.</p> - -<p>In a second the constable opened the door of the -store about six inches and peered out, shaking a -rusty shotgun in one hand. The merchant stood -behind him, looking out of the glass panel and -showing an old army carbine.</p> - -<p>“We’re armed! We’re armed!” called out the -constable. “Don’t you try to come in here! You -boys will get a life sentence for this!”</p> - -<p>“This is highway robbery, and murder, and -piracy!” shouted the merchant.</p> - -<p>The boys backed away from the platform so as -to be out of reach of any shot from the angle of the -building and paused a second for consultation.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got him buffaloed!” was Alex’s, first -remark.</p> - -<p>“Hadn’t we better be getting out?” Case asked. -“I’ve a good mind to go in there and fill my -pockets with spark plugs,” Alex declared.</p> - -<p>“That would be a nice thing to do, wouldn’t it?” -scoffed Case. “That would be larceny from a store -in the daytime, and you can get fifteen years for -that; and if you went into a store with a gun and -put the keeper in peril of his life, you could get -fifty or sixty years!”</p> - -<p>“Then I won’t do it!” grinned Alex.</p> - -<p>“It’s me for the <i>Rambler</i>!” Case declared. “It -will take us until dark to get there now, and as soon -as we turn our backs that bum constable will have -a hundred men out after us.”</p> - -<p>“And that means that we’ve got to hot-foot -through the bushes!” Alex declared. “We can -beat ’em if they don’t get dogs.”</p> - -<p>The boys turned into the undergrowth and ran, -tearing their clothes and scratching their hands on -wild vines, and occasionally falling over a protruding -tree-root. At one time they both lay in a heap -at the foot of a beech tree, where they had fallen -over a mass of vines. When they scrambled to -their feet they heard shouts of laughter coming -from a thicket not far away.</p> - -<p>“Guess they’ve got us!” panted Alex.</p> - -<p>“I guess they have!” Case agreed.</p> - -<p>The next moment the brown barrel of a rifle was -thrust out at the boys. The boys sat flat down on -the ground and waited.</p> - -<p>“That’s right!” the holder of the gun said, -stepping out of the thicket. “Set right down and -take things easy. If you try to unlimber any -artillery, you’ll get the worst of it.”</p> - -<p>The man was tall, bony, angular. His face was -clean-shaven, showing high cheek bones, with -prominent nose and a cleft chin. His hair was brown, his -eyes blue, and the general expression of his face at -that moment was humorous rather than threatening.</p> - -<p>“What’s the idea?” Alex asked.</p> - -<p>“You don’t look like a man capable of holding -up two boys!” Case put in. “You look like a -pretty decent chap.”</p> - -<p>“If you’ve got any masked batteries with you,” -the man said a smile showing on his rugged face, -“just poke them out here, handle first, and then -we’ll arrive at some understanding!”</p> - -<p>The boys did as directed, although they would -have made a fight for their weapons only for the -indescribable air of friendliness about the man. -They rose to their feet as they dropped their -revolvers.</p> - -<p>“Better put that gun down,” Alex advised. -“You might get excited and let it go off.”</p> - -<p>The man sat down on a fallen log and laid the -gun across his knees.</p> - -<p>“Where you boys from?” he asked.</p> - -<p>The man’s voice and manner invited confidence, -and the boys told him briefly the story of the -<i>Rambler</i>, and of the shooting at the point where -they had left her.</p> - -<p>“I think you boys are all right,” the man said, -and I think, too, that river pirates are making -trouble for your friends.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think they will follow us from the -landing?” Case asked, anxiously. “They may shoot -us from the bushes.”</p> - -<p>The man pounded his thigh with one ponderous -hand and laughed until the woods rang. The boys -looked on in wonder.</p> - -<p>“Follow you? I should say not,” he said in a -moment. “Why that constable deputized me to -come and take you prisoners. He’s helping old -Bill barricade his store. Now we’ll see if we can -find out what’s wrong with the <i>Rambler</i>.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chIV'>CHAPTER IV.—A DIVE FOR LIBERTY.</h2> - -<p class='first'>Left alone on board the <i>Rambler</i>, Jule lay for -a long time behind the gunwale watching the <i>Hawk</i>. -He saw Clay surrounded by a group of ill-looking -fellows as soon as he gained the freight deck. He -knew by the boy’s face that all was not going well.</p> - -<p>When Clay was taken up the cabin stairs and -into the stateroom by the captain, Jule got out his -field glass and scrutinized the windows of the boat. -Directly he saw the captain come to a window -facing the <i>Rambler</i> and look out. Clay was nowhere -in sight.</p> - -<p>Lying thus, almost flat on the deck, watching the -<i>Hawk</i> intently, the boy could not see what was -going on on the starboard side of the boat. Indeed, -so closely was he watching the <i>Hawk</i> that he did -not notice a little shiver which ran through the -craft as two husky men crept over the gunwale and -stood looking down upon him.</p> - -<p>“Hello, kid!” one of the men said roughly in a -moment.</p> - -<p>Jule turned around to see two revolvers pointing -at his head. He laid down his automatic and rose -to his feet. The two men on the deck before him -were signaling to the men on the <i>Hawk</i>, while the -latter were shouting words of congratulation.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Gid and I got her all right!” one of the -men said.</p> - -<p>“You bet we did,” the man referred to as Gid -went on.</p> - -<p>“What shall we do with the boy?” was the next -question.</p> - -<p>“We’ll send after him,” was the reply from the -<i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>Jule walked over to a chair and sat down. -There was nothing whatever he could do. He knew -that Clay was in the hands of the river pirates, and -that resistance would be useless.</p> - -<p>“If you don’t mind,” he said finally, “I’d rather -stay on board the <i>Rambler</i>. It seems like home -here.”</p> - -<p>“There’s more fun on board the <i>Hawk</i>,” laughed -Gid.</p> - -<p>“I don’t suppose there’s anything to drink on -board this boat?” asked Gid’s companion.</p> - -<p>“There’s plenty of water,” answered Jule.</p> - -<p>“Don’t insult Mike with a drink of water,” Gid -advised; “Mike likes water to that extent that he -won’t even wash in it.”</p> - -<p>“He looks it!” Jule declared.</p> - -<p>“No lip, now, young fellow!” Mike broke in.</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do with the boat?” -asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“Why, this boat,” Gid answered, “will make a -fine tender for the <i>Hawk</i>. We’ve been wanting a -fine boat like this for a long time. You see, we get -parties on board the <i>Hawk</i>, sometimes, who need -a little more care than the ordinary river chap. -When such get tired of our company, and we’re -willing to let them go, we take ’em home in style.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Jule answered, “the motors are out of -order, so you can’t run the <i>Rambler</i>, and I’m not -sorry for that, either.”</p> - -<p>“We can tow her, can’t we, until we can get the -motors fixed?” asked Mike. “It won’t take much -to fix the engine.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” Jule said. “When you get her -fixed up all right we’ll take her off your hands.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, you will, will you?” laughed Gid. “If you -don’t watch out, son, you’ll be wanting some one to -take you off our hands.”</p> - -<p>The two men now moved up to the prow of the -boat and whispered together for a long time. They -paid no attention to signals and calls from the -<i>Hawk</i>, and so a small boat was soon making its -way toward the <i>Rambler</i>. Jule saw the two men -handling their guns nervously as the boat supposed -to contain members of their own party approached.</p> - -<p>The boy watched the situation anxiously. It -seemed to him that the two men who had -boarded the <i>Rambler</i> were not at all pleased at the -approach of the rowboat. It appeared, too, that -those on board the <i>Hawk</i> were watching Gid and -Mike suspiciously.</p> - -<p>When the boat drew near, the man who had been -called Mike leaned over the gunwale with a -revolver in each hand.</p> - -<p>“Keep away, boys!” he said. “We don’t want -you on board!”</p> - -<p>“What does this mean?” demanded the mate of -the <i>Hawk</i>, who was one of the men in the small -boat.</p> - -<p>“Never mind what it means,” Mike called out.</p> - -<p>“Keep away from the boat if you don’t want to be -shot!”</p> - -<p>While Mike was holding the mate off with his -revolvers, Gid stood by the boy also with revolvers -in sight. The mate of the <i>Hawk</i> threw his hand -back as if to produce a weapon and Mike passed a -bullet so close to the side of his head that it scorched -his scalp.</p> - -<p>“Don’t try to get out any guns!” the man -ordered. “Get back to the <i>Hawk</i> and stay there!”</p> - -<p>“What right have you to take that boat?” -demanded the mate.</p> - -<p>“No words, now!” Mike shouted. “Get back -to the <i>Hawk</i>!”</p> - -<p>“We’ll sink you if you move away from here!” -shouted the mate.</p> - -<p>“You’ll do lot’s of sinking, with Government -boats patrolling the river!” mocked Mike. “You’d -get pinched in half an hour.”</p> - -<p>“How do you expect to get away with that -boat?” demanded the mate.</p> - -<p>“Why, we’ve got one of the owners on board,” -Mike laughed back, “and he’ll tell the Government -officers anything we ask him to.”</p> - -<p>“And look here, Mr. River Thief!” Gid joined -in, “if you make any noise about the taking of this -boat, or try to make trouble for us, or open your -mouths to the river police, we’ll give the <i>Hawk</i> -away good and plenty. Every murder and every -dirty game that’s been played on board will be in -the Government’s books within twenty-four hours.”</p> - -<p>Slowly, sullenly, the mate turned the boat around -and headed for the <i>Hawk</i>, glancing back over his -shoulders with angry eyes as he did so. Hoots of -derision came to him from the deck of the <i>Hawk</i> -as he returned. It was quite evident that those on -board the <i>Hawk</i> knew what had taken place.</p> - -<p>“Look here, kid!” Gid said to Jule as the boat -turned back, “get down there and loosen the anchor-chain. -We must be getting out of this and we haven’t got -time to hoist her up!”</p> - -<p>“I can’t do it while there’s a strain on the chain,” -Jule answered.</p> - -<p>“Then wait a minute,” directed the other, “and -she’ll probably slacken up.”</p> - -<p>Caught in a contrary swirl of the eddy in which -she lay, the <i>Rambler</i> gave a lurch ahead, in a -moment, and Jule took the opportunity of slipping the -stopper from the chain.</p> - -<p>When the boat settled back again the chain ran -out of the hawse-pipe with a clatter which -attracted the attention of those on board the <i>Hawk</i>, -and many oaths and epithets were passed back and -forth over the water.</p> - -<p>Not for long, however, for the <i>Rambler</i> -swinging out into the current, gradually swept down. -Now she ran stern against the current, now prow -against the current; now sideways; now swirling -round and round in an ugly whirlpool.</p> - -<p>It was at this moment that Clay, approaching -the window in the captain’s stateroom, saw what -had taken place. He turned to the latter a face -red with anger, his eyes flashing, his fists clenched.</p> - -<p>“What is the meaning of that?” he asked -pointing out of the window.</p> - -<p>The captain bounded to the window and peered -out. At that moment an imperative knock sounded -on the stateroom door.</p> - -<p>“What is it?” demanded the captain, opening -the door and starting out. “Why is that boat -running away?”</p> - -<p>“Mike and Gid have stolen her!” shouted the -mate. “They threatened me with guns when I -tried to board her. Now they threaten all on board -the <i>Hawk</i> if we attempt to recapture -the <i>Rambler</i>.”</p> - -<p>The captain tore about the stateroom in a blind -rage, dancing up and down and shaking his fists in -every direction. The mate stood by only a trifle -less excited. It looked like a show to Clay.</p> - -<p>“I’ll kill the dirty dogs!” shouted the captain. -“I’ll murder them both before they’re a week -older! They threatened me, did they? They -threatened to turn us over to the officers, -did they?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what they did!” shouted the mate. -“Mike had the drop on me, or I would have -settled the matter right then.”</p> - -<p>While this conversation was going on Clay stood -by the stateroom window, wondering whether it -would be possible for him to leap out and drop to -the river. His idea was that the men who had -stolen the <i>Rambler</i> could not by any possibility be -more vicious than the men on board the <i>Hawk</i>; -besides, if he could reach Jule, the two might stand -some chance of recovering the motor boat.</p> - -<p>While he stood making up his mind to undertake -the difficult task of leaving the boat without being -detected by those on the outside, two pistol shots -came from the deck. Instantly the captain and -mate whirled out of the stateroom, the latter -stopping for an instant to lock the door before dashing -down to the scene of the disturbance.</p> - -<p>Clay knew by the trembling of the deck under -his feet that they were getting the <i>Hawk</i> under -way. He saw little puffs of smoke coming from -the deck of the <i>Rambler</i>, and rightly surmised that -the shots had been fired at her. While he stood -undecided, the <i>Hawk</i> began moving down stream, -following in the wake of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>Without waiting another instant, the boy made -his way out of the window and clung to the casing -until his feet came in contact with one of the -fenders. Then he dropped down into the river with -a splash which, in the excitement of getting away, -was not observed by those on the lower deck. -Indeed, the boy was some distance from the pirate -vessel before his absence was discovered at all. -Then the captain returned to his stateroom and -found it empty.</p> - -<p>Rushing to the window, he fired several shots at -the boy, but all to no purpose. He was greatly -excited, and the boy was diving and dodging in the -water so not one of the bullets took effect.</p> - -<p>When Mike and Gid, on board the <i>Rambler</i>, saw -the boy swimming in the water they naturally -supposed him to be one of the crew of the <i>Hawk</i>. -Therefore, they began firing at him, thus placing -him between two dangers.</p> - -<p>Seeing that it would be impossible for him to -board the <i>Rambler</i> under the circumstances, the -boy dropped down in the water and made for the -shore, where he landed, sorely out of breath, in a -few moments.</p> - -<p>It was September, so the water was not very -cold, and Clay suffered little inconvenience from his -bath at that time. His first act was to secrete -himself behind the bole of a large hickory tree and -watch what was going on in the river.</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was still drifting down with the -current, wheeling this way and that, threatened -with destruction nearly every instant. The <i>Hawk</i>, -now under full power, was shooting past her, -evidently with the intention of heading her off and -blocking farther progress.</p> - -<p>While the boy looked and waited he saw a white -head lifted above the gunwale and the next -moment Captain Joe, the bulldog, leaped into the -river. Clay gave a low whistle to direct the dog -in his direction and stood with his heart in his -mouth, almost, waiting to see if the brutes on board -the motor boat would fire at the bulldog.</p> - -<p>Just at that moment, however, Gid and Mike -were busy with sweeps and oars trying to get the -<i>Rambler</i> out of an eddy around which it was -whirling aimlessly. Jule looked over the gunwale of the -boat in a moment and Clay signaled to him from -behind the tree. The next moment the bulldog -sprang upon Clay in joyful greeting and the two -disappeared in the woods.</p> - -<p>Jule went back into the cabin and threw himself -down on a bunk.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe,” he moaned, “that we’ll ever -get the <i>Rambler</i> away from these thieves!”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chV'>CHAPTER V.—CAPTAIN JOE ON SHORE.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“I’ll tell you right now,” Alex declared, panting -and out of breath in his efforts to keep pace with -the long stride of the new-found friend, “that there -isn’t anything the matter with the <i>Rambler</i>. There -never was anything wrong with the boat, and there -never will be. She may be in trouble, but she’s -been there before.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Case added, “and we’ve always gotten -her out of her troubles, and we’ll do it again. -What’s your name, Mister?” he added, turning to -the lanky guide who was forcing them through the -thickets at such swift pace.</p> - -<p>“My name,” the other replied, “is Hank Beers. -I live up in the mountains, and I came down to-day -to see about negotiating for a little product I make -up there.”</p> - -<p>“Are you a moonshiner?” asked Case, innocently.</p> - -<p>“No, I’m not a moonshiner,” replied Hank. -“I’m making a superior quality of aeroplanes up -in the hills. When I get one finished I put it in a -suit case and bring it down.”</p> - -<p>“That means,” Alex laughed, “that the product -of your factory is intended to send people up in the -air!”</p> - -<p>“Put it any way you like,” laughed Hank. “The -point with us now is to find out what’s become of -that boat of yours. You say you left her up at the -stem of the bend?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Case, “we left her to get a -spark plug and some squirrels. That shooting, you -know, may not have been at the <i>Rambler</i> or from -the <i>Rambler</i>. We may be unnecessarily excited -about it.”</p> - -<p>“Young man,” declared Hank, “when you hear -shooting going on like that in this vicinity, you just -make up your mind that the river pirates have -something to do with it.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t they get out and lynch these river -pirates?” demanded Case.</p> - -<p>“Sakes alive!” exclaimed Hank. “If we Kentuckians -lynched all the people who make us trouble, -we’d have to import telegraph poles to hang ’em -on. There wouldn’t be anywhere near enough trees -for the business.”</p> - -<p>“I thought Kentucky was a law-abiding state,” -remarked Alex.</p> - -<p>“She’s the most law-abiding state you ever heard -tell of,” replied Hank with a laugh. “All the -trouble is,” he went on, “that sometimes we -mountain people make laws of our own, and when we do -that the laws have to be abided by.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” Case grinned, “I remember the -Knights of the Golden Circle, and the Ku Klux -Klan, and the Night-Riders, and the White Caps. -When that bunch wanted to kill a man, all they -did was to pass a law against him and then abide -by it.”</p> - -<p>“There are a whole lot of offenses,” the -mountaineer went on, “that can’t be handled by the laws -these here shysters put on the statute books. But,” -he continued, “we won’t talk about that any more. -We wouldn’t agree, anyhow. About how far are -we from the point where you left your boat?”</p> - -<p>“Two miles,” declared Alex.</p> - -<p>“Three!” suggested Case.</p> - -<p>“What time did you leave the boat?” asked -Hank.</p> - -<p>“Two o’clock,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>Hank looked at a ponderous silver watch which -he took from a back pocket of his trousers and -shook his head.</p> - -<p>“If you left the boat at two o’clock,” he said, -“and you had just come to the settlement when -that little ruction started, you were something like -three hours on the way. That means more than -three miles.”</p> - -<p>“Oh yes,” Alex agreed, “but we wandered -about this way and that, looking for squirrels, and -coons, and rabbits, so I think that we ought to be -somewhere near the boat by this time.”</p> - -<p>“If we don’t come to it pretty soon,” the -mountaineer suggested, “we’ll have to look for it -in the dark. It is getting twilight in here right -now. It will soon be almost impossible to make our -way through the thickets. ’Tarnal bad woods in -the night time, these are.”</p> - -<p>Darkness was indeed settling over the forest. -To make matters worse, a mass of heavy clouds -was drifting up from the Mississippi valley, -and the chances were remarkably good for a long, -slow rain. After proceeding some farther in the -thicket, Alex took out his electric -searchlight—without which he never left -the <i>Rambler</i>—and threw its rays on the -thicket ahead. As he did so Hank seized him by the arm.</p> - -<p>“Douse it, douse it!” the mountaineer cried. -“Don’t you know any better than to make a light -in here?”</p> - -<p>“Where’s the harm?” asked Case. “We’d -never get through there without a light.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you where the harm is,” the mountaineer -answered. “Them fellers you stirred up -back there at the settlement will shortly be sending -men out here to look you up. I shouldn’t be -surprised if they sent men with bloodhounds.”</p> - -<p>“Oh well, then, we’ll have to do the best we -can in the dark,” Alex sighed, turning off the -light.</p> - -<p>“Let me see that, will you?” asked Hank.</p> - -<p>The mountaineer took the searchlight in his -great bony hand and examined it attentively, -switching the light on and off and turning it this -way and that, taking the precaution, however, to -hold the eye of the electric close to the ground.</p> - -<p>“You Yankees,” he said presently, “will soon -be getting searchlights by wireless! It’s a pretty -good light, though, and I don’t object to it if you -do. How much might one of those contraptions -cost?” he added.</p> - -<p>“All the way from four bits to four dollars,” -was the reply. “If you want a real large one, you -may go as high as fifty dollars.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll buy one when I bring down my next airplane,” -said the mountaineer, whimsically. “I -don’t doubt but that I could use it in my business. -I don’t suppose the wind would put that out, would -it? It’s mighty strong up there in the mountains -sometimes,” he added.</p> - -<p>“No,” Case answered, “nothing will put that -light out until the battery becomes exhausted. -That is, unless you break the lamp.”</p> - -<p>The boys were just starting on again when the -long terrifying baying of a hound came to their -ears. The dog was still a long distance off, yet -even as they listened his great voice came more -distinctly through the darkness.</p> - -<p>“There!” Hank said in a disgusted tone of -voice, “they’ve gone and done it at last! It’s just -this way, boys,” he went on, “when you left that -old skinflint of a merchant back there, you were -two little boys sent out by a river pirate to see if -the town was worth plundering. Ten minutes after -your departure, you were two river pirates, armed -to the teeth and half drunk on moonshine whiskey. -Thirty minutes after you left, they were saying that -the town had been visited by a band of pirates -armed with cannons. By to-morrow morning, they -will have the town pillaged and burned. I never -did see the way people exaggerate things.”</p> - -<p>“But where did they get that hound?” asked -Alex. “There wasn’t any there when we were -there.”</p> - -<p>“They might have got one off of the Government -boat,” Hank answered.</p> - -<p>“But there wasn’t any Government boat,” Alex -insisted.</p> - -<p>“There was one just coming up the river,” said -the mountaineer. “If we ever come to the bank of -the stream we’ll see her pass up.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what are we going to do about the dog?” -Case asked. “He’s evidently out of leash, for, -judging from the sound of his voice, he’s running -faster than any man could navigate through the -woods.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he does seem to be out of leash,” the -mountaineer answered, “and it may be that he took -up the scent on his own hook. Still, the Federals -do have bloodhounds to aid in trailing the -moonshiners.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t there any way to get away from the -brute?” asked Case. “If we don’t, he’ll tree us -and set up such a howling that the men will be -thicker than bees around us in about an hour.”</p> - -<p>“We can shoot him when he comes up,” -suggested the mountaineer.</p> - -<p>“Seems too bad to kill the dog,” Alex observed.</p> - -<p>“Besides all that,” Case went on, “we couldn’t -hit a barn in this darkness.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Hank suggested, “the thing for us to -do is to make for the river as fast as possible. -There’s always a good many skiffs and rowboats -scattered along on the Kentucky side. You see, if -we can only get to the water and pack ourselves -into a boat, we can sit and make faces at that hound -until Kingdom Come.”</p> - -<p>Making what speed they could through the -thicket, stumbling over vines and protruding roots, -the boys proceeded on their way for a very few -moments. Then it became evident that the dog was -only a few rods away.</p> - -<p>“Now that’s too bad,” Hank said, “we’ve got -to climb a tree, turn that bottled gas concern of -yours on the dog, and put a bullet plumb through -his head. I never did like to kill dogs, somehow.”</p> - -<p>The dog came swiftly on, and it seemed to the -boys as if his voice could be heard for a thousand -miles. They were crouching in a thicket, -preparing to vault into the branches of a great beech tree -which stood near at hand, when a great commotion -was heard not far away. It seemed to them that -a wild hog, or a bear, or some heavy yet swift -denizen of the forest, awakened from his slumber by the -howling of the dog, had set out to make a swift -investigation of his own.</p> - -<p>“What was that noise?” asked Alex, clutching -his new-found friend by the arm.</p> - -<p>“Well, sir,” Hank replied, “that sounded to me -like a dog going out to hold a little conversation -with that hound! It ran like a dog, and, besides, I -think I heard a succession of low growls as it -passed us.”</p> - -<p>“Here’s hoping he keeps the hound so well -entertained that it won’t come any farther in this -direction!” Case said.</p> - -<p>In a moment there came a great snarling and -growling from a thicket not far away, accompanied -by such a thumping and beating on the ground as -the boys had not heard in many a day. The baying -of the hound ceased entirely, and in a moment -only low choking pants of suffering were heard.</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what it is, boys!” the mountaineer -exclaimed, excitedly, “that thing that went through -here is either a bulldog or a wild hog. He’s -mixing it with the hound right now, and we may as -well go and see the scrap.”</p> - -<p>Alex used his flashlight now without reproof. -The three pressed swiftly forward, the sounds of -conflict growing clearer as they advanced. -Directly they came to a great patch of bushes, from -the center of which the commotion came.</p> - -<p>In spite of the protests of the others, Alex -pushed his way into the jungle and turned his -searchlight on two objects struggling desperately -on the ground. The next moment they heard his -voice crying out joyfully:</p> - -<p>“It’s Captain Joe! It’s Captain Joe!” he said.</p> - -<p>“What has he done to the hound?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“Who’s Captain Joe?” demanded the mountaineer.</p> - -<p>Alex answered the two questions by dragging -the white bulldog out of the thicket by the collar. -His jaws were smeared with blood, and he limped -slightly on one fore leg.</p> - -<p>“Captain Joe,” Alex replied, “is the gamiest -bulldog that ever lived, and there ain’t enough left -of that hound to bait a trap with.</p> - -<p>“Where did the bulldog come from?” demanded -Hank.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” Alex exclaimed. “That’s just exactly -what I want to know.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chVI'>CHAPTER VI.—JULE TURNS THE SWITCH.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“I don’t believe,” Jule said, throwing himself -off his bunk in a moment, “that the <i>Rambler</i> has -made successful trips on the Amazon, the Columbia, -the Colorado, the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence -to become lost on an inland river like the -Ohio! In some way, we’re going to get out of this -scrape and continue our journey.”</p> - -<p>The boy sat down by the little stationary table -in the cabin and studied out the problem in his -own boyish way. There were police boats on the -river, and eventually the attention of some captain -would be attracted to a splendid motor boat like -the <i>Rambler</i> in the hands of a couple of river -toughs.</p> - -<p>Besides, the <i>Rambler</i> was entirely unmanageable, -and would doubtless soon bring up against a sand -bar or a mass of wreckage. In this case the first -boat coming within sight would undoubtedly stop -to inquire the cause of the trouble.</p> - -<p>Thus reasoning himself into a more hopeful state -of mind, the boy went out onto the little deck and -watched Gid and Mike panting and sweating at the -oars and sweep in their vain efforts to keep the -<i>Rambler</i> off a sand bar which lifted its white -surface above the river on the Kentucky side.</p> - -<p>For a time the men succeeded fairly well, but the -current set directly toward the bar, which was, in -fact, one of its creatures, and the <i>Rambler</i> soon -thrust her nose into the firm sand with a shock and -shiver which seemed to loosen every rivet and bolt.</p> - -<p>Gid rattled the oar he had been using down on -the deck and wiped his streaming brow with a dirty -hand. Mike sat down on the gunwale and swore -earnestly and with originality.</p> - -<p>“What’s the answer?” Mike asked in a moment.</p> - -<p>Gid shook his head gravely.</p> - -<p>“If we don’t get off this everlasting sand bar -before daylight,” Mike said in a moment, “there’ll -be a procession of river boats up here to know -what’s wrong. They’ll all be wanting to pull us -off, and they’ll all be wanting a pocketful of money -for doing it. Have you got any money, Gid?”</p> - -<p>“Have I got any money?” repeated Gid. “If -the whole world was selling for a dollar, I couldn’t -buy dirt enough to stop a watch! I was lucky -enough to get out of Louisville with a whole skin. -What did you do with your money?” he asked, -looking Mike keenly in the eye.</p> - -<p>“I bought lottery tickets with mine,” Mike -replied. “I’ve got the lottery tickets in my pocket -yet, and I never have any luck when I have the -things around. Honest, Gid,” the Irishman -continued, “I’ve carried lottery tickets in my clothes -for five years, and during all that time no band ever -played in front of me on the street. And that’s a -fact, if you want to know!”</p> - -<p>“Mike,” Gid observed with a smile, “do you -study the dream book every night and morning? -You’re as superstitious as an old woman!”</p> - -<p>“Now look here, Gid,” continued Mike. -“That’s the exact truth I told you about those -lottery tickets. Look here, now, here’s an illustration. -I was standing on South Clark street, Chicago, one -morning with three Louisiana lottery tickets in -my pocket. There was a procession coming down -the street with twenty bands in it. And I said to -the boys who were with me that I would bet the -cigars for the crowd that there wouldn’t a band -play when passing the spot where we stood.”</p> - -<p>“You got your nerve to bet on a hoodoo,” Gid -laughed.</p> - -<p>Jule was now becoming interested in the -conversation, which he had heard from his position at -the prow, and drew closer to the two men. He -noticed that they used remarkably good language, -and also that they seemed to know Chicago well, -so he resolved that he would try to learn more about -them as soon as an opportunity offered.</p> - -<p>“That lottery ticket hoodoo is one that is safe -to bet on at any spot in the road,” Mike continued. -“Well, as I was saying, there was a procession -coming up South Clark street with twenty bands -in it, and I was betting there wouldn’t a band play -in front of the spot where we stood. This was on -account of the lottery tickets I had in my pocket. -I was just plumb hoodooed with those tickets. -Why, look here!” he continued, “if I had thrown -those tickets overboard, we wouldn’t be on this sand -bar now. I tell you they have just plumb hoodooed -me. I think I’ll throw them overboard now.”</p> - -<p>“What about the twenty bands and the -procession?” asked Jule, with a grin on his face. -“Tell me about that.”</p> - -<p>“Hello, kid!” Mike said with a chuckle. “Did -you hear me talking that fool stuff about the -lottery tickets?”</p> - -<p>“Sure I did,” Jule answered.</p> - -<p>“Well, you take warning by me and don’t ever -buy any!” Mike declared.</p> - -<p>“Well, what about these twenty bands?” Jule -insisted.</p> - -<p>“Sho’, of course, I nearly forgot all about the -bands. Well nineteen bands passed our corner -without a note of music. Walked by just like they -were going up the street in a political parade. You -know, son,” Mike continued, “that musicians think -they are paid to walk in parades on account of their -uniforms, and not on account of their music.”</p> - -<p>“What did you say these twenty bands did?” -laughed Jule.</p> - -<p>“Nineteen marched plumb by without ever -blowing a horn. The twentieth one started in half a -block below us. I just had a notion then that that -band was going to play, and that I would have to -buy the cigars, and then I thought that one of the -tickets might draw a prize so I wasn’t kicking any. -Well, sir, do you know that that big band headed -up to us in full tune.”</p> - -<p>“So you had to buy the cigars?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“Did I have to buy the cigars?” repeated Mike. -“Say, kid, twenty feet below us a horse hitched -to a carriage filled with ladies reared up on his hind -feet and they had to stop the music until they got -by us so as not to frighten the horse any more. -You bet I don’t have to buy the cigars on any bet -like that!”</p> - -<p>Encouraged by the friendly voice and manner of -the Irishman, Jule asked what they intended doing -with the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“It’s just this way, boy,” Mike replied, “we’ve -been skinned and cleaned up, and knocked out, in -every enterprise we ever undertook. We’re both -printers, and used to work on the old Chicago -Herald when Jim Scott owned it. Well, we beat -the faro bank until we didn’t have a cent. We -played poker and roulette until the other fellows -held a mortgage on our pay envelopes. So we’re -just plumb disgusted with civilization. We haven’t -got the brains to become city pirates and run -gambling houses and elect aldermen and all that, but -we have got muscle enough to become river pirates, -so here we are, and here your boat is.”</p> - -<p>“Are you going to keep the boat?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“Of course, we’re going to keep it!” Mike declared.</p> - -<p>“You bet we are!” Gid put in. “No man we -ever played with ever gave us any Christmas -presents after he’d cleaned us out.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Jule announced, “I’ll set up a yell the -first boat comes near us and your hoodoo lottery -tickets will probably land you in jail.”</p> - -<p>“We don’t want to be rough with you, kid,” -Mike went on, “but when you see a boat coming -if you don’t hustle into the cabin and go to bed and -cover up your head and ears, we’ll take the hide off -your back in long, wide strips.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it!” Jule answered with a faint -smile.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” Mike answered, “we’re -pretty good fellows, but we’re just plumb disgusted -with everything in the world. Now, really,” he -went on, “this boat belongs to that pirate gang -over there, and we stole it from them. We didn’t -steal it from you. We’re innocent bystanders, as -it were.”</p> - -<p>“Why doesn’t the <i>Hawk</i> come over here and -get you?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know exactly,” replied Mike, “but it -is my idea that there is a police boat somewhere in -sight. We can’t see around the bend, and so -wouldn’t know if one was coming, but the <i>Hawk</i>, -lying nearer to the other shore, would know it -right quick.”</p> - -<p>“I hope there is a police boat coming!” Jule -said.</p> - -<p>“Well, when you see one, you duck into that -cabin,” Mike ordered, “and do it mighty quick. -No Federal officer would believe your word against -ours, so you wouldn’t gain anything by making a -fool of yourself.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Hawk</i> did seem to be acting strangely. It -was now deep twilight and yet she could be seen -lying over near the Indiana shore, her great bulk -dim against the gathering darkness. Not a light -was to be seen on board. Not a sound was to be -heard.</p> - -<p>“I reckon there is a police boat coming,” Gid -said, after a short pause, “but if we lie right still -and don’t show any lights, she’ll pass on the other -side. Anyway, she can’t help seeing the <i>Hawk</i>, -and she’ll go there first.”</p> - -<p>Half an hour passed and it grew dark on the -river. Clouds were driving over the valley, and -it was likely to be a rainy night. A wind came up -the river as the darkness increased, and the moaning -of the trees and the rush of the waters made -conversation quite difficult, even when the parties -stood close together, as the three did on the deck of -the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>Jule stepped back to the cabin entrance and stood -close to the electric switch which controlled the -strong searchlight on the prow. Mike and Gid -stood leaning over the gunwale, their eyes fixed -intently on the bulk of the <i>Hawk</i>, now almost lost -in the darkness. A faint light, something like that -of a candle or a small kerosene lamp, now showed -on the freight deck of the river pirate.</p> - -<p>“There’s a Government boat coming up the -river, and that’s no dream!” Gid cried.</p> - -<p>“There’s no other way to account for the mighty -strange actions of the captain of the <i>Hawk</i>,” Mike -responded.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps if we keep all lights out and lie -perfectly still, the police boat won’t see us!” the other -suggested.</p> - -<p>The two men stood long at the gunwale, watching -the pirate boat as long as the falling night -permitted. Jule, too, remained on deck, standing by -the switch which controlled the searchlight.</p> - -<p>Once or twice, when the sound of a steam exhaust -came from below, he put his hand to the -switch, but always drew it away again when no -lights showed over the dark river. He was waiting -until the right moment.</p> - -<p>Directly a sharp whistle sounded from below, -and then the lights of a steamer flashed into view -around the bend. Jule put his hand to the switch -but brought it away once more when the lights -turned toward the <i>Hawk</i>, still lying near the -Indiana shore, motionless.</p> - -<p>“Now,” Mike said in a moment, “if we could -only get this consarned boat off this idiotic bar, -we’d be able to slide out of sight while that -gold-laced officer is listening to the lies the -captain of the <i>Hawk</i> will tell him. Prime liar, -that fellow is!”</p> - -<p>Standing on the deck with all close individual -sounds shut out by the wash of the waters and the -roaring of the trees, they saw the steamer head -directly toward the <i>Hawk</i>, then in a moment the -pirate craft was ablaze with light.</p> - -<p>“Crafty chap, that captain!” Mike declared. -“He knows he’s been observed, and so lights up.”</p> - -<p>Jule could wait no longer. With one motion of -his hand, he turned the switch and the strong prow -light flashed out over the river. Gid sprang toward -the boy with a leveled revolver.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chVII'>CHAPTER VII.—THE TRAINING OF TEDDY.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“You confounded idiot!” shouted Mike, catching -his companion by the arm. “Do you want to -bring that police boat over here inside of two -minutes? If you do, just fire that gun.”</p> - -<p>“Look what he did!” almost panted Gid, in a -heat of rage. “He turned on the light, and they’ll -be over here as soon as they get done with the -<i>Hawk</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Can’t be helped now!” declared Mike.</p> - -<p>During this short conversation Jule stood regarding -the men intently, his face pale but his eyes -flashing with the spirit of defiance which was in his -heart. Mike regarded him whimsically.</p> - -<p>“Will you turn out the light?” he asked. “Or -shall I smash it?”</p> - -<p>“Turn it out yourself!” ordered Gid, “if you -know where the switch is.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know where the switch is,” Mike replied.</p> - -<p>“Then coax the boy to turn it out,” sneered Gid. -“He seems to be a special friend of yours.”</p> - -<p>“Turn it out kid,” advised Mike.</p> - -<p>Jule, realizing that the light must already have -accomplished the purpose intended, turned the -switch and the <i>Rambler</i> was again in darkness. -He realized that the light would be extinguished -whether he turned the switch or not, for the lamp -could be easily broken.</p> - -<p>“Now, boy,” Gid thundered in Jule’s ear, “you -get into that cabin and stay there. If any of these -sneaking Government officials come on board, -you’re sick! Do you understand that? You’re sick -abed! And we’re your good, kind protectors! -Understand that? If you ain’t good and sick while -they’re here, you’ll be ailing in earnest as soon as -they go away.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Jule answered, “I’ll go into the -cabin now and lie down. But, look here,” he -continued, “I’d like to have you gentlemen make me -a promise. Will you?”</p> - -<p>“What is it?” asked Mike, not unkindly.</p> - -<p>It was very dark now, and they could not see -each other’s faces, especially as the glare of the -light during its brief presence had in a manner -dazzled their eyes. Perhaps this was just as well, -for Gid would not have liked the look on Mike’s -face as he spoke to the boy. It was all sympathy -and feeling.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Jule said, with a low chuckle, “when -you’re hanged for murder or piracy, I’d like to -have you invite me to the festival.”</p> - -<p>Gid uttered a snarl of rage and struck at the boy -but Mike only laughed as Jule dodged the blow, -only indistinctly seen, and, entering the cabin, -closed the door behind him.</p> - -<p>“They forget,” he thought to himself, “that -there are lights in the cabin which, when turned, -will reveal the presence of the <i>Rambler</i>. Anyway,” -he added, “I believe the Government officers saw -the searchlight. I don’t see how they could have -missed seeing it.”</p> - -<p>Teddy, the quarter-grown grizzly bear, now -rubbed a soft muzzle against the boy’s hand, as if -in sympathy, and nestled close to his side.</p> - -<p>“Teddy,” Jule said, “you and I have been captured -by pirates. Captain Joe has gone off to find -Alex, and we’re here in the possession of a couple -of Desperate Desmonds. We want to get away. -Now what would you suggest?”</p> - -<p>In the darkness the boy knew that Teddy was -sitting up on his hind feet suggesting a boxing -match.</p> - -<p>“That’s the thing, Teddy,” Jule said, speaking -into the bear’s ear, as if in belief that the cub -understood every word he said. “That’s just the -thing! You suggest a fight, and that’s just what -it’s got to be.”</p> - -<p>The boy and the bear sat together in the cabin -for a long time. Through the window on the -starboard side the boy could see the lights of the -Government boat and the lights of the <i>Hawk</i>.</p> - -<p>There seemed to be some commotion on board -the pirate boat, and the boy at one time thought he -detected the sound of a pistol shot.</p> - -<p>“After they get done with those river robbers,” -Jule thought, “they will probably be over here to -see why the <i>Rambler</i>’s light died out so quickly. -Now, what shall I do when they come?”</p> - -<p>The boy failed to reach any conclusion regarding -future actions. The correct course seemed to -be to be guided entirely by circumstances. If -the officers came aboard he must find some way of -notifying them of the true condition of affairs. If -they did not come aboard, he must, again, attract -their attention.</p> - -<p>After half an hour or more the Government boat -turned toward the <i>Rambler</i> and directly the boy -heard a call.</p> - -<p>“Hello, the boat!”</p> - -<p>“Come aboard!” Mike’s voice answered.</p> - -<p>“Send a boat!” ordered the officer.</p> - -<p>“We’re stranded on a bar,” Mike returned. -“Can’t you-help us off?”</p> - -<p>The boy could hear the rattle of a boat against -the hull of the Government steamer, and then the -creaking of oars. Just then the cabin door opened -and Gid made his appearance, his bulky form -clearly shown in the light from the steamer which -came through the cabin window.</p> - -<p>“Now, boy,” Gid said, “the Government officers -are coming on board. Buckle down on the bunk -and keep your mouth closed.”</p> - -<p>The fellow enforced his command with a revolver, -and Jule hastened to do as ordered.</p> - -<p>“If Mr. Gold-Lace comes into the cabin,” Gid -went on, “I’ll be setting here peaceful like with the -lights turned on. You’ll be over there in the bunk -sound asleep. If you make a move or open your -lips, I’ll shoot you full of holes. See?” he added, -thrusting one hand into his right pocket and -pushing the muzzle of a revolver out against the cloth, -“I can do some pretty good shooting from a -pocket.”</p> - -<p>Jule started to speak, but Gid lifted a heavy -hand for silence.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Gold-Lace is coming on board,” he said, -“now mind what I’ve been telling you.”</p> - -<p>Jule lay still under the blanket he had drawn -over his shoulders and chuckled softly to himself.</p> - -<p>“Teddy,” he laughed, “Teddy will be taking that -fellow by the leg in a minute and then there’ll be -doings! Just wait till that officer gets on board,” -the boy’s busy brain went on, “and I’ll get that -pirate into a boxing match with the bear.”</p> - -<p>It was true that Gid had not observed the bear, -for Jule had motioned him into a dark corner as -soon as the pirate’s hulking figure had shown in the -doorway.</p> - -<p>Presently Gid arose to his feet and looked out of -the glass panel in the cabin door.</p> - -<p>“There’s two coming aboard,” he said turning -toward the boy.</p> - -<p>“Are you going to put me on the reception -committee?” asked Jule, with a snicker.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see that you’ve got anything to laugh -at!” Gid declared.</p> - -<p>“Oh, what’s the odds?” Jule demanded. “The -<i>Rambler</i> is a mascot, and always was. You can’t -do anything to her.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll do something to you!” declared Gid, “if -you don’t keep that mouth closed.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t dare!” returned Jule. “If you -touch me I’ll yell like a loon, and then the officers -will come running in here, and that’ll be your -finish. You’d better go out on deck.”</p> - -<p>Gid did go out on deck, arriving just in time to -greet two Government officers as they stepped on -board the <i>Rambler</i>. This formality over, the -fellow backed up against the cabin door and stood -facing the light now burning at the prow. The -cabin door was open, and the boy could hear nearly -every word that was spoken on deck, the wind -having in a measure died out.</p> - -<p>“What’s your boat?” he heard an officer ask.</p> - -<p>“<i>Rambler</i>, Chicago,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Whither bound?”</p> - -<p>“New Orleans,” was the quick answer.</p> - -<p>“Who have you on board?” was the next question.</p> - -<p>Jule saw Mike point with a hairy fist toward -the cabin.</p> - -<p>“Only a kid,” he said, “back there in the cabin -shaking his bones to pieces with the ague.”</p> - -<p>“How long have you been on this bar?” asked -the official.</p> - -<p>“We struck it just before dark,” answered Mike, -who really was doing a very good job in the way -of convincing the officer that everything was all -right and straight on board the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“There are a good many motor boats doing -illicit business up and down the river,” suggested the -official.</p> - -<p>“I know it,” replied Mike. “We’re afraid some -of them will come along while we are tied up on -this bar.”</p> - -<p>“How did it happen?”</p> - -<p>“Lost a spark plug,” was the reply. “At first -we limped along in fairly good shape, and then the -others had to go bad with us. Honest,” he -continued, “I don’t think we’ll ever get off this sand -bar unless you give us a line.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll gladly do that,” said the officer, “and I’ll -do more. I’ll send over half a dozen spark plugs.”</p> - -<p>“That’s kind of you,” Mike suggested. “We’ll -be glad to pay for them. It is a great accommodation -to us.”</p> - -<p>Jule snickered in his bunk, for he had recently -heard the two men talking about being absolutely -penniless. Observing that Gid was not watching -him very closely, the latter’s attention being -directed to the two men standing forward, the boy -beckoned to Teddy, who came shambling up to the -side of the bunk and laid a soft paw against the -boy’s cheek.</p> - -<p>“Now, Teddy,” Jule said, “we’re going to play -a trick on those men out there. Do you think you -can do a boxing stunt to-night?”</p> - -<p>Teddy sat up on his haunches at mention of -the word “boxing” and admitted in perfectly -good bear talk that he could.</p> - -<p>“You just wait, Teddy,” Jule went on, “until -that police boat draws the <i>Rambler</i> off this bar and -supplies her with spark plugs, and we’ll give a -show that will beat any four-ring circus that ever -traveled out of Chicago. It’ll be something worth -buying a ticket to.”</p> - -<p>After some further conversation the Government -officers returned to their steamer. A cable was -carried to the motor boat and in a minute she was -floating in free water.</p> - -<p>“Now,” called an officer from the stern of the -steamer, “bend on that manilla hawser to your -spare anchor and throw it out.”</p> - -<p>Mike obeyed instructions to the letter, and the -<i>Rambler</i> was soon swinging easily with her grip -on the bottom of the river.</p> - -<p>“You’ve got a favor coming from us now,” -Mike shouted, “if the time ever comes when we -can render you one! Shall I come aboard for the -spark plugs?”</p> - -<p>“We haven’t got any rowboat,” Gid reminded -his companion.</p> - -<p>In the end the steamer dropped down and the -spark plugs were tossed aboard, being caught deftly -by the Irishman.</p> - -<p>“Now,” said Mike with a grin, “we’ll fix up -these motors and get down toward New Orleans -at a right smart gait.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you ask the officer about the -<i>Hawk</i>?” demanded Gid.</p> - -<p>“Oh, that old captain lied himself clear, all -right,” Mike answered. “Don’t you see that the -<i>Hawk</i> lies there with her lights all going and the -Government steamer is going on up the river?”</p> - -<p>Gid turned to Jule with something like a smile -on his sullen face.</p> - -<p>Jule was standing by the closed cabin door with -the bear fully instructed and trained, brushing -against the inside of it.</p> - -<p>“Well, boy,” Gid said, “you did remarkably -well during the visit of the officers, so we’re going -to let you get us something to eat. While we fix -the motors, you cook up some supper and we’ll soon -be sailing down the river as happy and contented -as three peas in a pod. I presume you’ve got -plenty of provisions on board.”</p> - -<p>“You bet we have!” answered Jule happily. -“I’ll get you a supper that’ll make your mouth -water.”</p> - -<p>The boy knew that while preparing the meal he -would be tolerably free from the surveillance of -the two men. This would give him an opportunity -to bring a couple of revolvers from the -cupboard where they were kept, and also to confer with -Teddy as to the course to be pursued.</p> - -<p>“Now, Teddy,” the boy said, as he went into -the cabin and shut the door, “I don’t know what -to do to these men. Sometimes I think I’ll drug -their coffee, and sometimes I think I’ll give them -a scare that will make their heads look like the top -of a snow-capped mountain.”</p> - -<p>The bear turned his head thoughtfully to one -side and expressed the rather selfish opinion that -he thought a boxing match would be about the -best thing under the circumstances. The bear had -had boxing matches with river pirates before that -night, and he knew pretty well what to do when -the boys set him going on strangers.</p> - -<p>“If I drug their coffee,” Jule went on, “they’ll -go to sleep and we’ll have them on our hands. If -I give them a scare, they’ll jump into the river and -that’ll be the last of them.”</p> - -<p>Looking out of the window the boy now saw -the Government steamer disappearing rapidly -upstream. He also saw the <i>Hawk</i> turning her prow -in the direction of the <i>Rambler</i>. Mike and Gid -stood by the port gunwale talking earnestly in low -tones.</p> - -<p>“I guess there’s trouble brewing that I wasn’t -counting on,” the boy said dejectedly. “Teddy -and I can’t fight the whole bunch.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chVIII'>CHAPTER VIII.—CAPTAIN JOE’S MESSAGE.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“Where do you think the bulldog came from?” -asked Hank as, with Alex and Case, he stood -watching the dog capering about in the joy of victory. -“He seems to know you boys pretty well.”</p> - -<p>“This dog,” Alex answered, “is the champion -four-footed traveler of the world. He’s been on -all the big rivers, and in all the big cities. He’s -taken bites out of all the tribes on the face of the -globe. He belongs on the <i>Rambler</i> with us.”</p> - -<p>“Seems like a mighty pert dog?” admitted the -mountaineer.</p> - -<p>“You don’t have to guess again!” Case put in.</p> - -<p>“Anyway, he done finished that hound in good -shape,” Hank suggested.</p> - -<p>He stooped as he spoke and took the end of a -rope into his fingers.</p> - -<p>“You see how it is,” he said, “the animal broke -his leash and got away from the bunch sleuthing in -the woods.”</p> - -<p>“Then they won’t be able to find us?” asked -Alex.</p> - -<p>The bony mountaineer shook his head.</p> - -<p>“They might as well look for a needle in a load -of hay,” he said.</p> - -<p>Alex now bent over and began talking gravely -to the bulldog.</p> - -<p>“Captain Joe,” he said, “why didn’t you follow -me sooner? I might have been eaten alive at -that landing. Next time, you come quicker.”</p> - -<p>Captain Joe pointed his blood-stained nose in the -direction of the river and whined softly.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>The dog drew away from the boy and ran a few -steps to the north and looked back.</p> - -<p>“Look here!” Alex said, speaking excitedly to -Case and the mountaineer, “the bulldog says -there’s some of our friends over in the direction of -the river.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t hear him talking,” laughed the mountaineer.</p> - -<p>“That’s because you don’t know dog talk. -Captain Joe has a language of his own,” laughed Case. -“Great dog, that!”</p> - -<p>“Anyway,” admitted the mountaineer, “he -seems to understand what you say to him.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, come on!” urged Alex. “Let’s don’t -waste any more time standing here. There’s something -wrong on board the <i>Rambler</i>, or Captain Joe -wouldn’t be here.”</p> - -<p>“The <i>Rambler</i>,” Case insisted, “is a long way -upstream.”</p> - -<p>“I guess Captain Joe knows where it is,” Alex -replied. “You fellows come right along. I’m going -to follow the dog.”</p> - -<p>The boys used their searchlights freely now, and -made considerable noise making their way through -the thickets. After walking steadily for fifteen -or twenty minutes, the bulldog darted on ahead and -left them to make their way without his guidance.</p> - -<p>Even while the three were discussing the disappearance -of the dog, they heard him barking not -far away, and then a voice they knew came to their -ears. The dog’s bark took on a note of welcome.</p> - -<p>“Hello, Alex! Hello, Case!” they heard Clay -call. “Why don’t you come on out to the river?” -“We’re moving as fast as we can,” Case called -back. “This jungle is harder to work through -than a Saturday night crowd on South Clark street. -How did you come to be on shore?” he added.</p> - -<p>By this time, the two boys and the mountaineer -had gained the spot where Clay stood.</p> - -<p>“What’s doing on the <i>Rambler</i>?” Case asked -after the mountaineer had been presented to Clay.</p> - -<p>“We have met the enemy and we are theirs!” -said Clay dolefully.</p> - -<p>In as few words as possible he told the story -of the situation on the <i>Rambler</i> at the time he left -it.</p> - -<p>“And Jule is still there with those thieves?” -asked Case.</p> - -<p>“He is unless he’s made a dive for liberty,” replied -Clay.</p> - -<p>“You say the boat was drifting the last you saw -of her?” asked Hank.</p> - -<p>“Broadside downstream!” answered Clay.</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” the mountaineer suggested, “we’d -better be moving on down. Was she on this side -of the river or the other?”</p> - -<p>“Pretty close to the Kentucky shore,” answered -the boy.</p> - -<p>“Then you’re in luck!” the mountaineer -laughed. “There’s a sand bar down here, just -around the point, that will be sure to catch her. -You may have my head for a football if we don’t -see her wedged against that bar as soon as we come -in sight of it.”</p> - -<p>After half an hour’s difficult walking along the -river bank, winding far into the river to escape -coves, crossing little runs on fallen trees, they -passed around the point of the bend and looked -down a long sweep of river.</p> - -<p>“Thunderation!” shouted the mountaineer.</p> - -<p>“Now, what do you think of that?” demanded -Clay.</p> - -<p>“Rotten!” Alex and Case declared in a breath. -What the boys saw was the <i>Rambler</i> lying at -anchor, perhaps forty rods away with the <i>Hawk</i> -bearing down upon her.</p> - -<p>“It looks to me,” the mountaineer said, “as if -those pirates were bound to have that boat.”</p> - -<p>“And it looks to me,” Case put in, “as if they’re -going to get her, too! They seem to have the top -hand in this game.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about that,” declared the mountaineer. -“I don’t think we ought to let those brigands -run away with that boat.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, suggest something!” urged Clay.</p> - -<p>Before Hank could speak again, the <i>Rambler</i>’s -anchor was hauled in and she was headed directly -for the shore almost at the exact spot where the -four stood. The <i>Hawk</i> steamed steadily after her.</p> - -<p>“What’s she doing that for?” demanded Case.</p> - -<p>“That boat of yours,” suggested the mountaineer, -“will almost float in a heavy dew, while the -<i>Hawk</i> as you call her requires a considerable depth -of water.”</p> - -<p>Clay nudged his companions and laughed.</p> - -<p>“That’s shows that you’re not familiar with -boating,” he said, in a moment. “That old barge -out there will float in twenty-five inches of water, -while the <i>Rambler</i>, sticking her keel down like a -knife, requires at least thirty-five inches. I guess -the truth of the matter is,” he added, “that the -pirates on board the <i>Rambler</i> are coming this way -in the hope of dodging the <i>Hawk</i>.”</p> - -<p>“Why don’t they do a little shooting?” Case -asked. “Those fellows aren’t usually so saving of -their ammunition.”</p> - -<p>“I guess the police boat isn’t far away,” -suggested the mountaineer. “She may be just -downstream, or just upstream, but they know she’s -hereabouts, and there’d be plenty of shooting if they -didn’t suspect her presence. Those fellows usually -shoot to kill, too.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> came in within a dozen feet of the -shore and then turned prow down. The <i>Hawk</i> -dropped down, too, edging in upon her every minute. -The boys watched the maneuvers with anxious eyes.</p> - -<p>“I hope they won’t get to shooting,” Clay said, -“because Jule and Teddy must be still on board.”</p> - -<p>“If those fellows on the <i>Rambler</i> knew the -game they are playing,” Alex declared, “they -would turn the motors on full speed and run away -from that pirate. Perhaps they don’t know it, but -our boat can go three miles while the other boat is -traveling one.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s go aboard and show them how to run it!” -suggested Case.</p> - -<p>The prow light was still burning on the <i>Rambler</i>, -and the cabin was also brightly illuminated. -Through the small window on the port side, they -could see Jule busily engaged over the electric coils -at the back of the cabin.</p> - -<p>“I believe I can get on board that boat without -being seen,” Alex declared, and before the -others could offer a word of remonstrance, the -little fellow was in the river swimming mostly under -water toward the after deck of the motor boat. -They saw him climb up on the deck and peer in at -the window in the rear wall of the cabin.</p> - -<p>“The little monkey!” chuckled Clay. “I don’t -think I would have undertaken a game of that kind -for a million dollars.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Case said excitedly, “we’re going to -do exactly the same thing. Those fellows on board -are so busy watching the pirates that they won’t -see us, and the pirates are so busy watching the -<i>Rambler</i> that they won’t see us. We’ve just got to -get on board.”</p> - -<p>The mountaineer threw himself at full length on -the ground and laughed until his lean sides shook.</p> - -<p>“And what will you do when you get on -board?” he asked directly. “You’re the gamest -lot of kids I ever saw.”</p> - -<p>“About the first thing I do,” Case declared, “will -be to get something to eat. I’ll just bet you a red -apple that Alex has got his nose into the provision -chest this minute.”</p> - -<p>They all glanced toward the <i>Rambler</i> at mention -of the boy and saw that the after deck was vacant.</p> - -<p>“It’s a sure thing he’s got his nose into some -kind of food if he’s inside the cabin,” Clay remarked.</p> - -<p>“But, honest, now, boys,” the mountaineer -asked, “what do you think of doing after you get -on board? You can’t fight the pirates on your boat -and the pirates on the <i>Hawk</i> too.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” Clay said, “we’ll run away from that -boat in a minute. In three seconds after we get -our hands on the motors, we’ll be going so fast -downstream that a bullet from the <i>Hawk</i> couldn’t -catch us.”</p> - -<p>“You kids certainly beat my time,” chuckled -the mountaineer. “If I didn’t have plenty of -business at that little aeroplane factory of mine up in -the hills. I’d be tempted to go with you.”</p> - -<p>“This man,” Case explained to Clay, “makes -moonshine whiskey up in the hills. He calls his -still an aeroplane factory because his product sends -people up in the air.”</p> - -<p>“It will send a man pretty high up in the air if -he drinks enough of it,” the mountaineer chuckled.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you quit it and play fair with the -Government?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Sho’, boys,” answered the mountaineer, “I -wouldn’t enjoy life if it wasn’t for the skirmishes -I have with the Government officers. Besides, there -ain’t nothing else a man can do in this country. -When a man can make a hundred dollars’ worth of -moonshine out of ten dollars’ worth of corn, and -do it with mighty little trouble, what’s the use of -his coming down into the valley and shoveling coal -into a steamer for a dollar and a half a day?”</p> - -<p>The argument was never completed, for at that -moment the boys saw the cabin door open and -Teddy, standing erect in a boxing attitude, move -out. He was getting to be quite a good-sized bear -now, and he bulked fierce and heavy against the -lights. At first, neither one of the river thieves on -board the <i>Rambler</i> saw him.</p> - -<p>In fact, the first indication Mike had of his -presence was when he felt a sharp claw laid on the arm -lying across the gunwale. He turned quickly, -looked for one instant into the pig-like eyes of the -bear, and with a cry which echoed down the river, -sprang into the stream.</p> - -<p>“I guess he thought the bear was going to eat -him!” Case observed.</p> - -<p>The mountaineer now lay rolling and tumbling -on the bank of the river. The scene had opened so -unexpectedly; the bear’s appearance had been so -fierce and intimidating, that he had at first felt a -little shiver of fear, but now he saw that the bear -was merely performing tricks he had been taught -While he chuckled, Gid also leaped into the river, -and then he saw Case and Clay, followed by -Captain Joe, swimming lustily toward the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chIX'>CHAPTER IX.—THE THREE BLUE LIGHTS.</h2> - -<p class='first'>The entire situation on board the <i>Rambler</i> had -not been observed from the shore. The boys and -the mountaineer had seen only Teddy in the center -of the stage, so they had naturally supposed that -the swift departure of the pirates had been -occasioned by the sudden appearance of the grizzly. -Had they been in a little different position, they -would have seen Alex and Jule standing in the -open doorway of the cabin with threatening automatics -in their hands.</p> - -<p>“Now, that’s a funny proposition,” the mountaineer -deliberated, as Clay and Case clambered to -the after deck. “Them pirates are watching the -<i>Rambler</i>, and yet they don’t see that the boys are -getting possession of her. They must be a stupid -lot.”</p> - -<p>The next minute, however, convinced the -mountaineer that he had been mistaken in his estimate of -the intelligence of the pirates. Half a dozen pistol -shots came in quick succession, making little spurts -of water on the surface of the river near the stern -of the boat. However, Clay and Case were soon -climbing, dripping with river water, through the -window at the rear of the cabin.</p> - -<p>Still watching from the shore, the mountaineer -saw Clay creep up to the bridge deck which -concealed the motors, keeping down below the level -of the gunwale. Bullets from the <i>Hawk</i> continued -to spatter about the motor boat, but seemed to do -no damage whatever.</p> - -<p>As those who have read the previous volumes of -this series will understand, the entire exterior walls -of the <i>Rambler</i> were sheathed with bullet-proof -steel. This fact, it will be remembered, had preserved -the lives of all the boys during the voyage -to the head waters of the Amazon river.</p> - -<p>Directly the watcher saw the anchor, which had -been dropped again when the boat had taken her -position near the shore, lifted and the next instant, -the motor boat went gliding like a shot downstream.</p> - -<p>The moonshiner bent his head forward and -rubbed his eyes in wonder. It was all new to him, -this wonderful speed. His acquaintance with -motor boats had consisted almost entirely of a -slight knowledge of the large flat-bottomed scows -hardly worthy the name of motor boats. When the -<i>Rambler</i> darted away at a speed not less than -twenty miles an hour, it all seemed to him like -magic.</p> - -<p>He stood for a moment on the bank watching the -little spurts of flame shooting from the <i>Hawk</i> and -then turned into the thicket with a chuckle which -shook his broad shoulders.</p> - -<p>“Sho’,” he exclaimed, “we mountaineers don’t -know much about river folks, after all. I never -knew there was anything on the face of the earth -that could go as fast as that motor boat went.”</p> - -<p>He tramped along in the darkness for a long -time and then stopped and made a small fire, by -the side of which he slept until morning. With -the appearance of the day he was out toward the -hills, and also forever out of the lives of those on -board the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“Now, see here,” Clay suggested as the Rambler -speeded beyond reach of the bullets from the -<i>Hawk</i>, “we can’t long keep this gait with empty -gasoline tanks.”</p> - -<p>“If we pull in at the landing just below here,” -Alex laughed, “we’ll all get pinched. If you leave -it to that old store keeper, we’re pirates, and Case -and I are little rhinoceros birds sent on ahead to -see whether the picking is good.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Clay continued, “we don’t have to -strain the motors right now, so we’ll keep just -enough gasoline burning to give us headway. -Perhaps we’ll strike a more hospitable settlement -farther down.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe that old fellow had any -gasoline to sell, anyhow,” laughed Case. “If you boys -could have seen the rubes fall all over each other -when we pulled our automatics, you’d have nearly -died laughing!”</p> - -<p>“Suppose we stop and see how they feel about -the matter to-night,” suggested Alex. “I’d like to -drag that constable out of bed!”</p> - -<p>“No use of looking for trouble,” Clay advised. -“After all, you must remember that those fellows -have the law on their side.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Case declared, “and if they could once -get us into jail they’d keep us there for years. -They’re likely good and angry about the way we -bluffed them before their own townspeople.”</p> - -<p>Teddy now came up to where the boys were -standing and demanded appreciation for the part he -had played in the recapture of the boat. Captain -Joe, also, advised the boys of his presence by -nipping them quietly on the legs.</p> - -<p>“I know what’s the matter with the menagerie,” -Alex exclaimed. “They haven’t had any supper. -And that makes me think,” he went on, making a -dive for the cabin, “that I haven’t had any supper, -either.”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to get for supper?” Clay -asked, following the boy to the cabin door.</p> - -<p>“Oh,” Alex replied with a grin which wrinkled -his freckled nose, “it’s almost midnight now, and -we’ll just get a light little luncheon.”</p> - -<p>“You make lots of bad breaks trying to talk the -English language,” Case advised. “You mustn’t -say ‘luncheon’ unless you have pie. It’s ‘lunch’ -when you don’t have pie, and ‘luncheon’ when you -do have pie.”</p> - -<p>“I said ‘luncheon’, didn’t I?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“You certainly did,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Alex said, “then we’re going to have -pie.</p> - -<p>“The only kind of pie we can have now,” Case -objected, “is fish pie. I’ll go and catch a couple of -river perch and you can make a fish pie.”</p> - -<p>“Say, look here,” Alex said, shutting the cabin -door in Case’s face and talking through the glass -panel, “what do you know about pie? I suppose -you’ll be wanting me to make a liver pie next.”</p> - -<p>“That would be fine fodder!” laughed Case. “I -guess you are joking!”</p> - -<p>“You’ve forgotten about those canned apples,” -Alex insisted. “I’m going to make hot apple pie -for our midnight luncheon. And we’re going to -have ham and eggs, and potatoes, and soda biscuit, -and a whole lot of good things.”</p> - -<p>“Go to it!” grinned Case, as he went back on -the prow and sat down to watch the river.</p> - -<p>The boat slipped steadily down with the current -for about an hour before any lights were seen on the -Kentucky side. Then Clay got out his map of the -river and they all examined it intently.</p> - -<p>“Here’s the big bend below Brandenburg,” Case -said with his finger on the representation of the -river. “Just now, we are free of the big bend, and -so that light on the south bank must be at Wolf -Creek.”</p> - -<p>“Je-rusalem!” Jule exclaimed. “The name -sounds fierce, all right!”</p> - -<p>“Anyway,” Clay went on, “there’s a little stream -enters the Ohio at Wolf Creek, and we can tie up -there until morning. If they haven’t got any gasoline -there, we can shoot over to the Indiana shore as -soon as it gets daylight and see what we can do -there.”</p> - -<p>The suggested plan was carried out so far as -entering the mouth of Wolf Creek was concerned. -The first thing the boys did, however, was not to -search the few stores the village boasted for gasoline. -In the first place, they did not care to awaken -the store keepers, as there was no necessity for their -going on that night. In the second place, they -desired to keep their arrival at the landing as quiet as -possible, as some rumor of the show of arms at the -landing above might have filtered down the river, -in which case they would all be regarded with -suspicion.</p> - -<p>As soon as the boat was fairly at rest in the mouth -of the creek, Alex opened the cabin door and -announced in a joyous voice that dinner was served -“in the dining-car.”</p> - -<p>For the next hour the boys paid little attention -to anything save the bountiful meal provided by -their chum. Alex’s soda biscuit and hot apple pie -proved very attractive to the hungry boys.</p> - -<p>“Now then,” Alex declared, walking out on -deck after leaving the table, “I’m going to bed for -the night!”</p> - -<p>“You’ve surely earned a little sleep!” Case -grinned. “That’s the best dinner we’ve had in -many a day.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, I guess I can go some when it comes to -cooking,” laughed Alex, “and I’ll wake up in shape -to cook another good breakfast in the morning.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll be thinking all night what we’re going to -have for breakfast,” Clay suggested. “How did -you ever come to think of that hot apple pie?”</p> - -<p>Before Alex could answer the question, Jule -caught him by the shoulder and pointed out to the -surface of the river almost directly opposite the -mouth of the creek.</p> - -<p>“What do you know about that?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“About what?” demanded Alex.</p> - -<p>The three blue lights!” answered Jule.</p> - -<p>The other boys were all attention now, but all -declared that they could see no lights whatever. -Presently Jule bounded to the top of the gunwale, -steadying himself by the roof of the cabin, and looked -toward the distant Indiana shore.</p> - -<p>“There they are!” he shouted, “There they are! -Three blue lights! Now what do you suppose they -mean?”</p> - -<p>“They’re probably in a boat?” Clay asked, -tentatively.</p> - -<p>“Nix on the boat!” Jule protested. “They’re -just floating right down flat on top of the wet -water.”</p> - -<p>Clay now vaulted to the gunwale and followed the -direction of the boy’s pointing finger. As he -did so, a sharp detonation came from the river, -echoing down the stream weirdly, and then the -lights he had seen only a moment before -disappeared from view.</p> - -<p>That was the boys’ first experience with the three -blue lights!</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chX'>CHAPTER X.—ANNIVERSARY OF A WRECK.</h2> - -<p class='first'>There was a blank look on Clay’s face as he -stepped back to the deck of the <i>Rambler</i>. Jule also -showed great excitement as he faced his friend.</p> - -<p>“Did you see them?” the latter asked of Clay.</p> - -<p>“See what?” demanded Alex.</p> - -<p>“The three blue lights!” Jule answered.</p> - -<p>Alex and Case punched each other in the ribs -and chuckled.</p> - -<p>“You’re the boy that’s been reading out of the -dream book,” the latter said.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you see three blue lights right down on -the surface of the river?” asked Jule, again -turning to Clay.</p> - -<p>“I certainly did!” the latter answered.</p> - -<p>“Then they’re there yet,” Alex insisted, vaulting -to the top of the gunwale. “They must be -there yet, for no boat could disappear so quickly. -I’ll take a look at them myself.”</p> - -<p>“But I tell you they wasn’t in any boat!” insisted -Jule. “They were floating right on the surface of -the water—three large and very brilliant blue -lights.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see them, Clay?” asked Alex, scornfully.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Clay, “I did, and they were actually -floating directly on the surface of the river.”</p> - -<p>“Why can’t I see them, then?” demanded Alex -from his position on the gunwale.</p> - -<p>“Because,” laughed Jule, “it is only the eye of -the believer that sees. Clay believed, and he saw.”</p> - -<p>“Honest, Clay?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I saw three blue lights down to the level -of the river,” answered Clay, “and I saw something -more. You-all heard the explosion?” he -asked. “Well, when that explosion came, there was -a puff of smoke and the lights went out in a second.”</p> - -<p>“Wasn’t there any one in sight?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“No one in sight!” replied Clay.</p> - -<p>“No boat, or anything of that kind?”</p> - -<p>“Not a thing!” shouted Jule. “I tell you those -three blue lights came right up out of the bed of the -river. And then there was an explosion, and they -disappeared, just like they’d been winked out. -Strangest thing I ever saw!”</p> - -<p>“Well, that’s enough for me!” Alex declared. -“You’ll be seeing green elephants with blue tails -next. I’m going to bed.”</p> - -<p>In a short time all the boys were abed save Jule, -who sat on the prow with Captain Joe and Teddy, -the bear. The night had not fulfilled its promise of -rain, and the stars now shone dimly down from a -misty sky. It was very still on the <i>Rambler</i>’s deck, -for no noises came from the landing, and there was -no wash of the current against the boat.</p> - -<p>The boy was puzzling over the strange appearance -and disappearance of the three blue lights. -There was a trace of superstition in the nature of -the boy, and he was half inclined to regard what -had been seen as a manifestation of the supernatural.</p> - -<p>“If Clay hadn’t seen the same thing I did,” he -mused, “I wouldn’t have any trouble making up my -mind. Blue lights don’t rise up out of rivers through -human agency.”</p> - -<p>The boys were all astir shortly after daybreak, -and Alex went on a scouting tour up to the little -river settlement at the mouth of Wolf Creek. The -<i>Rambler</i> lay only a few feet from a rough pier -which had been spiled out into the stream, so the -boys had no difficulty in reaching the shore. The -rowboat, it will be remembered, had been left up -the river when the two boys had set out on their -hunting trip.</p> - -<p>Early as it was, the boy found people moving -about the one street of the little town, which lay on -the east bank of the creek bearing its own name. -Standing on the rude platform before a small storehouse, -the boy saw two men; one of sober aspect, -wearing a long gray beard, and the other much -younger and showing a laughing face under his -dilapidated cap. As he approached the younger -man beckoned.</p> - -<p>“What do you want, boy?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Gasoline,” was the answer.</p> - -<p>The young fellow stepped off the platform and -advanced toward the pier where the <i>Rambler</i> lay. -The old man sat down on the platform.</p> - -<p>“Is that your boat?” the young man asked of -Alex.</p> - -<p>“Yes, that’s our boat,” replied the boy. “Our -gasoline tanks are empty. Can I buy a supply in -town, do you think?”</p> - -<p>“Certainly!” was the answer. “Father keeps it -for sale. During the course of the season a good -many motor boats tie up here. We keep all manner -of supplies.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” Alex replied, “We’d like to get -about a dozen spark plugs. I don’t think that -porcelain insulation is as good as it used to be, for we -break a good many. They go smash at the least -little jar.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” the young man replied. “Step up -there and tell father what you want and he’ll open -the store now. Are your friends on the boat -awake?”</p> - -<p>“Sure!” replied Alex. “They’re all awake -except the bear and the bulldog.”</p> - -<p>The young man laughed and turned toward the -pier, while Alex hastened toward the place where -the old gentleman sat on the store platform.</p> - -<p>The boy explained his wants briefly and the old -gentleman unlocked the battered door of his place -of business. It was an uncouth, unpainted, sidling -little store, with broken panes showing in the -windows and new shingles speckling the roof.</p> - -<p>The interior, however, showed considerable care -in the arrangement of goods and the stock seemed -to be large and of good quality. Without making -any pretense of waiting on the boy, the old dealer, -who introduced himself as Martin Groger, seated -himself in a much whittled arm chair and pointed -Alex to another.</p> - -<p>“Boy,” he said with a very serious expression -of countenance, “did you sleep in the motor boat -at the mouth of Wolf Creek last night?”</p> - -<p>“Part of the night,” answered Alex.</p> - -<p>“What did you hear along after midnight, say -an hour or two after midnight?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing special,” answered the boy.</p> - -<p>“Did you hear anything that sounded like an -explosion?” the old man went on, “—something like -the explosion of a boiler?”</p> - -<p>“Why, I heard something of that kind,” Alex -replied, wondering what the old gentleman was -getting at. “Did you hear that, too?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I heard it,” answered the old gentleman, -drawing his long beard through his fingers and -fixing his grave eyes on those of the lad. “Yes, I -heard it,” he repeated, “and I’ve heard it a good -many nights when there wasn’t any one else awake -to hear it—when there wasn’t any one else astir in -the village but me, and no boat tied up at the mouth -of Wolf Creek. Did you see anything?” he added -eagerly.</p> - -<p>“What would you expect me to see?” asked -Alex, with a smile.</p> - -<p>“I ain’t saying anything about that,” replied the -old gentleman. “I’m asking you a plain simple -question. Did you see anything just before that -explosion?”</p> - -<p>“No, I didn’t,” the boy answered, “but two of -my chums did.”</p> - -<p>The merchant leaned forward with suspicion in -his eyes.</p> - -<p>“You’re not lying about this?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“I would have no object in doing that.”</p> - -<p>“Then tell me what you saw.”</p> - -<p>“Two of my chums saw three blue lights floating -on the surface of the river—at least that’s what -they said.”</p> - -<p>“And this was just before the explosion?” -queried the old man.</p> - -<p>“The lights disappeared after the explosion,” -Alex explained. “Do you know anything about -them?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Boy,” the old man exclaimed, moving about in -his chair excitedly, “your chums have seen what -only one person in this section has ever been able to -locate.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” Alex declared, “any one, I guess, might -have seen the lights. The boys said they stuck out -from the river like a sore thumb.”</p> - -<p>“Just so!” answered the old gentleman, eagerly. -“Just so! Now let me tell you something about -those blue lights,” he went on. “I’ve seen them -time and time again, but the people hereabouts -always deny seeing them.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t that remarkable?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“There’s my son Charles, now,” continued the -old man. “I’ve tried to point them out to him, but -he says they don’t exist. Flings out at his old -father just like that. Says they don’t exist!”</p> - -<p>“How often do they appear?” asked the boy.</p> - -<p>“I haven’t heard of their being about before -last night for several months,” answered the old -merchant. “I was in hopes they’d never be seen -here again.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with ’em?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Matter enough,” was the reply. “They bring -disaster!”</p> - -<p>“Alex restrained a burst of laughter with difficulty, -but finally managed to face the old gentleman gravely.</p> - -<p>“Bring disaster, do they?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Indeed they do!” was the reply. “Whenever -the ghosts of the river dead walk on the surface of -the water, it means trouble for all river dwellers.”</p> - -<p>“Many years ago,” the old man continued, “the -<i>Mary Ann</i>, as trim a passenger packet as ever -sailed between Cincinnati and the Mississippi, blew -her boilers all to flinders right opposite the mouth -of Wolf Creek. There were two hundred passengers -on board and they were dancing when the explosion -took place.”</p> - -<p>“The deck where they were amusing themselves -was lighted by three blue lights! Ever since that -night, the three blue lights have warned of -impending calamity.”</p> - -<p>“So you think they’re ghost lights, do you?” -asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“I know they are!” replied the old merchant. -“And I’ll tell you why. Those lights never fail -to appear on the anniversary of the wrecking of the -boat.</p> - -<p>“The Mary Ann went down ten years ago to-night, -and on every anniversary of the drowning of -those two hundred people, the three blue lights are -seen rising over the exact place where she sank.”</p> - -<p>“That’s remarkable!” exclaimed the boy.</p> - -<p>“Those who were drowned,” the merchant continued, -“went down in their sins. They were dancing -to the devil’s music when they sank. Their -bodies rest uneasily on the bottom of the river, for -none of them were ever found.”</p> - -<p>“Why, that’s singular!” Alex remarked. “It -would seem that the bodies might have been -recovered.”</p> - -<p>“They never have been found,” was the reply. -“River men say they were carried off by an undercurrent -and whirled down into the Mississippi, but -I believe the bodies are in there yet.”</p> - -<p>“And every anniversary of their death, they show -three blue lights, do they?” asked the boy wonderingly.</p> - -<p>“Three blue lights!” said the old man, “and -after the three blue lights, the explosion. I have -watched for the lights and the noise every night -for nine years and I have never failed to see and -hear.”</p> - -<p>“And trouble always comes after the exhibition?” -queried the boy. “Then there is another -mystery for the crew of the <i>Rambler</i> to solve.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXI'>CHAPTER XI.—CATCHING BIG CATFISH.</h2> - -<p class='first'>On his way back to the <i>Rambler</i> after his rather -remarkable conversation with the old merchant, -Alex met Clay and the old man’s son hastening toward the store.</p> - -<p>“It’s all right!” Clay announced to the boy. -“They’ve just got in a big stock of gasoline, and -we’ll fill all the tanks and buy a few red cans on the -side.”</p> - -<p>“And for the love of Mike,” Alex interposed, -“buy about a peck of spark plugs. And say,” he -called out as Clay mounted the little platform in -front of the place of business, “buy a couple of -fish lines that would bring a freight car out of the -water, and the right kind of hooks to go with them.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the idea?” Clay called back.</p> - -<p>“Well, you just bring the hooks and lines and -I’ll show you where the idea is,” replied the boy.</p> - -<p>When Alex reached the deck of the <i>Rambler</i> he -found Case and Jule busy over a great stack of -pancakes. One was spreading them thick with honey -and the other was making them more eatable by the -use of bacon gravy. Eggs were frying in the skillet -over the stove and a great pot of coffee was -simmering on the electric coils.</p> - -<p>“Whew!” shouted the boy, sticking his nose into -the cabin, “you fellows smell good in here.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Case laughed, “and you took good care -that you didn’t help produce the fragrance which -pervades this apartment.”</p> - -<p>“I got supper last night,” pleaded Alex.</p> - -<p>“That’s all right,” Jule cut in, “it was your turn -to get breakfast this morning, too. You know -what we all agreed to when we left Chicago on the -first trip. The boy that talked slang had to cook -the meals and wash the dishes.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, when did I talk slang?” demanded Alex.</p> - -<p>“You’ve been talking slang for a week!” Case -declared.</p> - -<p>“What’d I say?” demanded Alex, scornfully.</p> - -<p>“You said one of those river pirates was balmy -in the head,” answered Jule. “You’re always -making some break like that. If I had a twirler like -that you carry around with you, and couldn’t keep -it under any better control than you do yours, I’d -throw the belt off the wheels.”</p> - -<p>“I know who’ll cook meals and wash dishes -now,” laughed Alex. “When it comes to talking -slang, you’ve got me backed up on a blind siding -with my fires drawn.”</p> - -<p>“Go to it, boys!” roared Case. “Go to it. Get -it all off your chests, and I won’t have to do any -work for a month.”</p> - -<p>Alex was soon busy at the breakfast table, and -when Clay returned with a great load of gasoline -and provisions from the store, everything was neatly -cleared away in the little cabin.</p> - -<p>“There!” Clay said, throwing a great package -at Alex’s, head, “there’s your fish line and your -fish hooks, and for fear you’d want to use the coal -stove or one of the motors for a sinker, I brought -along a section of railroad iron. I guess that’ll hold -your line.”</p> - -<p>As the boy spoke, he threw about four inches of -steel railway iron down on the deck with a great -thud.</p> - -<p>“What did that old gentleman at the store say -to you about the three blue lights?” asked Alex, -as Clay prepared to get the boat under way. “Did -he have a ghost story to spin?”</p> - -<p>“He didn’t say a word to me about the three -blue lights,” Clay replied. “We didn’t have any -time to talk about such things, and we haven’t any -time now, so you fellows just get up here and help -fill these tanks.”</p> - -<p>All four boys were busy in a moment and young -Groger from the store assisted materially in getting -the gasoline on board.</p> - -<p>In less than an hour all was ready for departure. -The young merchant shook the boys heartily by the -hand and asked them to call if they returned -home by way of the river.</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’ll come back all right,” Alex called out. -“At least, I’m coming back. I’m bound to know -something more about those three blue lights. I’m -the original mystery investigator!”</p> - -<p>“So father told you about that, did he?” queried -young Groger.</p> - -<p>“Of course, he did!” Alex replied. “He -couldn’t talk about anything else. He seemed to be -glad that Clay and Jule saw the three blue lights. -I guess he’s got an idea that the people around here -think he’s been talking about something that never -existed.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid he is,” replied the young man. -“He’s always talking about the three blue lights -and the wreck of the <i>Mary Ann</i>, and the explosion, -and all that, but he’s the only one about here who -ever saw the lights or heard the explosion.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you’re mistaken there!” replied Alex. -“Clay saw them last night and Jule saw them, and -all four of us heard the explosion.”</p> - -<p>Watching the young man’s face closely as he -stepped ashore, Clay thought that he saw a sudden -pallor come over it. The son was evidently as -fully superstitious as his father.</p> - -<p>“Now, what did the old merchant tell you about -the three blue lights?” demanded Jule, as the boat -swung off down the river.</p> - -<p>In as few words as possible Alex explained the -mystery of the three blue lights according to the -aged merchant’s theory.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Jule said, after a moment’s thought, -“the three blue lights did bob up out of the river. -There wasn’t anything there to keep them floating -down with the current, or to sustain them on the -surface. And,” he went on, “there wasn’t -anything there to cause an explosion.”</p> - -<p>“Ho!” Alex scorned. “You’ll be saying next, -that you believe in the ghost story! Now, just to -show you that there’s nothing to it,” he continued, -“I move that we come back up the river after a -time and find out where those blue lights come from, -and where they go to.”</p> - -<p>“What do you say to that, Clay?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“You needn’t ask me whether I’m interested or -not,” Clay replied. “I’ve been thinking about those -three blue lights a whole lot. I don’t believe in -ghosts, or superstitions of any kind, but I do believe -that there is something significant about those -lights.”</p> - -<p>“Then it’s settled that we’ll return and -investigate?” Alex asked.</p> - -<p>The boys all replied in the affirmative and then -Alex opened the package Clay had brought him and -unrolled his fish lines, which looked more like cables -than anything else. Case and Jule laughed until -they found it necessary to hold their sides.</p> - -<p>Clay looked on with an amused expression on his -face. He knew that Alex usually had a pretty good -reason for anything he did, and was expecting -something novel and original. He was not disappointed.</p> - -<p>Paying no attention whatever to the jeers of his -chums, Alex bent the great hooks to the cable-like -line, took a turn with each around the section of -railroad iron, and moved the whole contraption to -the stern.</p> - -<p>“Now, you fellows help me to get these lines in -right,” he commanded. “It wants one boy to a line -so they won’t get tangled when I dump this sinker -in. Hurry up now, we want this fish.”</p> - -<p>“Sinker?” repeated Jule. “I thought your idea -was to build a submarine railroad.”</p> - -<p>“Fish!” laughed Case. “What kind of fish do -you expect to catch with that layout? That won’t -catch fish!”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” answered Alex. “If I had a book containing -all you boys don’t know about catching fish, -I’d have to rent the Coliseum in Chicago to put it -in. You boys mean well, but you’re ignorant.”</p> - -<p>“Where’re you going to put this fish after you -get it?” demanded Jule, snickering. “We haven’t -got any contract for feeding any state troops, have -we? What do you want a big fish for, anyway?”</p> - -<p>Alex merely thrust his hands inside the waist -band of his trousers and grinned.</p> - -<p>“I’ve got plenty of storage room,” he finally declared.</p> - -<p>“Honest, now, Alex,” Clay asked, “what kind -of a fish do you expect to catch?”</p> - -<p>“Catfish!” was the short reply.</p> - -<p>“Wow!” exclaimed Jule. “I wouldn’t eat a -catfish any quicker than I would eat a cat.”</p> - -<p>“What are you putting all that weight on the -lines for?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“It’ll sink the hooks into the mud about a foot,” -Jule put in.</p> - -<p>“Sure it will!” continued Case. “And catfish -are never found at the bottom of the river. They -call them catfish because they climb up on things.”</p> - -<p>“You’re the wise little fisher boy,” laughed Alex. -“A catfish couldn’t climb to the surface of the river -if they had an electric elevator. They live in the -mud and eat in the mud. After they get a square -meal, they stretch out on a bed of silt like a cat on -a sitting room floor. Now get these lines over and -I’ll show you what a real catfish looks like.”</p> - -<p>The boys took the lines into their hands and -leaned over the stern. Alex with the iron poised -in air stopped suddenly and laid it down on deck.</p> - -<p>“I guess I need a little instruction myself,” he -said. “You can’t catch catfish by trolling for them. -You’ve got to let the line lay wiggling from a weight -in the mud of the river.”</p> - -<p>The boy rushed back to the motors, shut off the -power, and then dropped the anchor.</p> - -<p>“Now, boys,” he said, “if you’ll all get back -into the cabin and remain quiet, I’ll coax a catfish -two feet long out of the river.”</p> - -<p>“You have my sympathy,” Case answered, “and -I’ll help you all I can. I’ll go back into the cabin -and make a noise like a dish of cream.”</p> - -<p>Regarding Case’s offer as light and trifling, Alex -got his lines into the water and sat down to await -results.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know,” he said after a while, “but I -ought to have waited until we came under that -wooded island just ahead. Catfish have a way of -hovering in the mud around the towheads.”</p> - -<p>“We can drop down if you think best,” Clay -proposed.</p> - -<p>“Just you wait a minute!” Alex exclaimed all -excitement, “I’ve got a bite right now. Two -bites!” he yelled the next moment. “Both lines are -running out! Catch one, quick!”</p> - -<p>The boy’s announcement that the lines were -moving out brought his three chums instantly to the -front. Case and Jule both grabbed for the same -line, with the result that the tops of their heads -came together with a thud and the line continued to -wiggle along the deck. Clay stepped on the -moving line and Alex seized it.</p> - -<p>The boy now held a line in each hand and was -drawn tightly against the after gunwale.</p> - -<p>“Hold on, Alex, hold on!” shouted Case.</p> - -<p>“Pull ’em in, pull ’em in!” yelled Jule.</p> - -<p>“You bet I’ll hold on!” panted Alex. “Why -don’t you boys catch on to the line?”</p> - -<p>The boy sprang for the lines again, but their -fingers met only the bare deck. Alex, hanging on -like grim death, stood for a moment with his feet -braced against the gunwale and then went head-first -into the river.</p> - -<p>“Great spoons!” Jule exclaimed. “Talk about -catfish! I’ll bet he’s got a team of wild colts at the -end of those lines!”</p> - -<p>Alex, hanging to the lines, went bobbing down -the stream.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXII'>CHAPTER XII.—THE GHOST OF THE MARY ANN.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“Don’t loose your fish!” jeered Jule, leaning -over the gunwale, his face red with laughter.</p> - -<p>“What do you think you are?” called Case. “A -blooming pilot?”</p> - -<p>Alex could make no headway swimming in the -direction of the boat, for the creatures he had -hooked were pulling him, iron and all, toward the -Indiana shore. Now and then the boy was drawn -beneath the surface and came up spluttering, but -still grimly holding to the lines.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t the little idiot let go?” asked Jule -as the boy’s head disappeared under water for the -third or fourth time.</p> - -<p>“He’ll never let go!” Case exclaimed. “Why -don’t we get the <i>Rambler</i> under motion and pick -him up?”</p> - -<p>The motor boat was soon racing toward the boy. -Alex was still hanging to his fish lines, and the -catfish, or whatever was at the other end, were -making fast for the center of the stream.</p> - -<p>It took some moments to reach the boy, and more -time to land him on deck, for he still persisted in -hanging on to the fish lines.</p> - -<p>Not until the thick lines were securely fastened -to a deck cleat would the boy release his hold.</p> - -<p>“Now,” Clay laughed, “if anybody can find a -derrick, we’ll get these fish on board.”</p> - -<p>“Aw, those are not fish,” Jule exclaimed, “they’re -alligators!”</p> - -<p>“Whatever they are,” Alex grinned, “I didn’t -let ’em get away with me! They ducked me, but -they didn’t get away!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Clay said in a moment, observing that -the lines had ceased to move about in the water, -“your fish must be pretty well tired out by this time, -so we’ll take them ashore.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” Alex replied. “While you’re towing -them to a shallow place, I’ll go and get on some -dry clothes.”</p> - -<p>When at last the motor boat drew the hooks and -the sinker to a shallow spot on the Kentucky side, -the boys saw two monstrous catfish squirming -weakly. In grabbing for the raw beef with which -the hooks had been baited, they had been caught -far back in the jaws, so no amount of pulling could -have released them.</p> - -<p>“They’re alive yet!” shouted Jule.</p> - -<p>“I’ll fix that in a minute!” Alex declared, -appearing on deck in a dry suit. “I’ll administer a -couple of lead pills which will cure the ills of life.”</p> - -<p>“Hear him talk Shakespeare!” jeered Jule.</p> - -<p>Alex considered this remark too immaterial to -notice. He leveled his automatic at the fish and -fired a volley at their heads.</p> - -<p>“Now, where’s that derrick?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>As the fish were nearly two yards in length, it -was evident that only one need be brought aboard -for food, so one was sent sailing down the stream -and the other was, with no little difficulty, lifted to -the deck. Alex danced about his prize joyously.</p> - -<p>“Why, look here!” Case exclaimed. “This -fish hasn’t got any scales!”</p> - -<p>“Do you think I’ve been going through all this -to get a sturgeon?” asked Alex. “I should think -not!”</p> - -<p>“The catfish,” Clay explained, “belongs to the -bullhead tribe, and has a hard, tough hide instead -of scales.”</p> - -<p>“Is it good to eat?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“Of course it’s good to eat,” answered Alex. -“Do you think I’d go to the floor of the river with -a fish that wasn’t fit to eat?”</p> - -<p>“I’d like to know why they call these things catfish,” -Case exclaimed, turning the monster with his -foot.</p> - -<p>“Huh!” snickered Jule. “They have back -fences at the bottom of the river, and these fish -climb up and give midnight concerts.”</p> - -<p>“Jule,” said Alex gravely, “your imagination -seems to be getting the best of your conscience. If -we had an Ananias club on board this boat, you -surely would be the Perpetual Grand.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Jule said, “when you get a club -formed I’ll take the office. But who’s going to cook -this fish?” he went on.</p> - -<p>“I’ll cook him if you’ll skin him,” Case offered. -“We want only a few pounds of catfish steak,” -Clay observed.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to boil about half of him!” Alex -declared, “so as to give Captain Joe and Teddy the -feast of their lives.”</p> - -<p>“It’s a wonder Captain Joe didn’t jump into the -river after you when the fish invited you down into -the mud,” Jule laughed.</p> - -<p>“Captain Joe and the bear were both asleep in -the cabin,” Case explained.</p> - -<p>The boys had a merry time preparing that fish -for cooking. It is not hard work to dress a catfish -if you know how, but these boys did not know -how. At last, however, a great hunk was boiling -in a pot and slices were ready for frying. By noon -the meal was ready, and the boys all admitted that -Alex’s, catfish was a very good substitute for -salmon, although nothing at all like it in appearance.</p> - -<p>The boys drifted slowly on the river that day, -taking in the wild scenery and stopping now and -then at cosy little landings on the Kentucky side. -It was a warm, clear day in September, and the -world never looked brighter to them than it did at -that time.</p> - -<p>They passed river craft of all shapes and sizes -during the day. There were monstrous steamers -having the appearance of floating hotels, there -were great freight boats loaded to the guards, there -were house-boats, motor boats, and great coal tows -which dominated the stream as they passed.</p> - -<p>“There’s a boat,” Clay said just before twilight, -“which looks to me like a river saloon and I -think those on board are watching the <i>Rambler</i>.”</p> - -<p>“If it is,” Case suggested, “we’d better take to -our heels. We don’t want any more experience -with river pirates.”</p> - -<p>“I should say not!” broke in Alex. “Those -fellows don’t own the river. We’ve got just as much -right here as they have. If they try to come aboard, -we’ll set Teddy on them.”</p> - -<p>The suspicious steamer checked her speed as the -boys slowed down on the <i>Rambler</i>, and it was soon -evident that those in charge of the whiskey boat -were desirous of speaking with the boys.</p> - -<p>“Hello, boys!” called a voice from the cabin -deck of the steamer.</p> - -<p>“Hello, yourself!” Alex called back.</p> - -<p>“How’s the bear?” asked the voice.</p> - -<p>“Fine!” Alex answered.</p> - -<p>“What do you know about our bear?” Case demanded.</p> - -<p>“I was on the <i>Hawk</i> last night,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Did you see those two men head for the -water?” Jule asked with a snicker.</p> - -<p>“Funniest thing I ever saw!” the other answered.</p> - -<p>There was a short silence and then another voice -called out from the steamer:</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you boys come on board?”</p> - -<p>“Nothing doing!” answered Clay.</p> - -<p>“Some of our people want a look at the dog and -bear!” the first speaker said. “So, if you don’t -object, we’ll come on board.”</p> - -<p>“No, you don’t!” Clay answered.</p> - -<p>“We’ll see about that!” came from the boat.</p> - -<p>The steamer shot ahead so as to come up to the -port side of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“Keep off!” ordered Clay. “We don’t want any -of that whiskey crowd on board! If you try to put -foot on our deck, we’ll shoot.”</p> - -<p>“I guess not!” laughed the other.</p> - -<p>While Clay had been talking with those on board -the steamer, Case had been at work with the motors, -and the <i>Rambler</i> now shot ahead at full speed, -drawing swiftly away from the steamer.</p> - -<p>There was an instant commotion on the deck of -the saloon boat and then she, too, shot ahead at a -good rate of speed.</p> - -<p>Given a clear stretch of water, the <i>Rambler</i> would -soon have been out of sight of the steamer, but on -turning a bend, a monster coal tow came into view. -There were rows on rows of barges heaped high -with coal, all headed for the Mississippi. In the rear -was a gamey tug swinging from side to side in -order to keep the fleet under control.</p> - -<p>“Now we are up against it!” exclaimed Clay. -“We never can get by those barges!”</p> - -<p>“How do the steamers get by?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“They don’t get by at all when the coal tow is -passing around a narrow bend like that!” was the -answer.</p> - -<p>“Well, what are we going to do?” Alex asked. -“Let those fellows come on board here and eat us -up?”</p> - -<p>“If there weren’t so many people on board that -saloon boat,” Case declared, “I’d dynamite it. -She ought to be blown out of the water, anyway. -We can’t be bothered all the way down with these -whiskey boats!”</p> - -<p>“We shall be if we don’t make a record in some -way!” Clay said. “I move we run into the little -creek there on the Indiana shore and shoot if they -come near us.”</p> - -<p>“Say!” Alex said in a moment. “That isn’t a -creek at all. Don’t you see that the main river is -on the other side of it? That’s a big island with a -lagoon in the middle, and an opening on the upper -end.”</p> - -<p>“That’s not the main river on the other side!” -Case observed. “It is wide, but it looks shallow. -If it was the main river, we could pass through -there and so get in ahead of the coal tow.”</p> - -<p>“Well, then, suppose we run into the lagoon,” -suggested Alex.</p> - -<p>It was now quite dark, and the lights of the -saloon boat showed that those on board were holding -some sort of conference with those on board the -tug in charge of the tow. The boats were some -distance apart, yet even in the gathering darkness -the boys could see the crew of the barges racing -over the coal in order to do business with the -bartender on the steamer.</p> - -<p>“Before morning,” Case observed, “those saloon -pirates will have every dollar there is in that bunch -of rivermen. I wish there was some way to -separate the two crews.</p> - -<p>“What do we care?” laughed Alex. “Either -bunch would rob us if they could.”</p> - -<p>“Now,” Clay said in a moment, “turn the boat -in toward the entrance to the lagoon, keep all the -lights off, and let her drift. They’ll think we’ve -gone downstream on the other side of the island.”</p> - -<p>“That lagoon looks pretty good to me,” Jule -observed. “I feel like I hadn’t had any sleep for a -week. We’ll just tie right up in that little pond and -sleep all we want to.”</p> - -<p>“That will be a nice place to tie up!” laughed -Case. “Alex won’t run any risk of being towed -down the Mississippi if he goes fishing again.”</p> - -<p>And so, with no lights showing, the <i>Rambler</i>, -under the impetus of the last push of the propeller, -glided noiselessly into the mouth of the lagoon. -Both arms of the island were heavily wooded and -in a moment, the boys were out of sight of the tow -and the saloon boat. It was dark and still along -both shores of the lagoon. Wild birds settling for -the night called to each other across the narrow -stretch of water, but otherwise all was silent.</p> - -<p>“Nice and quiet,” Jule declared, “but just look -ahead there, if you will. You can all see the three -blue lights, now, if you want to! The ghost of the -<i>Mary Ann</i> must have lost his bearings.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXIII'>CHAPTER XIII.—EXPLORING A LAGOON.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“Are those blue lights on the water or on the -shore?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“You can search me!” Alex replied.</p> - -<p>“They’re on the water!” insisted Jule. “Can’t -you see the blue gleam shining on the waves?”</p> - -<p>“Wherever they are,” Clay said, “I’m going -down and investigate.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a good idea,” said Alex. “We’ll go -down and see what the ghost of the <i>Mary Ann</i> has -to say for himself.”</p> - -<p>“I was thinking of taking Captain Joe for company,” -Clay laughed.</p> - -<p>“All right,” Alex grinned, “go on with Captain -Joe if you want to.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid two will make too much noise making -their way through the thickets,” Clay said -thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>“How are you going to get ashore?” asked -Alex, briefly.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to pole the <i>Rambler</i> up close enough -so I can jump,” was the answer.</p> - -<p>“I guess you can do that all right,” Case cut in. -“This water seems to me to be about fifty feet -deep.”</p> - -<p>“This is an odd looking island,” Jule observed. -“The land seems to be shaped like a horse shoe.”</p> - -<p>“There are numerous odd-shaped islands in the -Mississippi and Ohio rivers. You can see easily -enough how this peculiar formation came about,” -Clay observed, “some forest fire burned the timber -out of the center of the island. When the roots and -stumps died out, the river carried the soil away. If -the big trees on the two arms of the island should -be cut down, the river would eat the soil away in a -very short time.”</p> - -<p>“Well, what are you going to do when you get -over to shore?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to sneak down to where the lights -show, and see what it is that makes them.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Alex said with an aggrieved air, -“while you’re out having fun with the blue lights -and the dog I’ll go to bed.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, come along if you want to,” Clay laughed.</p> - -<p>“No,” Alex replied more cheerfully, “I think -I’ll go to bed. You boys can blunder around all -night if you want to.”</p> - -<p>The boy made his way to the cabin, and Clay -warped the boat toward the north shore. In a few -moments the keel seemed to strike bottom and then -the boy examined the bank with a searchlight. All -was clear so he sprang lightly across the narrow -stretch of water and disappeared in the darkness.</p> - -<p>The three blue lights were still observable not far -from two hundred yards from the boat. They lay -in a straight line up and down the lagoon.</p> - -<p>The boys heard Clay making his way through -the thicket for a few moments, and then all sounds -on the shore ceased.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe he’ll find anything in there,” -Jule said.</p> - -<p>“Then what makes those lights?” demanded -Case.</p> - -<p>“The old merchant up at Wolf Creek told us -what made the three blue lights,” chuckled Jule.</p> - -<p>“I just believe,” Case replied, “that that is some -signal.”</p> - -<p>“What would be the use of a signal, out in the -middle of the river opposite Wolf Creek?” -demanded Jule.</p> - -<p>“I can’t explain it,” Case answered, “but it’s a -signal, just the same. It just can’t be anything -else.”</p> - -<p>“And what would be the use of a signal in this -little old shut-in lagoon?” continued Jule.</p> - -<p>“Then if it isn’t a signal, what is it?” asked -Case.</p> - -<p>“It’s just some natural phenomenon,” was the -reply. “When Clay gets down there he won’t see -anything at all. It may be that you can’t see the -lights from any direction except this! You’ve seen -wandering lights in swamps, haven’t you? Well, -it’s my idea that this is that kind of a light.”</p> - -<p>“We may know something more about it when -Clay comes back,” Case suggested. “He may find -out what it means.”</p> - -<p>While the boys sat on the deck watching the -mysterious lights with puzzled eyes, there came a -quick, sharp explosion and the lights disappeared. -The explosion sounded like the touching off of -dynamite.</p> - -<p>Both boys arose to their feet and leaned over the -gunwale of the boat, gazing down the lagoon with -mystified faces.</p> - -<p>“Alex went to bed too early!” Case suggested.</p> - -<p>“Yes, he should have seen that little old Fourth -of July celebration,” Jule replied. “Let’s wake him -up and tell him about it.”</p> - -<p>“You wake him up,” Case answered.</p> - -<p>Jule made his way into the cabin and felt around -on the bunk occupied by the boy. Teddy, the bear -cub, lay there sound asleep but Alex had disappeared! -Jule returned to the deck with a grin.</p> - -<p>“That little idiot,” he said, “has left the boat -again.”</p> - -<p>“We might have known he would!” answered -Case. “He runs away from the boat in the night -every time he gets a chance, especially if Clay is -ashore. They’ll both be back here before long.”</p> - -<p>“Clay probably will,” Jule observed, “but we -don’t know when Alex will return. We usually -have to get him out of some scrape.”</p> - -<p>In the meantime Clay was pushing steadily -through the thicket which lined the north arm of -the peculiar-shaped island. For some moments he -guided his steps by the blue lights which seemed -to him to rest upon the water. Then came the -explosion which the boys had heard and the lights -were no longer in view.</p> - -<p>“Now that’s a funny proposition,” the boy -mused. “Why should those lights be hidden in -this out of the way lagoon, and why should they -pop out like that?”</p> - -<p>Captain Joe, following close at the boy’s heels, -now forced his way through the underbrush to the -water’s edge and began uttering a series of low -growls. Clay whistled softly but the dog refused -to return. In a moment he ceased his verbal -demonstrations and lay still, looking across the lagoon -to the other shore.</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with you, Captain Joe?” -Clay demanded in a whisper. “If you see some one -who might have produced those lights, why don’t -you say so? And don’t make so much noise about -it, either!”</p> - -<p>The dog advanced a few feet into the water until -his shoulders were well covered and then backed -out again. All this time his snarling muzzle was -directed toward the opposite bank.</p> - -<p>Directly he came out of the lagoon and crouched -down at Clay’s feet.</p> - -<p>“There’s something going on here, dog,” Clay -whispered, patting Captain Joe on the head, “and -we’ll just settle down right here and find out what -it is. All you’ve got to do in order to help out is to -keep still.”</p> - -<p>The dog nodded his head knowingly, and the two -crouched down in the darkness of the thicket to -listen and to watch.</p> - -<p>While they waited, the lights of the <i>Rambler</i> -showed farther up, and Clay understood that -something unusual was in progress there.</p> - -<p>“They might as well invite that saloon boat to -come sailing in here as to turn on those lights!” -Clay muttered. “There must be something serious -or they never would illuminate the <i>Rambler</i> in that -way.”</p> - -<p>Captain Joe now began moving restlessly about, -and finally started up the lagoon toward the motor -boat. Clay followed slowly, and soon came within -the circle of light from the deck. He found Case -and Jule looking over the gunwale.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you put out the lights?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“We turned them on to direct you boys home,” -was the reply.</p> - -<p>“You boys home?” repeated Clay.</p> - -<p>“Yes, you boys!” answered Jule. “Alex -jumped out about as soon as you left. Did you -see him anywhere?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think he came out on this side” Clay -replied.</p> - -<p>“If he didn’t,” Jule went on, “he’s in some mixup -over on the south arm. There’s doings of some -kind over there.”</p> - -<p>“How do you know?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Because, just a few moments after we discovered -that the boy had gone, a large rowboat -came in at the mouth of the lagoon, passed along -our port side and ducked into the bank some distance -down. We couldn’t see her, of course, only -just for a second as she came opposite us, and then -only indistinctly, but we could hear her when she -landed.”</p> - -<p>“The question before the house now,” Case observed, -“is about getting you on board again. -You can jump from the gunwale to the shore but -you can’t jump from the shore back to the gunwale.”</p> - -<p>“There’s a long board under the forward deck -between the storage bins,” Clay answered. “Get -that out and I’ll climb it.”</p> - -<p>The board was brought, and Clay was soon on -deck. The first thing he did was to turn off the -lights.</p> - -<p>“What did you do that for?” asked Case. -“Alex never will find his way back here in the -darkness!”</p> - -<p>“Alex can hide in some thicket until we find out -what’s going on,” Clay answered. “As for the -<i>Rambler</i>, we want to drift down so those in the boat -won’t know exactly where she lies.”</p> - -<p>The boat drifted down on the sluggish current -of the lagoon for perhaps two hundred yards, and -then the anchor was dropped at a point very near -to where the three blue lights had shown.</p> - -<p>“Now, we’ll keep as quiet as three bugs in a rug -till we find out what’s going on,” Clay said.</p> - -<p>“What did you find out about the lights?” asked -Jule.</p> - -<p>“They went out before I got to them,” Clay -answered.</p> - -<p>“What do you think about them?” Jule insisted.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think!” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Case insists that they are merely signals,” Jule -went on.</p> - -<p>“That’s my idea, too,” Clay answered. “The -lights certainly do not come up out of the water.”</p> - -<p>“But who would be signaling in this lonely old -lagoon?” demanded Jule.</p> - -<p>“That’s what we don’t know,” Clay returned. -“All we’ve got to do is to lie here and watch.”</p> - -<p>“Say!” Case exclaimed in a moment. “What -did you do with Captain Joe?”</p> - -<p>“Why, he was right there when I came on -board,” Clay replied. “I thought he came up the -long plank right after me.”</p> - -<p>“Well, he didn’t?” Case went on. “I took in -the board after you came up, and the dog was -nowhere in sight.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad of that!” answered Clay. “I certainly -am glad of that!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t see any good reason for celebrating the -disappearance of the dog!” growled Case.</p> - -<p>“I do!” Jule cut in. “Captain Joe will go and -find Alex.”</p> - -<p>“Sure he will!” admitted Case. “I never -thought of that.”</p> - -<p>The three boys sat for a long time on the deck of -the motor boat looking out into the darkness. Now -and then they heard the sound of rustling bushes -on the shores, but as a rule the scene was very still. -It must have been near midnight when Jule -caught his chums by their arms and drew them -closer to the port gunwale.</p> - -<p>“There,” he said, nodding his head to the west, -“there are the three blue lights. They are close to -the south arm of the island this time. Now what -do you make of it?”</p> - -<p>“Let’s wait and see if they blow up like the -others did,” suggested Case. “They, too, may -explode with a loud noise.”</p> - -<p>“What else can we do?” chuckled Jule.</p> - -<p>“There’s only one thing we can do,” Clay -advised, “if we want to settle this mystery right here -and now, and that is to turn on the motors and shoot -down there like a rocket.”</p> - -<p>“I’m for it!” Jule declared. “Let’s ram the ghost -out of the water!”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXIV'>CHAPTER XIV.—CAPTAIN JOE HELPS SOME.</h2> - -<p class='first'>Alex did not remain long in the cabin of the -<i>Rambler</i> after Clay’s departure. His two chums -were seated on the prow of the boat, and the lights -were out, so he had little difficulty in dropping -unobserved into the water. Before leaving the cabin, -he had drawn on an old suit of clothes used for just -such purposes, so he did not mind getting wet.</p> - -<p>Once in the water, he struck out for the south -arm of the island. It was his idea that the coal -tow and the saloon boat would hover about that -spot for some little time. Those who had whiskey -to sell would be sure to keep in the company of -the tow, and those who had the whiskey thirst -would be pretty apt to rush on board the steamer -for the purpose of satisfying it.</p> - -<p>The boy, of course, did not understand that the -tug in charge of the barges could not have held -them against the push of the current in any event. -His idea that the tow and the saloon boat would -keep company, however, was the correct one.</p> - -<p>Almost as soon as his feet came in contact with -the sloping shore of the south arm, he heard shouts -of laughter coming across the wooded stretch of -land between the lagoon and the main channel of -the river. Proceeding on as rapidly as was -possible in the darkness, he soon came to a position -from which he could see the lights of the steamer. -She was standing perfectly still some distance down -the stream from the mouth of the lagoon, and the -tug and barges seemed to have halted, too.</p> - -<p>Directly he saw lights flashing along the barges -and heard exclamations of anger and dismay from -the front ranks. Then he saw what had taken -place. The crew of the tow had paid too much -attention to whiskey and too little to navigation.</p> - -<p>The front line had grounded at a bend just -below, and the others were piling against them. Even -with his limited knowledge of river work, the boy -saw that it would be hours before the barges could -be towed off the bar. A good many of the men -supposed to be in charge of the tow were still -drinking on board the saloon boat.</p> - -<p>“That’s always the way with whiskey,” Alex -said. “It jumps into the places where it can make -the most trouble. “If I ever take a drink of the -stuff, I hope I’ll get five years for every drop I -swallow. A person who drinks whiskey is no -good, anyway, and might as well be in prison as -anywhere else.”</p> - -<p>There was now a great commotion on board the -steamer, and the boy saw that those in charge of -the tow were forcing their unruly employes back -to their duty. Directly the steamer anchored a -short distance up the river. The barges which were -grounded were detached from the main tow, and -the whole mass went swinging down the river -again, followed by shouts of laughter from the -steamer.</p> - -<p>“Now,” mused the boy, “I wonder whether that -pirate boat will keep on after the tow in order to -get what little money those poor fools have left, -or whether it will be kept here in the hope of -annexing the <i>Rambler</i>?”</p> - -<p>The question was answered in a moment, for the -steamer edged in close to the shore and threw out -an anchor.</p> - -<p>“That’s fine!” Alex muttered. “Now they’ll -be running over this island to find the <i>Rambler</i>, -caught like a rat in a trap. I’m glad they haven’t -got sense enough to run up and block the lagoon!”</p> - -<p>The lights of the steamer made a fair illumination -on the bank where Alex lay, and directly he -saw a boat put out and head for the very thicket -which concealed him. He crept softly back toward -the interior and waited for developments. When -the boat touched the shore two men stepped out -and pressed through the thicket toward the lagoon.</p> - -<p>“This is foolishness,” the boy heard one of the -men say. “I tell you, Bostock,” he went on, -“that the motor boat made the north passage and -went on down the river while we were fooling with -that tow crowd.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe it, Davis,” was the reply. -“They just doused their lights and dropped into -the lagoon. I was watching the river and no lights -showed below the island.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Davis said, “we can soon find out. It -isn’t far from here to the lagoon, though it’s mighty -unpleasant traveling in the night time. You may -be right, but I don’t believe it.”</p> - -<p>The two men passed within six feet of where -Alex lay, concealed, and as soon as the thicket -closed behind them, he crept along in their wake. -As the men made considerable noise themselves, he -figured that they would not be likely to hear any -racket he might make.</p> - -<p>In fifteen minutes the three reached the highest -point on the island, from which, in daylight, both -the main channel of the river and the lagoon might -be seen. Just at the moment they came within sight -of the inner channel the lights flared out on the -<i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>Alex restrained an exclamation of disgust with -great difficulty.</p> - -<p>“The confounded idiots!” he said under his -breath. “To go and light those lamps at this time! -Why, we crawled in there to hide!”</p> - -<p>“There!” the boy heard the man who had been -called Bostock exclaim, “I told you the motor boat -had made for the lagoon!”</p> - -<p>“Well, you were right,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Now, all we’ve got to do,” Bostock went on, -“is to run the steamer up to the mouth of the lagoon -and nail these boys in good and tight.”</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” the other answered, “and once -we get hold of that motor boat there isn’t a thing -we can’t do on this river. I’ve heard of the -exploits of those boys all the way down from Pittsburg. -That boat is built with the motors of a sea-going -tug, and can outrun anything on the river. -Besides that, unless I am greatly mistaken, the -cabin and the deck under the gunwales are bullet-proof.”</p> - -<p>“Right you are!” Bostock answered. “There -isn’t a thing we can’t do after we get hold of that -boat, but what are we going to do with the boys?”</p> - -<p>“We’ll have to make some arrangements for -keeping them out of the way,” Davis suggested. -“If they put up a fight, well, the lagoon is a pretty -good place to leave them.”</p> - -<p>“Now, then,” mused Alex, “the thing for me -to do is to shoot both of those murderers, and so -get the <i>Rambler</i> out of this scrape!”</p> - -<p>Without any intention of following his own -advice, the boy thrust his hand into his pistol pocket -and found it empty.</p> - -<p>“Anyway,” he muttered, “it wouldn’t have been -any good after swimming over here. It seems as -if I never did have a gun when I wanted one.”</p> - -<p>The boy struck off to the east, his idea being to -gain a position a short distance above the <i>Rambler</i> -and then swim aboard. He had proceeded but a -few yards when a rustling in the bushes just ahead -attracted his attention. The rustling was soon -followed by a low growl, and directly the damp -muzzle of the bulldog was thrust into the boy’s -face.</p> - -<p>“So you’ve gone and run away, too, have you -Captain Joe?” demanded Alex. “I’ve a great -mind to send you out to eat up two pirates.”</p> - -<p>It was too dark to see the bulldog distinctly, but -Alex knew that he was accepting the commission -joyfully.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think it will do any good, doggie,” the -boy finally whispered. “Those pirates are about -like skunks—you kill one and half a dozen more -come to the funeral. If those fellows don’t get -back to their steamer directly, there’ll be a mob -of their companions on this island before daylight. -All we can do now is to get to the <i>Rambler</i> and -head her out of this lagoon before the steamer gets -to the entrance.”</p> - -<p>With this object in mind, the boy and dog made -their way swiftly through the thicket, paying little -attention to the noise they made. Far in the -rear they heard the river pirates calling out to them, -but paid no attention. When Alex reached the -shore of the lagoon he was at a loss which way to -turn. There was now no illumination to show the -location of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“What’s your notion now, Captain Joe?” he -asked of the dog. “If you can tell me which way -to turn to find that motor boat, I’ll give you a -chunk of catfish as big as your head when we get -aboard.”</p> - -<p>Thus urged and bribed, the dog lost no time in -turning to the west.</p> - -<p>“I think you’re wrong, Captain Joe!” Alex urged.</p> - -<p>The bulldog insisted that he was right, and as -the boy had no good grounds upon which to dispute -his judgment, he followed along after him. -It was by no means good walking along the bank, -for in many places trees and shrubs had been -undermined during high water, and trunks and masses -of smaller growth often stretched out into the -water.</p> - -<p>“I tell you what it is, Captain Joe,” Alex said -as they went along. “If you dare to take me back -where those saloon pirates are, I’ll advise Teddy to -take a bite out of your ear when we get aboard the -<i>Rambler</i> again, if we ever do.”</p> - -<p>Captain Joe’s only reply was to seize Alex by -one trousers’ leg and hustle him along over a mass -of boughs which seemed to the boy to be several -miles high.</p> - -<p>At last, after a great deal of this climbing, Joe -stopped on the bank of the lagoon and pointed with -his nose out over the water. The two of them -must have made considerable racket scrambling -along the beach, for just as Joe stopped a soft -whistle came out of the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Captain Joe,” whispered Alex, patting the dog -on the head, “you’re the candy kid! That’s Clay, -without the shadow of a doubt. Now you tell him -that we want to come aboard.”</p> - -<p>As if understanding every word spoken to him -by the lad, the dog fawned about for a moment and -then uttered a short, sharp bark.</p> - -<p>“Come aboard, you runaway!” a voice whispered -from the boat.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you think we won’t! exclaimed Alex. -“Can’t you show a light just for a minute? It’s -so dark I wouldn’t know the river was wet if I -didn’t feel it.”</p> - -<p>A flashlight was turned on for just an instant -and then shut off. Captain Joe greeted the finger -of light with a joyous bark and plunged into the -lagoon. Alex was about to follow his example in -the matter of taking to the water when he felt -himself seized by the collar and drawn back. It was -evident that the two had made altogether too much -noise, and had been followed by the men from the -steamer.</p> - -<p>“Keep your mouth closed now!” whispered one -of the men in Alex’s ear.</p> - -<p>“Ram your gun down his throat if he doesn’t!” -another voice said.</p> - -<p>Alex knew that the purpose of the pirates was -to prevent his warning his companions of the -presence of the steamer and its crew in that vicinity. -He knew, too, that unless he could notify those on -board the <i>Rambler</i> of the intentions of the pirates, -their retreat from the lagoon would soon be shut -off.</p> - -<p>He knew, too, that he was taking great chances -in making the situation understood. Still, he -decided to risk his own life in order to warn his -friends. With the pirate holding him by the -collar, he sprang forward and cried at the top of his -voice:</p> - -<p>“Captain Joe! Captain Joe!”</p> - -<p>Something in the tone of the boy’s voice told the -dog as well as those on board the motor boat that -Alex was in deadly peril. It was not his habit to -ask for assistance unless it was very badly needed.</p> - -<p>Answering the indefinite but well-understood -appeal, the dog turned back to the shore, unseen but -plainly heard in the disturbed waters.</p> - -<p>One of the men struck fiercely at his head with -the butt of a gun as he swept past him. The man -who had hold of the boy fired a shot at the dim -rushing figure. The bullet went wide of its mark.</p> - -<p>The next instant the bulldog had a set of very -capable teeth clamped about the throat of the -outlaw. The man struggled and gurgled horribly as -the impact of the dog’s body threw him back, -releasing Alex from his grasp. The boy sprang -away and shouted:</p> - -<p>“Turn on the lights, boys, turn on the lights!” -In a second the powerful searchlight on the prow -of the <i>Rambler</i> was turned on the spot from which -the call had proceeded. It revealed one of the men -lying helpless on the ground, writhing under the -dog’s jaws and the other disappearing in a thicket.</p> - -<p>Alex picked up the outlaw’s revolver, which had -fallen to the ground, and called the dog away. He -was stooping over the prostrate figure to ascertain, -if possible, the extent of the injuries inflicted -by the dog when a shot came from a tangle a short -distance away.</p> - -<p>“Come on, Captain Joe!” the boy shouted. -“Let him alone.”</p> - -<p>Leaving the two outlaws on the bank, one-half -unconscious, the other raging helplessly in the -jungle, the boy and the dog sprang into the lagoon. -As they did so another harmless shot came from -the interior, and then the lights on the <i>Rambler</i> -were switched off.</p> - -<p>Several spiteful shots were now fired toward the -boat, but the two swimmers were, of course, out of -sight of the outlaws, so the bullets were not -directed at them.</p> - -<p>In a very brief space of time, Alex and Captain -Joe were hauled on deck, where they lay dripping -and panting for an instant before a word was -spoken. The lights were still out.</p> - -<p>“You’re a beautiful pair!” Jule whispered, then. -“We were just talking about you two getting into -a scrape before we got out of the lagoon.”</p> - -<p>“Never mind the scrape!” Alex panted, still -breathing hard. “Put on full power and steam up -out of the lagoon. That whiskey boat is going up -to block the way!”</p> - -<p>Without waiting for further information on the -subject, Clay sprang to the motors and the <i>Rambler</i> -was soon making her way upstream.</p> - -<p>When they came to a low-lying portion of the -south arm, they saw the lights of the steamer across -the point, trying to head them off.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXV'>CHAPTER XV.—THE RAMBLER STRIKES BACK.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“Just let me get up on the prow with a gun!” -Alex exclaimed, pulling himself out of a puddle -of water on the deck. “I want to get a couple of -shots at those devils on board that steamer!”</p> - -<p>“What did they do to you?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“They didn’t do nothing to me, only choked me -nearly to death with the collar of my own shirt,” -said the boy, “but I heard them planning to leave -us lying at the bottom of the lagoon and steal the -boat.”</p> - -<p>“That’s what they’re here for!” Clay answered. -“When you see a whiskey boat on any river, you -may make up your mind that the men on board will -commit murder if they find it necessary.”</p> - -<p>“If we don’t get more speed on,” Case exclaimed, -pulling Alex away as he made a dash for -the prow, “they’ll beat us to the entrance to the -lagoon now.”</p> - -<p>Clay rushed back to the motors to see if another -ounce of power could not be turned on while Jule -seized the lines and headed the boat off on the port -side.</p> - -<p>“They’ll come in from the river side,” he said -to Case, “and we may slip through between their -prow and the little bend which tops the lagoon on -the north side.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was moving much faster than the -steamer, but the latter had several rods the start. -As they raced desperately for the narrow strip of -water between the two arms of the island it was -an open question as to which would win.</p> - -<p>“I just believe she’s going to get there first!” -Jule said drawing still farther away to port. -“Can’t you make her go any faster, Clay?”</p> - -<p>“Every pound of power is on!” Clay replied. -“You boys would better be getting your guns -ready. If we come together they may try to board -us. If you shoot, shoot to some purpose.”</p> - -<p>“We ain’t a-going to come together!” Jule -whispered to Alex, who now occupied a position at -his side. “At least, we’re not going to come -together so they can jump over on our deck.”</p> - -<p>“What are you going to do?” Alex asked. -“Look here!” Jule queried. “The <i>Rambler</i>’s -sides and prow are braced with steel, aren’t they?”</p> - -<p>“You know it!” Alex answered with a -chuckle as he began to understand the purpose of -his chum.</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” Jule declared, “I’m going to ram -her! If that steamer gets her nose in our way, I’m -going to send the <i>Rambler</i> plumb through her. I -wonder how they’ll like that?”</p> - -<p>“If you do,” Alex advised, “reverse the minute -you strike. If you don’t, you are likely to get -wedged into any hole you may make.”</p> - -<p>“I tell you I’m going to send the <i>Rambler</i> clear -through her!” insisted Jule. “I’m going to bang -her with all the force of the motors.”</p> - -<p>“Go to it!” Alex exclaimed. “I’m game for -any racket of that kind. Only don’t you say anything -to Clay about it. He’d be afraid of breaking -the motors or something.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was now almost to the entrance. -The steamer was still moving upstream. As the -boys looked the prow of the whiskey boat turned -almost directly into the path which the motor boat -must follow in order to leave the lagoon.</p> - -<p>Jeers of triumph arose from the cabin deck of -the steamer as those on board took in the -significance of the situation. They now considered it -certain that the <i>Rambler</i> would soon be at their -mercy, blocked beyond the possibility of escape in the -lagoon.</p> - -<p>Jule at the helm of the motor boat, however, -had a very different idea as to how the scene ought -to terminate. In a second the great steamer, -lumbering and loosely built, lay broadside to the -oncoming <i>Rambler</i>. Clay gave a cry of warning as -the boy swirled the boat so as to strike the steamer -amidships, but Jule held on to his course.</p> - -<p>Before Clay could utter another cry of warning, -the steel prow of the <i>Rambler</i> crashed into the -steamer about a third back from the prow!</p> - -<p>It seemed for a moment as if Jule’s prediction -that he would go clear through the lumbering old -steamer was to be fulfilled, for the steel prow cut -into the thin sides of the steamer as a knife cuts -into cheese. The shock was terrific.</p> - -<p>The boys were knocked off their feet, and Jule -found himself rolling on the deck with the tiller -ropes still grasped in his hands!</p> - -<p>Shouts of rage and alarm came from the sinking -boat, and there was an immediate rush for the -railing overlooking the motor boat. The steamer was -still staggering under the impact of the blow, and -those on board were reeling like drunken men.</p> - -<p>Clay’s first act was to reverse the motors. -Much to his delight and surprise, the <i>Rambler</i> -backed slowly out of the cavity she had cut into -the side of the steamer. The side wall of the -ponderous old boat had been shattered into bits many -feet on either side of the actual cut!</p> - -<p>As the <i>Rambler</i> backed away, the steamer -began drifting downstream, moving as chance would -have it, toward the main channel of the river -instead of toward the lagoon. The boys saw at once -that she was filling with water, and would probably -sink where she lay. They saw, too, that men with -pistols in their hands were threatening them from -the cabin deck of the steamer.</p> - -<p>With fear and trembling Clay set the motors -going again, wondering whether they had been -injured in the collision so as to render -the <i>Rambler</i> unmanageable. The motors responded -nobly, however, and in a moment the boys had the -satisfaction of seeing her glide past the dipping prow -of the steamer.</p> - -<p>It was dark as ink over the surface of the river, -and Alex turned on the lights as the <i>Rambler</i> -rounded the sinking saloon boat and swept on -downstream. Once well under way, Clay walked -up to the prow and looked it over.</p> - -<p>“Any harm done?” called Jule.</p> - -<p>“No harm that paint and putty won’t repair,” -answered Clay. “That is, not here,” he added. -“Some of you boys would better look into the -cabin.”</p> - -<p>The cabin certainly was in a mess. Alex’s cherished -catfish lay rolling on the floor, with Teddy -shambling back and forth after it. Many of the -lockers had been burst open, and a heap of broken -crockery lay on the floor not far from the electric -coils. The glass panel in the cabin door was -shattered, and the coal stove, which had been used in -lower latitudes to keep the boys warm, lay on its -side.</p> - -<p>“Everything’s all right in here!” Alex cried -sticking his freckled nose through the sash formerly -occupied by the glass panel. “Nothing wrong -in here at all, except that the stove is tipped over, -and the dishes are all broken, and our expensive -wardrobes are rolling in the dirt, and Teddy’s -eating up my catfish. Oh, we’re all right in here!”</p> - -<p>Clay left the prow and looked through into the -cabin.</p> - -<p>“We ought to charge this to Jule!” he said with -a laugh.</p> - -<p>“All right!” said Jule. “I wouldn’t have -missed that for a thousand dollars. Do you think -I sunk that boat?”</p> - -<p>“You certainly did!” answered Clay. “The -last I saw of her as we came around the bend her -cabin lights were shining mighty low.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” Case complained, “they’ll be -sending word on down the river to have us arrested -for piracy on the high seas.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you ever think they will!” Alex put in. -“I don’t believe there’s a man on board that boat -that dare step foot either into Indiana or Kentucky. -They sell drugged moonshine whiskey, and they -rob every man that comes on board, so it’s a sure -thing that there’s a warrant for them in every town -along the river.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t think you had it in you, Jule!” Clay -laughed.</p> - -<p>“What’s the answer?” Jule questioned.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t think you had the nerve to ram a boat -the size of that one. It was a desperate thing -to do.”</p> - -<p>“Huh!” grinned Jule. “I guess if I hadn’t -rammed her, we’d be packed like sardines in some -dirty old steamer hold now.”</p> - -<p>“And that’s no dream!” Alex shouted.</p> - -<p>With her prow light burning brightly, the <i>Rambler</i> -proceeded slowly down the river. In a few -moments they came to four great coal barges -stranded on a sand bar. As they glided by a man -in a rowboat shot out into the circle of light and -called out:</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble up the river, boys?”</p> - -<p>“Oh,” Alex answered, “a saloon boat ran into -something and broke in two. I guess she’s sinking.”</p> - -<p>“I thought I heard a crash of some kind,” answered -the stranger. “Anybody likely to get -drowned?”</p> - -<p>“I hope so!” Clay answered. “That’s one of -the meanest outlaw boats on the river. I was glad -to see her going down.”</p> - -<p>“Indeed it is,” agreed the other. “I saw the -men on board of her getting the bargemen drunk. -You see the result here. Hundreds of tons of -perfectly good coal wasted.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose we run into a cove here, or up against -one of those barges,” Jule whispered, “and see if -this man knows anything about the three blue -lights.”</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was steered under the lee of the -lower barge downstream from the sand bar and the -stranger rowed alongside.</p> - -<p>Clay was about to question him regarding the -phenomenon, now twice witnessed, when the hum -of low voices came from the shore. The boy -listened intently and the next moment the heavy -tramping of horses’ feet came to his ears. Directly -the sharp whinny of a restive horse cut the still air!</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXVI'>CHAPTER XVI.—THE COAL BARGES INTERVENE.</h2> - -<p class='first'>The stranger looked at the boys sharply as they -stood listening to the noises on shore. There -was an expression of displeasure on his face as he -noted how watchful they were.</p> - -<p>“What’s that?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Sounds like horses and men, replied the -stranger, speaking sharply and turning away as he -did so.</p> - -<p>“What are they doing out on the river bank at -this time of night?” queried Jule. “What’s -coming next, I wonder?”</p> - -<p>The stranger, who had turned away abruptly, now -moved back so that his face was plainly seen under -the prow light of the <i>Rambler</i>. When he spoke it -was with an attempt at heartiness, but the boys saw -that he was worried.</p> - -<p>“I may as well tell you all about it,” he began -with an insincere air. “You’ve heard the horses -trampling, and heard the men talking, so you may -as well understand what they’re here for. These -river pirates have been making a lot of trouble lately. -They coax our plantation hands on board their -pesky boats and that’s the last we ever see of them. -There’s many a good crop gone to waste along the -Ohio river because those outlaws carry whiskey to -sell.”</p> - -<p>“We’ve seen quite a lot of that,” Clay suggested.</p> - -<p>“Everybody who is on the river sees a lot of it,” -the stranger continued. “Well, now we’ve decided -not to stand it any longer. We came here to -destroy that boat, and I’m half sorry that an accident -prevented our accomplishing the work. One boat -nicely blown up would warn a score away. They -need the lesson.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Clay laughed, “it wasn’t an accident -that destroyed the steamer. She tried to block us -in the lagoon and we rammed her with our steel -prow. That boat will never make you any more -trouble.”</p> - -<p>“You are to be congratulated!” the stranger -observed. “You have my permission to ram every -whiskey boat on the river.”</p> - -<p>The man’s face was smiling enough, and his -manner was sufficiently friendly, still the boys all found -themselves wondering if he was telling the exact -truth. They knew very well that many people -scattered along the river on both banks were in -touch with the whiskey boats, even supplying them -with moonshine and tobacco.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t some of those men with the horses -show up?” asked Jule presently. “Why are they -hiding in there now?”</p> - -<p>“Because they don’t care about being identified -as being mixed up in a raid on a whisky boat!” -was the reply. “Only for the fact that you got -the start of us we could have destroyed that boat -without one of us being recognized. We don’t care -for lawsuits.”</p> - -<p>“If they remain here a few hours,” Case suggested, -“they will probably have a chance at another -boat. The <i>Hawk</i> was not far from this place -not very long ago.”</p> - -<p>“And you had a bit of a tussle with her?” -laughed the stranger.</p> - -<p>“Oh, they got a little gay, but we managed to -keep away from them,” was the reply. “They -tried to steal our boat.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I presume they would like a trim little -motor boat like yours,” suggested the stranger. -“And now,” he continued, “I may as well get back -to my friends. It will be daylight in an hour or two, -and we’ve got to work at this dirty business in the -dark if we work at all.”</p> - -<p>Jule opened his lips to ask the man a question -regarding the three blue lights but Clay, as if -understanding his purpose, drew him back and whispered -in his ear:</p> - -<p>“No more questions just now, boy.”</p> - -<p>“Why not?” Jule asked impatiently. “That’s -just what we came up here for—to find out -something about the three blue lights.”</p> - -<p>“I have an idea,” Clay explained, “that this man -didn’t tell the truth about the other things, and that -he won’t tell the truth about the three blue -lights—that is, if he knows anything about them at all.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve been a little bit leary of him all along,” -Jule replied.</p> - -<p>While the boys were talking together, the stranger -left the stranded coal barge upon which he had -been standing and, pushing his boat along, joined -his friends on the bank. The boys could hear a -murmur of conversation following his arrival there, -and now and then the light of a match flared up.</p> - -<p>“There’s one thing I can’t understand,” Clay -said as the boys put out into the current again, -“and that is, why we have seen no wreckage from -the steamer coming down.”</p> - -<p>“That’s easy,” Alex grinned, “the boat must -have dropped into the mouth of the lagoon.”</p> - -<p>“No she didn’t!” Case cut in. “She sunk south -of the arm of the island. She’s lying there now in -twenty feet of water unless I am very much -mistaken. Still, we should have seen wreckage by this -time.”</p> - -<p>“Suppose we take a run up and see what the -situation is there,” suggested Alex. “It would -give me great joy to see a lot of those fellows -marooned on that island, with nothing to eat or drink -for a week.”</p> - -<p>“We’ll only get tangled up in some kind of a -mess if we go there,” Clay advised, “so I think -we’d better go on down the river and see if we can’t -shake off all this trouble and have a pleasant, -leisurely river trip. We’ve had trouble in plenty on -all our other trips, but I thought the Ohio journey -would mostly consist of floating in the sunshine -through cities and back yards.”</p> - -<p>“All right!” Alex said. “I’m just as willing -to get out of this mess as any one. Anyway, it will -soon be daylight, and we’ll then be needing breakfast. -Who does the cooking this morning?”</p> - -<p>“We all cook,” answered Case, “for we all talk -slang except Captain Joe and Teddy, and they -probably have done something in that line themselves -only we didn’t understand them.”</p> - -<p>“Look here!” suggested Jule when a faint line -of daylight began to show upstream. “Suppose -we pull over to that wooded cove and build a -roaring fire on the bank. Then we’ll send Alex out to -get another catfish and bake it Indian fashion.”</p> - -<p>“He didn’t make a success of Indian cookery on -the St. Lawrence,” suggested Case. “I don’t want -any foolishness about this breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Alex laughed, “there was something -the matter with the soil over there. I guess it leaked -gas or something of that kind. Anyway, the clay -along the Ohio is all right.”</p> - -<p>“Very well,” Clay said, “we’ll run into the cove -and give the boy a chance to serve catfish a la -Indian. The combination of gritless clay and green -leaves ought to produce fine results.”</p> - -<p>“You just watch me!” Alex insisted.</p> - -<p>The <i>Rambler</i> was accordingly anchored in a -pretty little cove whose banks were covered with -trees of large growth. At first, Alex tried to capture -a fish from the stern, but, not succeeding in this, -he ran out into the river and anchored there, leaving -the other boys on shore. It was broad daylight -when he felt a strong pull at his line and knew that -he had hooked some denizen of the stream.</p> - -<p>So busily was he engaged in playing the fish that -he heard nothing of the shouts from upstream, or -the warning from his chums on the bank. Directly, -however, he glanced up to see that a coal tow which -appeared to fill the entire width of the river was -drifting down upon him.</p> - -<p>“Get into the cove! Get into the cove!” cried -Clay.</p> - -<p>“You’ll be struck in a minute!” shouted Case.</p> - -<p>“Release your anchor line and shoot -downstream!” Jule suggested.</p> - -<p>This last advice appeared to be not only the most -desirable but the easiest to follow, so the boy -severed the manilla line with one blow of a sharp -hatchet and sprang to the motors. When at last -the boat was under way headed downstream, the -foremost barges were almost upon her.</p> - -<p>The men on board the tow seemed to be taking -great delight in the thought that the <i>Rambler</i> would -soon be completely at their mercy. Several of them -stood at the top of their barges making crude and -humorous suggestions to the boy.</p> - -<p>With the boat under way and headed downstream -at a speed with which the tow could by no -means compete, Alex amused himself by making -scornful faces at the men on the tow.</p> - -<p>“Come back here, you river rat!” one of the -men shouted. “You’ll get a bullet in your back -if you don’t!”</p> - -<p>“Fire away!” shouted Alex and promptly -ducked down under the protected gunwale of the -boat.</p> - -<p>The boys on shore saw the <i>Rambler</i> speeding -away with many expressions of disgust. Jule even -started on a run down the bank, but soon gave over -the attempt to catch the swiftly disappearing boat.</p> - -<p>The men on the tow, observing the boys on the -bank, greeted them with insulting epithets and -amused themselves by heaving chunks of coal toward -them. Case replied with a pistol shot but did -not succeed in wounding any of the men. The coal -came thicker after that for a time, but the -barges were soon too far down the river to make -such an attack effective.</p> - -<p>“Now, we’re in a nice box!” Jule cried, as the -steamer in charge of the tow disappeared around -a bend in the river. “How do you suppose that -little monkey will ever get that boat back to us?”</p> - -<p>“Aw, that’s easy enough!” Case answered. -“River boats pass those coal tows every day in the -week, and I guess Alex can get the <i>Rambler</i> -upstream again. In fact,” he added, “I don’t think -he needed to run down so far. He might have -ducked over to the other shore and let the barges go -by. Anyway,” the boy added with a smile, “he’ll -lose his fish. And serve him good and right at -that!”</p> - -<p>“And we lose our fish breakfast!” Clay returned. -“And that won’t serve us good and right!”</p> - -<p>“That’s a fact!” shouted Jule. “We haven’t -got a thing to eat on this bank!”</p> - -<p>“We probably won’t have to wait long for the -boy to come back,” Clay assured the others. “He -may be afraid the bargemen will make trouble for -him, and may run down until he comes to the mouth -of a creek or deep cove in which he can hold the -<i>Rambler</i> until the tow passes by. In that case, he -may be away an hour or so, but I reckon we won’t -starve to death in that time.”</p> - -<p>“I’ve a good notion to go and hunt out some -farm house and buy something to eat!” Jule declared. -“We’re most out of eggs, anyway.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me,” Clay laughed, turning to Case, -“that Alex and Jule have been having most of the -adventures lately. Now what I propose is that you -two boys stay here and wait for the <i>Rambler</i> to -return while I cut back into the country and see what -I can buy in the way of provisions.”</p> - -<p>“That will be all right,” Case replied. “And -while you are gone, Jule and I will flop into a thicket -and go to sleep. I’ve had to prop my eyelids open -with my fingers for the last hour. The bulldog -can keep watch while we get our forty winks.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” Clay said, “I didn’t see Captain Joe -come on shore. I guess you’ll find that he’s on board -the boat with Alex and the bear.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he was here all right,” Case insisted. “I -saw him running about on the other shore of the -cove acting as if he had got scent of a rabbit or a -squirrel.”</p> - -<p>“Then he’ll be back all right!” Clay replied. -“Be sure that he is before both of you go to sleep. -He’ll stand guard, all right, if you tell him to watch -for Alex. You wouldn’t like to have the <i>Rambler</i> -come back here and not find you!” Clay added.</p> - -<p>And so, leaving the boys preparing a bed of leaves -in the thicket, Clay turned away to the south and -disappeared in the forest.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXVII'>CHAPTER XVII.—THE TWO CLAIMANTS.</h2> - -<p class='first'>Sailing swiftly down the stream in the early -morning, Alex was not at all in bad humor as he -regarded the general situation. He figured that he -could very readily elude the coal tow and return -upstream to his chums. In fact, the portion of the -incident which he regretted most was the loss of -his fish.</p> - -<p>“Now,” he pondered as he whirled the boat over -towards the Indiana shore in order to find open -water for his passage upstream, “I’ll have to go -and hook another catfish before we can have breakfast.”</p> - -<p>He chuckled softly to himself as he thought of -the chums marooned on the shore of the little cove -without a thing to eat. At the time of his sudden -departure with the <i>Rambler</i>, no supplies of any -kind had been carried ashore. He laughed as he -thought of the rage of the boys.</p> - -<p>“I’ll throw out a troll-line as I go up,” he mused, -“and perhaps I’ll have a pickerel or something of -that kind all ready for the hot stones when I get -up to the cove.”</p> - -<p>When within a short distance of the Indiana -shore, the boy saw a long line of floats extending -out from the bank, indicating the location of a -fishing net. The boy sprang to the motors in the hope -of saving the net by shutting off the power, but he -was too late. In fact, his effort only made the -meeting with the net more disastrous.</p> - -<p>Running at full speed, the boat might have cut -the net and passed on, but drifting with the current -as she was when she came to it, something like two -hundred feet of stout fibre were wound about the -propeller, about the skag, and about the rudder and -rudder-post, as the motors were reversed in an effort -to back away.</p> - -<p>As the boy leaned over the stern to ascertain the -extent of the damage, the clatter of the motors died -out and he knew that the clogging of the propellers -had been responsible.</p> - -<p>In a moment the <i>Rambler</i> was drifting aimlessly -downstream, swinging this way and that with the -current, spinning along broadside to the wash -of the river oftener than in any other position.</p> - -<p>“Now, I’m in a beautiful mess!” the boy declared. -“I shall never be able to get that stuff out -of the propeller without beaching the boat.”</p> - -<p>As the boy was lifting a heavy oar in the hope -of sending the motor boat over to the Indiana side -of the river, he heard a slow, drawling hail from the -mouth of a little creek some distance down.</p> - -<p>“’Tend to your rudder!” shouted a hoarse voice. -“You’ll go over the rapids in a heap if you keep on -that way!”</p> - -<p>“Propeller and rudder clogged!” shouted Alex. -“Come on out and tow me in! You’ll be well paid -for your work.”</p> - -<p>The boy thought, in a moment, that the last sentence -had been entirely superfluous, for their experience -on the river had been that waterside characters -were always too willing to assist any crippled -boat. At all times their charges were exorbitant.</p> - -<p>“All right!” the man called from the shore, and -then the boy saw a small skiff shoot away from the -side of a dilapidated-looking shanty boat which lay -half hidden by a thicket at the mouth of the creek.</p> - -<p>When the man in the skiff reached the <i>Rambler</i>, -he rowed completely around her as if examining -her good points. He was a long, lanky, sour-visaged -individual with long black hair and beard. He was -dressed in the homespun cotton so common with -rivermen.</p> - -<p>“Right pert boat you’ve got there,” he said, at -last.</p> - -<p>“Never mind the boat now,” Alex answered. -“She’s drifting downstream every minute. Tow -her to shore and help me to get this net out of the -propeller.”</p> - -<p>“So it’s a net in the propeller, is it?” snarled -the man from the houseboat. “I hope you hain’t -gone and took up my net.”</p> - -<p>“Did you have a net out in the river?” asked -the boy.</p> - -<p>“I certainly did!” was the reply. “And if -you’ve gone and cut it up, you’ll pay for it.”</p> - -<p>Alex knew very well that the man from the -houseboat had never owned a net of the value of -the one he had destroyed, but he decided to have no -words with the fellow until the <i>Rambler</i> was ready -to proceed on her journey. He saw that the man -was evidently seeking a quarrel.</p> - -<p>“Yessir!” the riverman went on. “If you’ve -gone and cut up my net you’ll pay me a good price -for it. There’s too many of you sports romping up -and down the river with your gasoline boats.”</p> - -<p>“Time enough to talk about that when we get -the boat over to the shore,” Alex declared. “I -don’t want to drift downstream any farther.”</p> - -<p>Scowling and complaining over the exertion -required, the fellow finally managed to work the -<i>Rambler</i> into the mouth of the creek where the -houseboat lay. As Alex took in the situation at -one quick glance, he saw two evil-faced fellows -lounging on the deck of the houseboat.</p> - -<p>“What you got, Mose?” one of them called out -to the riverman.</p> - -<p>“I’ve salvaged a motor boat!” was Mose’s reply.</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble with her?” was the next -question.</p> - -<p>“She’s got my net wound around her propeller!” -answered Mose.</p> - -<p>“Sho’,” returned the other. “That new net of -yours that cost a hundred not a week ago?”</p> - -<p>“Yessir, that same new net!” returned the -riverman.</p> - -<p>Alex saw that the men were preparing to make -trouble for him. He knew that they could not -collect a cent of salvage for towing his boat out of the -stream. He was positive that the net did not -belong to them. Houseboat people of their class -consider themselves fortunate in the possession of -ordinary fishing lines and spears.</p> - -<p>However, he only smiled as they talked of their -hundred-dollar net, and dropped over into the -shallow water of the creek to inspect the damage done -to the propeller and rudder.</p> - -<p>So far as he could see, there was nothing broken. -The net which was wound about everything at the -stern of the boat seemed to him to make a bundle -as large as a whiskey barrel. He took out his knife -preparatory to cutting it away.</p> - -<p>“Look here, you boy you!” shouted Mose. -“Don’t you go to cuttin’ up that net. You just -take your consarned old propeller and rudder off the -stern so that we can unwind it.”</p> - -<p>Alex knew that this would be impossible. His -idea was to cut the net away, spring to the motors, -and pass out of the reach of the houseboat men -before they suspected what he was up to.</p> - -<p>Therefore, he at once set to work with his knife -and began slashing the strong threads of the net. -The three men looked on angrily for an instant and -then Mose said:</p> - -<p>“I told you not to cut that net, boy!”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid there is no other way,” Alex answered -very civilly.</p> - -<p>“I hope you’ve got the money in your jeans to -pay for it,” Mose shouted. “If you haven’t, I’ll -just naturally have to take charge of that boat. I -can’t afford to lose that net.”</p> - -<p>“All right,” Alex replied, cutting industriously -away at the obstruction, “my chums are up the -river a short distance and they will be down here -directly. Then we can talk about paying. We’ll -fix you out all right as soon as they get here.”</p> - -<p>“You better see that you do!” Mose responded -angrily.</p> - -<p>It took some time to cut away the great net, but -the propeller and rudder and skag were free at last -and then Alex climbed back on the deck.</p> - -<p>“Here, you,” shouted Mose, presenting the muzzle -of an old-fashioned double-barreled shotgun. -“Don’t you go near those motors. I’ve been -expecting you’d try to run away without paying your -just debts.”</p> - -<p>“No fear of my going away just yet,” Alex -answered. “I’ve got to wait somewhere along here -until my chums come.”</p> - -<p>While Mose held the rusty old gun in a threatening -manner, his two companions attached a heavy -cable to the forward bitts of the <i>Rambler</i> and -carried it ashore. After winding it around the -trunk of a great tree, they returned to the houseboat -and lay down on the forward deck to gaze -impudently at the boy.</p> - -<p>“Now, we’ll see if you make a sneak down the -river!” Mose cried triumphantly. “The best way -for you to get away from this creek is to lay down -about a hundred and fifty dollars.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know there was so much money in the -world!” laughed Alex.</p> - -<p>“If your chums don’t come in one hour,” Mose -went on, “we’ll take possession of your boat. This -man here,” pointing over his shoulder with his -thumb, “is a constable! Ain’t you, Clint? And he -can sell your boat right here on the river bank. -Can’t you, Clint? We’ll see if these sports are -coming down here and destroy our property without -paying for it!”</p> - -<p>In all his experience in river journeys, Alex had -never been confronted by so puzzling a proposition. -He knew that the rivermen had no claim upon him -whatever, although he considered Mose entitled to -some compensation for his friendly act. Still he -realized that for the time being the fellows held the -whip hand.</p> - -<p>It happened that he had considerable money—two -or three hundred dollars in his possession, -having taken charge of the expense fund only a few -days before. His inclination now was to pay the -men the money demanded and get away. Then he -reasoned that the exhibition of such a sum of -money would only arouse the greed of the outlaws. -That they would never let him depart with any -money at all in his possession, he knew very well. -It was a trying situation.</p> - -<p>While he stood deliberating over the problem, a -a loud hail came from upstream and turning he saw -the coal tow sweeping down the river.</p> - -<p>“Hold that boat!” shouted a harsh voice from -one of the foremost barges. “Hold that boat ’till -we get there.”</p> - -<p>Scenting an additional profit in the arrival of the -tow, Mose sprang into his skiff and rowed out. As -the first barge came down, Alex saw two men -spring into the skiff which was at once headed for -the shore. The two men lounging on the houseboat -at once sprang over to the deck of the <i>Rambler</i>, the -man with the rusty shotgun keeping it in full view.</p> - -<p>When the skiff reached the <i>Rambler</i>, the two men -clambered on deck while Mose ran the skiff up into -the creek. The two men were extremely well-dressed -although their clothing showed connection -with the water of the river and the smut of the coal -barges. They were both very much excited, and -the first thing one of them did was to shake his fist -under Alex’s, nose.</p> - -<p>“Now, you young thief!” he shouted. “We’ve -got you at last!”</p> - -<p>“No rough house, pardner!” exclaimed the -houseboat man who held the gun. “No rough -house here, because, you see, we’ve got a claim on -this boy ourselves. He just destroyed a net worth -a hundred dollars!”</p> - -<p>“A hundred dollars!” snarled the whiskey boat -man. “Do you know what he did to us?” he went -on. “He stole this motor boat and sunk our -steamer with it. He’s cost us more than twenty -thousand dollars!”</p> - -<p>Alex stood silent in the face of all these -accusations. He had recognized the two men from the -barge as men he had seen on the whiskey boat, and -he knew that they would do their best to make him -trouble. For a moment it seemed to him that the -fate of the <i>Rambler</i> was sealed.</p> - -<p>“What do you say to all this, boy?” asked the -man with the gun.</p> - -<p>Alex sat down dejectedly on the gunwale.</p> - -<p>“I guess I’ll let you fellows fight it out between -you,” he said.</p> - -<p>“I can’t see as there’s anything to fight out!” -one of the men from the whiskey boat shouted.</p> - -<p>“This is our boat and we’re going to take it away! -As for this boy, we’ll place him in the custody of the -first United States marshal we come to!”</p> - -<p>Once more the rusty barrel of the old shotgun in -the hands of the houseboat man was hoisted to a -threatening position.</p> - -<p>“Don’t you forget,” the man said viciously, -“that this boat busted our net. We don’t care -whose boat it is, we’re going to hold it until we get -paid for our property!”</p> - -<p>“You talk like a fool!” shouted the man from -the steamer.</p> - -<p>“And you act like a fool!” insisted the other.</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe you fellows ever owned any -net!” the enraged outlaw shouted. “I’ve seen your -old houseboat sneaking along the river here for -months. You’re the kind of men who never have -the price of a drink unless you can steal it. If you -try to hold this boat, I’ll fill you both full of bullet -holes!”</p> - -<p>The eyes at the stock of the shotgun flashed -wickedly, but the man’s voice was remarkably -smooth as he said:</p> - -<p>“If you move, either one of you, or try to get -out a gun I’ll blow the tops of your heads off! You -observe,” he went on, “that there are two barrels -to this gun, and I’ll tell you right now that they’re -both loaded with slugs.”</p> - -<p>“This is nonsense!” roared the man from the -steamer.</p> - -<p>“That’s what I’ve been calculatin’,” replied the -other.</p> - -<p>Alex was thinking fast. It seemed to him at that -time that it would be better to leave the <i>Rambler</i> -in the hands of the houseboat men than in those of -the men from the steamer.</p> - -<p>The houseboat men would be satisfied with a -small amount of money as soon as they discovered -that they could get no more, while the other -outlaws would insist on taking the <i>Rambler</i> for their -alleged debt.</p> - -<p>Taking this view of the situation, he turned to -the man who was holding the shotgun.</p> - -<p>“These two men,” he said, “are whiskey boat -men. They have no more claim on this boat than -you have.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXVIII'>CHAPTER XVIII.—A FORBIDDEN SUBJECT.</h2> - -<p class='first'>While Alex was having his troubles with the -two gangs of outlaws, and while Jule and Case were -asleep in a thicket at the cove, Clay was pushing -his way through a heavy undergrowth in the direction -of a shabby-looking farm house which stood -in the center of a weed-grown tobacco field not far -away.</p> - -<p>As he approached the uncared for fence which -surrounded the field, he heard horses stamping and -champing at their bits in the woods not far away -to his left.</p> - -<p>At first he thought seriously of visiting the -undergrowth on a tour of investigation, but finally -decided that his actions might be misconstrued, so he -passed on toward the house in the tobacco field.</p> - -<p>It seemed to him that half a hundred dogs of all -sizes and breeds leaped out as he advanced through -the weeds toward the front door.</p> - -<p>He was having his hands full with the dogs, -fending them off, when the door opened and a woman -made her appearance on the threshold.</p> - -<p>“Down, you ornery purps!” she shouted in a -voice that sounded more like that of a man than -that of a woman. “Come right along in, stranger,” -she added. “I reckon they won’t bite you up -none.”</p> - -<p>Under the protection of the woman’s voice and -presence, Clay finally succeeded in making his way -to the house.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure ashamed of them ornery purps,” the -woman declared, striking at a large brindle dog -with a mop stick. “Somehow I can’t beat no manners -into ’em!”</p> - -<p>“They appear to be a fine lot of dogs!” Clay -said, resolved to conciliate the woman if possible. -“I’m used to Kentucky dogs, so I was not at all -afraid of them.”</p> - -<p>“What mought be your business, stranger?” the -woman asked then.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Clay answered, “I’m looking for -something to eat.”</p> - -<p>“Sho’!” answered the woman. “A nice, likely -lookin’ lad like you goin’ around hungry! I’d be -glad to give you a set-down of flapjacks and coffee. -Come right in.”</p> - -<p>“That would help some!” laughed Clay. “But -what I want is provisions to carry away to my -chums—eggs, chickens or anything of that sort -you may have to sell.”</p> - -<p>“And where mought your chums be?” asked the -woman, a little suspiciously as Clay thought.</p> - -<p>“We came down the river in a motor boat,” the -boy replied, “and I left the boys in a cove some -distance from here.”</p> - -<p>“I wonder, now,” the woman queried, “whether -you might have been on the river last night.”</p> - -<p>Clay replied in the affirmative.</p> - -<p>“Well,” the woman went on, “I’ve been waiting -all morning for news from the river. My men -went out last night at dusk and haven’t returned.”</p> - -<p>“There were horsemen along the river last -night,” Clay suggested.</p> - -<p>“That would be them.”</p> - -<p>“And I heard horses champing their bits just as -I came up to the fence,” Clay went on.</p> - -<p>“Sho’!” answered the woman. “My men always -have fresh hosses near the house. What did -you hear on the river last night?” she added.</p> - -<p>“It seemed rather quiet,” Clay replied, “except -that a whiskey steamer got wrecked some distance up.”</p> - -<p>“That’s too bad, now!” declared the woman.</p> - -<p>“There’s one thing peculiar I noticed about the -river last night,” Clay went on, “and that was something -which looked to me like a signal. We saw -three blue lights resting on the surface of the water. -Then there came an explosion and they disappeared.”</p> - -<p>The woman almost staggered back in the doorway. -Her ruddy face became slightly pale, and -Clay saw that the work-worn hands were trembling.</p> - -<p>Clay sprang to a pail of water which stood near, -dipped up a liberal supply in a gourd which hung -on a wall, and approached the woman with it in his -hand.</p> - -<p>“Sho’, now!” the woman almost gasped, placing -her hands at her sides, “here I be havin’ another -spell with my heart. Seems like I was always havin’ -trouble with that pesky organ.”</p> - -<p>Clay did not believe the explanation given by the -woman for her sudden fright. He had no doubt -that the mention of the mysterious three blue lights -had led to this alleged heart failure.</p> - -<p>“I’ll shore be better in a minute,” the woman -said, dropping into a home-made chair which stood -just inside the house. “What was it you said about -the three blue lights? I was took sudden just as -you began speaking of them.”</p> - -<p>Clay repeated what he had said regarding the -mysterious lights, watching the woman closely every -second. She did not again show sign of emotion -of any kind.</p> - -<p>“Why,” the woman said directly, “them’s the -ghost lights that are often seen on the Ohio. The -steamboat <i>Mary Ann</i> went down with a dancing -party on board ten years ago, and ever since then -the lights have been seen on the river.”</p> - -<p>“But the <i>Mary Ann</i> went down just off Wolf -Creek,” Clay suggested.</p> - -<p>“There is a story,” the woman began in a -hushed voice, “that the lights show every year about -the time the boat went down, at the exact place -where she sunk. And then, again,” she continued, -“they do say that wherever a body from the <i>Mary Ann</i> -remains unburied at the bottom of the river -the three blue lights show at least once a year.”</p> - -<p>“So they really are ghost lights?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Why, stranger,” the woman continued, “boats -have been pushed directly into them lights as they -floated on the surface of the river, and they have -burned right on after being submerged! Them -explosions have been heard time and time again, and -nothing has been found which could have produced -them. We people along the river are mighty skeery -of them ghost lights.”</p> - -<p>“I have heard that they bring disaster,” Clay -suggested.</p> - -<p>“They sure do!” replied the woman. “But -come in,” she went on, “here I’ve been talkin’ like -a foolish old gossip, and you standing hungry in -the doorway. Come in and sit down.”</p> - -<p>Clay took the proffered chair but he was not -thinking of the breakfast being prepared for him.</p> - -<p>He was thinking, instead, of the sudden panic -into which the old woman had fallen at the mention -of the three blue lights. He saw now that there -was some significance to the signal.</p> - -<p>He came to understand, sitting there watching -the still troubled face of the woman, that the three -blue lights indicated some desperate action on the -part of the river people—some desperate action -which took the men away from their homes and -left the women anxious and afraid. He saw that -the woman in trying to deceive him by her words -was still telling the story of some terrible situation -by her voice and manner. He wondered but could -reach no conclusion.</p> - -<p>The boy was supplied with a bountiful breakfast -of corn pancakes, fried eggs and coffee, and then he -opened negotiations with his hostess for a supply -of provisions for the <i>Rambler</i>. The woman looked -distressed and answered his inquiries with -downcast eyes.</p> - -<p>“I’m sure sorry,” she said, “but we had a lot of -friends here to dinner yesterday, and they eat about -everything in the house. Them eggs you’ve just et -were laid this morning.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry, too,” Clay replied, “but if you -haven’t got provisions, you can’t sell them. -Perhaps I can find a supply at some near-by farm house. -How far is it to the nearest one?”</p> - -<p>“It is a long way through the thicket,” the woman -answered, “and I wouldn’t advise no boy like -you to be wandering in the woods in this vicinity -right now. It ain’t safe!”</p> - -<p>“Why, there ought not to be anything to be -afraid of!” Clay suggested.</p> - -<p>“You don’t know this region as well as I do, -boy!” the woman replied. “These folks that come -up from the river are mighty bad sometimes, and -I’ve known people that didn’t live on the river to -do desperate, bad things occasionally.”</p> - -<p>Clay sorely puzzled, looked the woman frankly in -the face and asked:</p> - -<p>“Do you imagine trouble because the three blue -lights showed on the river last night?”</p> - -<p>“Well,” was the reply, “they surly do bring -trouble.”</p> - -<p>“In what way?” insisted Clay.</p> - -<p>“Oh, there’s wrecks, and burnings, and shooting, -and all manner of things going on, somehow, -after them three blue lights show.”</p> - -<p>“Then perhaps I’d better be getting back to the -river!” Clay suggested.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t leave no boat that was worth ready -money long alone along the Ohio river at this time -of year,” the woman answered. “And let me tell -you another thing,” she went on. “If you see -three blue lights, keep away from them! Don’t go -near where they are, and get out of the vicinity of -them as fast as you can.”</p> - -<p>“We’re not afraid of ghosts!” laughed Clay.</p> - -<p>“I can’t say more!” the woman continued. “I -don’t know but I’ve said too much now. I hope -you’ll take an old woman’s advice and keep out of -trouble. Where might you boys be from, now?”</p> - -<p>“Chicago,” replied Clay.</p> - -<p>“Sho’, now!” exclaimed the old woman. “I’ve -never seen any one from Chicago before. “I’ve -heard of it often, though. Must be a right pert -place. Some one told me it was almost as big as -Paducah.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Clay replied, “Chicago is some city. -Will you accept pay for my breakfast?” he -continued.</p> - -<p>“You’re only a boy,” the woman replied, “and -so don’t know any better than to offer a Kintucky -woman pay for a feed. But I wouldn’t do that any -more if I were you.”</p> - -<p>Thanking the woman from the bottom of his -heart for her hospitality and her kindly advice, the -boy started away in the direction of the river.</p> - -<p>On his return he took care to pass through that -portion of the thicket where he had heard the horses -on his way in. He found three remarkably fine-looking -animals, all saddled and bridled, standing -in the thicket. As he stepped toward one of them, -a boy, certainly not more than twelve years of age, -leaped at him.</p> - -<p>“What you doing here?” the youth demanded.</p> - -<p>“I have just come from the house,” Clay replied. -“Your mother gave me a fine breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“Did she, now?” asked the boy suspiciously.</p> - -<p>“She certainly did,” answered Clay resolved to -continue the conversation with the lad until he -learned something more concerning the three blue -lights. The boy dropped his hostile attitude at -once.</p> - -<p>“I was going on to other houses in search of -provisions,” Clay went on, “but your mother -advised me that it wouldn’t be safe.”</p> - -<p>“It shore ain’t safe!” the boy replied.</p> - -<p>“She told me,” Clay resumed, “that it was never -safe in this section when three blue lights burned -on the river.”</p> - -<p>“Did she, now?” asked the boy. “And did you-all -see the three blue lights?”</p> - -<p>“Twice,” answered Clay. “Last night and the -night before—once opposite Wolf Creek and once in -the lagoon at that odd-shaped island just up the -stream.”</p> - -<p>Clay thought that the boy shivered a little in his -ragged clothes.</p> - -<p>“What is all this about the three blue lights?” -he asked in a moment.</p> - -<p>The boy shook his head gravely.</p> - -<p>“We-uns ain’t allowed to talk about the three -blue lights,” he answered.</p> - -<p>“You think they are ghost lights, eh?” asked -Clay.</p> - -<p>“We-uns ain’t allowed to talk about the three -blue lights,” repeated the boy. “We never mention -them.”</p> - -<p>Seeing that further conversation with the boy -was likely to prove without result, Clay again turned -to face in the direction of the river.</p> - -<p>“I wish I knew,” he mused, as he pushed his -way through tangled thickets and descended and -ascended rocky slopes, “I wish I knew exactly why -that woman came near fainting when I mentioned -the three blue lights.</p> - -<p>“I have an impression,” he went on, “that there’s -some feud coming to life. In the first place, I don’t -believe the story told at the stranded coal barges -last night.</p> - -<p>“Those men never sought the river with the intentions -of destroying that steamer. They wouldn’t -have brought their horses along if that had been -their object.</p> - -<p>“The horses, of course, might have been used in -the way of transportation to the river, but, at the -same time, men out on such a mission would not -care to be seen riding so openly through the -country.”</p> - -<p>It is needless to say that the boy did not believe -one word of the story told him by the woman who -had given him his breakfast. He was too -hard-headed to believe in ghosts or supernatural -demonstrations of any sort.</p> - -<p>He knew however, that there must be some reason -for the display of the lights, and knew that no little -ingenuity had been shown in the placing and -extinguishing of them. So studying over the -problem, the boy finally came to the little cove where he -had left Case and Jule.</p> - -<p>Captain Joe fawned about him as he advanced, -but when he approached the thicket where the boys -had been preparing their rough beds, he saw that -they were not there. He lost no time in making a -close examination of the ground, both at the landing -and at the entrance to the thicket.</p> - -<p>What he saw set his heart to bounding excitedly: -At both points there many indications of a -desperate struggle.</p> - -<p>Had he known the plight in which Alex found -himself at that moment, Clay would have been -doubly alarmed.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXIX'>CHAPTER XIX.—TEDDY MAKES A SENSATION.</h2> - -<p class='first'>“What’s that you say?” thundered one of the -men from the steamer, as Alex explained to the -houseboat men that neither party had any interest -whatever in the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“You’d better keep truth on your side, young -man!” the other whiskey boat man put in.</p> - -<p>“That’s right,” Alex declared, dodging away -from one of the men who made an attempt to seize -him. “That’s right! These whiskey boat men -never saw this craft until last night. We rammed -their steamer because they tried to block us in a -lagoon, and I hope we sunk her.”</p> - -<p>“You did all of that!” one of the others replied.</p> - -<p>“According to the boy’s statement,” Mose cut -in, “you fellows have no right on this boat at all, -so I’d advise you to make yourself skurce.”</p> - -<p>The recent arrivals saw that they were not -making good in their bluff to the houseboat men and so -resorted to sterner measures.</p> - -<p>Quick as a flash one of them seized the muzzle of -the rusty old shotgun, drew it away from the -clumsy hands holding it, and dropped the weapon -into the river. Almost at the same instant, two -automatic revolvers flashed out of the hip pockets -of the outlaws.</p> - -<p>“Now,” the man who had been doing most of the -talking thundered, “you river thieves get off this -boat!”</p> - -<p>“We will when we get pay for our net!”</p> - -<p>“You never owned a net!” shouted the other. -“You never had the price of a dozen fish hooks at -one time, say nothing about a net!”</p> - -<p>“Anyway,” Mose insisted, “I brought you over -to this boat and kept the boy from running away -before you got here.”</p> - -<p>“Now, you’re talking sense,” the outlaw sneered. -“Throw him a couple of dollars, Chet,” he added.</p> - -<p>The fellow’s companion tossed two silver dollars -scornfully down on the deck and turned to Alex.</p> - -<p>“You get into the cabin,” he said, “and stay -there. We’ll settle with you later on.”</p> - -<p>Alex had no idea of remaining on board the -<i>Rambler</i> after it had passed into the possession of -the outlaws. He knew that the desire for revenge -on their part might lead to murder. He had no fear -of being turned, over to the officers of the law, for -the outlaws were in no position to make charges -against others. He stepped into the cabin as -requested and closed the door after him.</p> - -<p>“Now, Teddy Bear,” he said, “you and I have -got to jump away from this darling old boat, and -we’ve got to do it right soon.”</p> - -<p>Teddy, awakened from a sound sleep, scratched -his nose with a soft paw and replied in the most -polite of bear talk that he would do whatever Alex -thought best.</p> - -<p>The men who belonged on the houseboat were by -this time off the deck of the <i>Rambler</i>. The outlaws, -however, were watching the boy very closely. They -laughed when they saw him talking with the bear.</p> - -<p>“That’s a cute pet you have there!” one of the -men exclaimed, speaking through the broken panel -of the door.</p> - -<p>“It is indeed,” Alex answered cheerfully. -“Teddy Bear is a pretty good friend. We’ve had -him a long time.”</p> - -<p>“What’re you going to do with him?” asked the -outlaw.</p> - -<p>“Take him back to Chicago with us.”</p> - -<p>The outlaws laughed and regarded the boy and -the bear with humorous faces. Alex sat down and -watched them curiously.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see you getting back to Chicago right -away,” one of them finally said. “That is, not to-day -nor to-morrow.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, we’re going down to Cairo first!” Alex -grinned.</p> - -<p>The two outlaws turned away with a laugh, and -as soon as their backs were in view Alex opened -the swinging sash of the rear window and motioned -for Teddy to leap out.</p> - -<p>The bear cub followed instructions, and landed -lightly on the after deck. In an instant Alex was -through the window and the two sprang into the -water and made for the shore.</p> - -<p>The outlaws would doubtless have remained unconscious -of the escape until the boy and his companion -had reached the thicket only that the men on -the houseboat shouted and pointed at the bear.</p> - -<p>“Look at the menagerie!” one of them cried.</p> - -<p>This brought the outlaws to the shore-side of the -boat, and directly several harmless bullets whizzed -close to the two swimmers.</p> - -<p>“Go it, boy! Go it, bear!” was shouted from the -houseboat.</p> - -<p>The three men already disgruntled by the manner -in which they had been treated by the outlaws, were -now inclined to support Alex and the bear in their -efforts to escape.</p> - -<p>While the men on the <i>Rambler</i> sent badly aimed -bullets after the two in the water, the men on the -houseboat hurled billets of wood and whatever else -they could lay their hands on at the outlaws.</p> - -<p>This action on their part, while doing no physical -harm whatever, had the effect of directing the -attention of the outlaws from the boy and the bear to -the three men. When Alex and Teddy disappeared -in the thicket on the east side of the little creek, -immediately in the rear of the houseboat, the outlaws -were still firing, and the others were still pitching -wood and pieces of coal over the deck of the motor -boat.</p> - -<p>After a very long run upstream, out, perhaps fifty -yards from the water’s edge, the boy and the bear -threw themselves down on the moss beneath a forest -tree and panted out congratulations to each other -on their escape.</p> - -<p>“Teddy,” almost whimpered Alex. “We’ve -gone and lost the <i>Rambler</i>!”</p> - -<p>The bear looked very grave indeed.</p> - -<p>“We’ve gone and lost the <i>Rambler</i>!” Alex went -on, “and have nothing to show for it at all! I set -out to catch a fish, and lost the boat!”</p> - -<p>Teddy rubbed his soft muzzle against Alex’s, -cheek and looked sympathetic. He seemed to -understand every word said.</p> - -<p>“And now, bear,” the boy went on, “we’ve got -to walk five or ten miles up this bank of the river -and swim across. I guess the boys must be pretty -near a dozen miles away.”</p> - -<p>Teddy, while looking sympathetic, thrust his -muzzle into Alex’s, pocket looking for crackers.</p> - -<p>“Je—rusalem!” exclaimed Alex. “I wish I had -some, Teddy. I never was so empty in my life!”</p> - -<p>After a short rest, the boy arose and the two -proceeded on their difficult journey. Now and then -they came to weedy fields where corn had been -grown and where great shocks of stalks still stood, -but for the most part their way lay through a narrow -slice of forest which fringed the river. Alex took -occasion, after a time, to investigate some of the -corn shocks but found no ears.</p> - -<p>“Pretty soon,” the boy mused, “I’ll be hungry -enough to eat the stalks. And the boys must be -hungry, too,” he went on, “but all the provisions -we had are on board the <i>Rambler</i>. I don’t know -what they’ll say to me when I go back and explain -what happened.”</p> - -<p>After a long, long walk, during which it seemed -to the boy that he had covered at least a score of -miles, he discerned on the opposite bank of the -river the little cove in which the <i>Rambler</i> had been -moored that morning. Although he strained his -eyes hoping to see the familiar figures of his chums, -he could see no motion whatever.</p> - -<p>“I guess they’ve got starved out and gone away,” -the boy complained. “I suppose when I get over -there, there’ll be only a burned-out camp-fire and -nothing to eat. The next time I go out fishing for -catfish, I won’t go. It always brings bad luck.”</p> - -<p>Realizing that he might have to swim across the -whole width of the river, the boy kept on upstream -knowing that it would be better to have the current -in his favor when he entered the water.</p> - -<p>While he sat looking across the stream, several -river craft passed, some going up and some going -down. Once he thought of calling to a small motor -boat and asking the occupants to ferry him across -the river. But he soon changed his mind not -knowing what sort of people he would be likely to find -in any of the river boats.</p> - -<p>While the boy stood near the bank of the river -looking out, Teddy, as usual, was nosing about -looking for something to eat. The boy had hardly -noticed the absence of the bear when a succession of -long shrill squealings came from a thicket not far -distant.</p> - -<p>“There!” the boy mused, starting away on a run. -“Teddy has gone and scared the life out of some -one.”</p> - -<p>“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake! Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!”</p> - -<p>The voice died away, and was succeeded by a -commotion in the bushes just ahead of the running -boy.</p> - -<p>The next moment a little short, fat, dumpy negro -with a fringe of gray hair running around an -otherwise bald head, came into view, trying to run very -fast, but succeeding only in stumbling over every -obstruction which came in his way, and landing -flat on his back with his heels high up in the air. -The sight was indeed a comical one.</p> - -<p>“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake! Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” -repeated the negro, his eyes rolling in his head like -great white marbles.</p> - -<p>Teddy, evidently unconscious of the sensation he -was creating, came dashing after the fallen darkey, -and at once assumed a boxing attitude.</p> - -<p>“Take him away! Take him away!” roared -the negro. “Ah’s done bein’ eat up! Take de b’ar -away, take him away!”</p> - -<p>Instead of taking the bear away, Alex, hungry -and tired as he was, threw himself down on the -grass and roared with laughter.</p> - -<p>“Ah’s done bein’ eat up!” shouted the negro although -Teddy was at least two yards away.</p> - -<p>“He won’t hurt you,” Alex said as soon as he -could control his voice. “Teddy is a tame bear.”</p> - -<p>“Ah never did take to bears!” the negro shouted -rolling his fat body farther away. “Ah don’ see -no good in b’ars.”</p> - -<p>After some persuasion the boy induced the negro -to come nearer. This he did with fear and trembling, -and ever with a watchful eye on the playful -cub.</p> - -<p>“What’s your name?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Uncle Zeke,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“Do you live here?” was the next question.</p> - -<p>“Ah libs way up de ribber,” was the guarded -reply.</p> - -<p>“Then you must have come down in a boat?” -asked the boy.</p> - -<p>“Ah sure did!” answered the negro.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Alex said then, “we want to get over -to the other side of the river. Will you take us -across?”</p> - -<p>The negro backed away from the bear again and -seemed to be about to take to his heels. He turned -back in a moment, however, as if anxious to be -friendly with the boy and declared:</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did cotton to no b’ar!”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he won’t hurt you,” the boy explained, -“he’s just a tame cub. We’ve had him ever since -he was as big as a kitten. Row us across to that -little cove over there and I’ll give you a dollar.”</p> - -<p>Uncle Zeke fingered his bald pate and entered -into negotiations for the job, still with his eyes fixed -suspiciously on Teddy.</p> - -<p>“Ah’ll done row you over for a dollar,” he said.</p> - -<p>“But the bear’s got to go,” Alex insisted.</p> - -<p>“Dat’ll be anudder dollar,” insisted Uncle Zeke.</p> - -<p>“All right,” Alex laughed, “where’s your -boat?”</p> - -<p>Delighted with having made so good a bargain, -Uncle Zeke led the way to the river bank not far -away and pointed out a fair-sized rowboat rocking -in the water.</p> - -<p>“Why!” Alex exclaimed excitedly. “Where -did you get that boat?”</p> - -<p>“Ah bought it,” replied the negro.</p> - -<p>The boat was the one belonging to the <i>Rambler</i>!</p> - -<p>It had been left, it will be remembered, on the -Kentucky shore of the river some distance above Wolf -Creek. The boys who had landed in search of -gasoline and spark plugs had left it hidden in a thicket. -During their absence, the <i>Rambler</i> had made her -way downstream for some distance, and so the -rowboat had not been recovered. It looked familiar -to Alex now.</p> - -<p>“Where did you buy it?” asked the boy.</p> - -<p>“Niggerman sold me dat boat,” answered the -other.</p> - -<p>“All right,” Alex said. “Take us across and -I’ll give you the two dollars.”</p> - -<p>He had no intention of leaving the <i>Rambler</i>’s boat -in the possession of the negro, but he thought it -advisable not to make any claim to the boat until he -had reached the other side of the river.</p> - -<p>With Teddy sitting at the very stern of the boat -as far as possible from the rower, the two were -ferried across, striking the bank a few paces above -the east shore of the cove.</p> - -<p>“Now,” Alex said as he stepped ashore, “come -on over to the camp and I’ll give you your money.” -Uncle Zeke eyed the bear critically.</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did cotton to no b’ar!” he said.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Alex went on, “you’ll have to come -over to the camp or I can’t give you your money.” -Very reluctantly the fat, old negro waddled over -to the heap of embers which was all that remained -of the fire the boys had built early that morning. -Alex’s wandering attention was brought back to -the negro directly by a short, sharp cry of alarm.</p> - -<p>“Fo’ de Lawd’s sake!” he cried. “Fo’ de -Lawd’s sake!”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXX'>CHAPTER XX.—THE PIRATES’ NEST.</h2> - -<p class='first'>Alex sprang to his feet just as Captain Joe -came dashing up to the negro, looking fierce enough -to consume him at one bite.</p> - -<p>If there had been any extra hair at the top of the -old negro’s pate it must have stood horizontal at -that moment, for Teddy shambled up to the bulldog -and began a series of boxing antics such as the old -fellow had never witnessed before.</p> - -<p>“Gimme mah two dollahs!” he finally managed -to shout. “Gimme mah two dollahs, and Ah’ll -done go ’way!”</p> - -<p>Before Alex could reply, Clay came into the -little opening and stood gazing about with -wondering eyes.</p> - -<p>“Did you see Case and Jule?” was the first -question he asked of Alex.</p> - -<p>The boy shook his head silently.</p> - -<p>“I left them here!” he said.</p> - -<p>Clay stepped toward the bank and looked out -over the cove.</p> - -<p>“Where is the <i>Rambler</i>?” he asked, not -without anxiety in his voice.</p> - -<p>“The pirates got her!” was Alex’s reply, and -there were actually tears in his eyes as he spoke.</p> - -<p>During this short conversation between the two -boys, Uncle Zeke had stood, trembling, by the heap -of embers, gazing from boy to boy and from bear -to dog.</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did cotton to no bulldog!” he said.</p> - -<p>“Where did you get that?” asked Clay, -forgetting for a moment what Alex’s reply meant to the -party.</p> - -<p>“That’s Uncle Zeke,” answered Alex with a -grin. “He rowed Teddy and I across the river.”</p> - -<p>“Ah’m goin’ to hab two dollahs!” put in the -negro.</p> - -<p>Clay again turned toward Alex, his manner -showing great excitement.</p> - -<p>“Tell me about it!” he said kindly.</p> - -<p>Alex told the story, already well known to the -reader, in as few words as possible. Clay did not -interrupt him, and at the close stood looking out on -the river with a very grave face.</p> - -<p>“We’ve got to get her back!” Alex shouted in -a moment. “We’ve just got to get the <i>Rambler</i> -back!”</p> - -<p>“Of course,” Clay said stubbornly, “of course! -I was only thinking how. There surely must be -some way.”</p> - -<p>“Where are Case and Jule?” Alex now asked.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know!” was the reply. “I went away -to look up something to eat, and when I came back, -they were not here.”</p> - -<p>“They probably went after something to eat, -too!” Alex suggested.</p> - -<p>“No,” Clay went on, “I was to bring back provisions, -if I succeeded in finding any. When I -returned, Captain Joe was here, but they were -gone.”</p> - -<p>“That’s strange!” Alex muttered. “I don’t -see why they should leave camp when they were -expecting you to bring them something to eat.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t think they left the camp voluntarily,” -Clay continued. “If you’ll look at the head of -the cove, and at the side of the thicket where they -were preparing their beds, you’ll see evidences of a -struggle.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what it is,” Alex began, “those -pirates from the steamer we sunk got down here on -that coal tow and swam ashore.”</p> - -<p>“That is very likely!” Clay replied. “We -know, at least, that two of them were on the coal -tow.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” the boy went on, “they saw the fire -here, and recognized the <i>Rambler</i> lying just below -the barges, and swam ashore to punish us for -ramming their old whiskey boat.”</p> - -<p>“There may be something in that,” Clay returned.</p> - -<p>“And, then, after the <i>Rambler</i> was crowded -downstream, and after you went away to get something -to eat, they attacked the two boys and lugged -them away. I wish we’d killed them all.”</p> - -<p>“You’re the bloodthirsty little fellow this morning!” -Clay smiled.</p> - -<p>“I don’t care!” Alex responded. “Just think -of our motor boat, with all the provisions and -ammunition on board, falling into the hands of those -outlaws! I’ll just tell you right now, Clay,” he went -on, flushing with anger, “if I’d had a stick of -dynamite handy, I’d have set the fuse on fire before I -crawled out of the cabin window.”</p> - -<p>“Then I’m glad you didn’t have any dynamite -handy!” smiled Clay.</p> - -<p>Uncle Zeke, who had been standing motionless -in mortal terror of the dog and the bear, now -stepped forward.</p> - -<p>“Ah done hear what you-all said,” he remarked.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” Clay answered, “have you any idea -in your head at all which points to the recovery of -our motor boat?”</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber done cotton to dem pirates,” said -the negro.</p> - -<p>“Well, then, show us how to get our boat back!” -Alex laughed.</p> - -<p>“Ah suah will,” replied the negro. “Dem -pirates,” he continued, “has a nes’ nex’ de big bend -Ah been dere many a time. You go more ’n forty -miles aroun’ de ben’ an’ you go ten miles across.”</p> - -<p>“Aw!” laughed Alex. “There isn’t any such -bend on the Ohio river in this vicinity. There’s a -bend below here that makes a circuit of about ten -or twelve miles to get one mile downstream.”</p> - -<p>“Ah don’ know ’bout no miles,” Uncle Zeke -answered. “Ah know ’bout dat pirate’s nes’ at de -horseshoe ben’.”</p> - -<p>“Can you get across the neck in a rowboat?” -asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Ah suah can,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“You didn’t know, did you, that the boat you -have is one that belonged to our motor boat? We -lost it a ways up the river.”</p> - -<p>“Ah done gib two yaller-legged hens for dat -boat,” insisted Uncle Zeke. “Ah buy it of a black -nigger.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I suppose it was abandoned property, -anyway,” Clay said, “so we’ll pay you for it if we find -that we need it again.”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXXI'>CHAPTER XXI.—FATE TAKES A TRICK.</h2> - -<p class='first'>Left alone in the thicket at the head of the cove, -Case and Jule waited for some time for the -appearance of Captain Joe. While not actually afraid -of any attack upon themselves in that quiet place, -they much preferred leaving the bulldog on watch -when they went to sleep.</p> - -<p>“Captain Joe ought to be here before long,” -Case observed searching the thickets with his eyes -in the hope of discerning the bulky form of the dog. -“It is a rare thing for him to go away alone, but -when he has done so in the past he soon returns.”</p> - -<p>“I wish he’d come back right now,” Jule replied, -“I’m so sleepy I couldn’t eat a breakfast if we had -one. Look here, Case,” he went on, “why is it -that we always have such infernal bad luck when -we start out on a river trip? Its been night-and-day -trouble ever since we left Pittsburgh.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Case replied, “and it was night-and-day -trouble on the Amazon, and on the Columbia, and -on the Colorado, and on the Mississippi, and on the -St. Lawrence. I’ll tell you what I think we ought -to do,” he continued with a grin, “we ought to -take an aeroplane along so we could mount up into -the blue sky when things got mixed.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t mind being several miles up in the -blue sky right now,” Jule laughed, “if I could find -a nice soft cloud to sleep on. They look like -feather beds, don’t they?” he asked, pointing to -wandering clouds in the sky some of them tipped -with the early sunlight.</p> - -<p>“They certainly do,” answered Case, “but I’m -afraid you wouldn’t find them very soft or very -dry. In fact, you’d fall right through and probably -tumble into the river. Did it ever occur to you,” -he went on, “that a cloud is a great big bluff? It -looks solid and handsome, and all that, from the -surface of the earth, but it’s nothing but a great -big fog.”</p> - -<p>“I never lost much time considering clouds, -Jule replied. “Suppose you go out into the woods -and see if you can’t find Captain Joe.”</p> - -<p>“No use to look for him,” Case replied, “if he’s -got the trail of a rabbit, he’ll run from now until -next week at two o’clock.”</p> - -<p>“Then let’s go to sleep,” Jule proposed. “We -can lie right down here in the thicket, and if anyone -should come poking around, they wouldn’t be -able to see us. We didn’t have any sleep last night -at all, you know.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what’s the matter with the bunch, -anyway,” Case said, rather crossly. “Clay goes off -to get breakfast and doesn’t come back, and Alex -goes out to get fish and gets chased off by a coal -tow, and Captain Joe runs away and doesn’t return!”</p> - -<p>“Alex ought to be here by this time,” Jule complained. -“There’s plenty to eat on board the -<i>Rambler</i>, so if Clay doesn’t find any provisions we -won’t go hungry. Everything seems to be going -wrong.”</p> - -<p>“Moved and supported that we go to sleep,” Case -replied. “The ayes have it! Motion prevails! -You just watch now and see me flop down here in -the bushes. I’m going to sleep a week!”</p> - -<p>“All right!” Jule answered with a yawn. -“When it comes to sleeping, you haven’t got anything -on me.”</p> - -<p>“And when we wake up,” Case continued, -“we’ll see the <i>Rambler</i> riding out there in the cove, -with Alex cooking the catfish a la Indian, and Clay -exhibiting the eggs and milk he bought at some -romantic farm house.”</p> - -<p>“Go to sleep and dream all that!” Jule snorted.</p> - -<p>The boys lay down on the beds of leaves which -they had prepared in the undergrowth and were -soon sound asleep. After all, they had nothing -serious to worry over, for they both believed that a -situation something like that forecast by Case would -present itself when they awoke.</p> - -<p>The sun rising over the river cast long lances of -light into the thicket where they lay. The cool -breeze of the morning stirred the leaves about them -like a lullaby. The birds darted and sang in the -sweet air. The scene was as peaceful and pastoral -as one might well imagine.</p> - -<p>But only for a time. Directly the heavy tramp of -horses was heard, the rattling of rings and the -champing of bits.</p> - -<p>The riders, a score or more, advanced through -the woods to the cove and halted on the east shore. -There they tied their horses to trees and threw -themselves upon the ground. They were sturdy -men, clean-limbed, alert, with fierce eyes and -determined faces.</p> - -<p>All unconscious of the presence of the riders, the -boys slept on. Presently a lean hound belonging to -the company ran sniffing and snarling around to the -thicket where Case and Jule lay. There he sat up -such a baying as might have awakened the Seven -Sleepers.</p> - -<p>The two boys sleepily rubbed their eyes and -looked about. It seemed to them at first that -Captain Joe had returned, but they soon saw the -difference between the lean hound and the white -bulldog.</p> - -<p>“What’s got into your dog, Peck?” one of the -men asked.</p> - -<p>“He’s found something in the bushes.”</p> - -<p>“The consarned brute is always finding -something in the bushes, when we want to keep under -cover!” snarled the other man.</p> - -<p>“Look here, Hart,” Peck said sternly, “you let -the dog alone. He’s done us many a good turn in -his time, and he’s likely to do more. I wasn’t -thinking about the dog at all,” Peck went on. -“Just take a couple of sniffs at the air and see if you -can locate that wood fire.”</p> - -<p>“There surely is a fire hereabouts!” Hart -answered in a conciliating tone. “Perhaps there -are tramps here and the dog has come and caught -them. If so, we’ll send them about their business.”</p> - -<p>The two men arose, passed around the cove and -soon came to the thicket where Case and Jule were -struggling to their feet rubbing their eyes sleepily -as they did so.</p> - -<p>“Hello here!” Hart exclaimed. “This seems -to be quite a find.”</p> - -<p>The two boys, now thoroughly awake, reached -for their automatics as they gained their feet. The -men’s faces glared down upon them sinister and -suspicious.</p> - -<p>They glanced eagerly about hoping to see the -<i>Rambler</i> riding in the cove but, as the reader -understands, the motor boat was not there. Clay had not -returned and the fire built for the purpose of -cooking the fish had burned down to embers.</p> - -<p>“None of that, boys!” Peck threatened as Case -and Jule reached their hands back to their hip -pockets. “You don’t have to draw any guns on -us.”</p> - -<p>“If you try it,” Hart cut in angrily, “you’ll -get a taste of good birch rods. We have no time -to fool with boys.”</p> - -<p>By this time the men lounging on the bank of -the cove were on their feet, taking note of what was -going on near the fire. Seeing their companions -talking with two boys who seemed to them to be -tramps, they dropped back to the ground again -without interest.</p> - -<p>A tall, rather pleasant looking man however soon -left the group and approached the place where the -boys were standing.</p> - -<p>“What seems to be the trouble, Peck,” he asked -as he drew near.</p> - -<p>“Well, Ball,” Peck answered, “we seem to have -come upon two boy tramps. They’re harmless -enough, I guess.”</p> - -<p>“Where are you going, boys?” Ball asked.</p> - -<p>“Waiting for our chums to come back with the -boat,” answered Case.</p> - -<p>“So you’ve got a boat have you?” Hart -exclaimed.</p> - -<p>At the mention of a boat, Ball leaned forward -and eyed the boys critically, a suspicious gleam in -his eyes.</p> - -<p>“Where is the boat now?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Down the river,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“You see,” Jule went on, helping Case to -answer the question, “one of the boys went out to -catch a fish and a coal tow chased him down. He’ll -be back directly. Ought to be here now.”</p> - -<p>“What kind of a boat is it?” asked Ball.</p> - -<p>“Motor boat,” replied Case.</p> - -<p>Ball beckoned Peck and Hall a short distance -away and the three stood for some moments in -earnest conversation.</p> - -<p>“Oh, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with -the boys,” Peck was heard to say. “No use to -trouble them.”</p> - -<p>“We can’t afford to take any chances,” Hart -replied. “Just where did you see that motor boat?” -he went on turning to Peck.</p> - -<p>“Some distance up the river,” was the reply. -“I went out to a bar where several coal barges had -stranded to see if the pirates had had anything to -do with the trouble, and there I saw a motor boat.”</p> - -<p>“Did you talk with the boys?” Peck asked.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” Peck answered, “I talked with the boys, -and they talked straight enough, but I didn’t like -their suspicious actions. They couldn’t give any -account of themselves, except that they were going -down the river just for the fun of the thing. -Besides, I’m certain they heard the men talking and -the horses fussing on the bank. I saw them -looking that way several times. I’m rather afraid of -them!”</p> - -<p>“Did they ask you a lot of questions?” demanded Hart.</p> - -<p>“Why,” was the reply, “I told them we were out -after the river pirates, and they seemed satisfied -with that.”</p> - -<p>“It seems to me,” Hart insisted, “that we ought -not to turn these boys loose. I just believe they’re -spies sent here by our enemies. It can’t do any -harm to take charge of them for a little while, anyway.”</p> - -<p>“Still, this motor boat,” Peck suggested, “is a -mighty fine craft, and these boys appear to me to -belong to wealthy families. The boat will soon be -back here, if what the boys say is true, and then -inquiries will be made, and the first thing we know -the District Attorney will have every one of our -names before the grand jury.”</p> - -<p>“You may be right,” Hart said reluctantly, “and -if I thought the boys would go on about their -business as soon as the boat returns, I’d be in favor of -letting them alone, but I don’t believe they will. -They’ll just sneak and pry around here until they -get us into trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Perhaps we’d better put the whole matter up to -the others,” suggested Ball, “then, whatever action -is taken, we can’t be blamed.”</p> - -<p>“Now see here, fellows,” Peck exclaimed, -“there are quite a number of reckless fellows in that -company over there, and I’m afraid they wouldn’t -take into consideration the fact that they are -dealing with little boys. Now I’ll tell you what -I propose.</p> - -<p>“If you think best, I’ll take the boys up to -the house and leave them there with the old woman. -Then we’ll scatter, and by the time the boys get -back with their friends, the country will be as -peaceful as a stony farm in Massachusetts.”</p> - -<p>“That will be all right,” Hart agreed, “provided -some of us remain here and take charge of the other -boys when they return.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think that advisable,” Peck admitted. -“Now, I’ll tell you what you do, Ball, and perhaps -you’d better go with him, Hart—you take these boys -over to my place and leave them there with -instructions to the old lady to keep them safe and sound -until I get back. While you’re gone. I’ll dismiss -the company and stay on watch here.”</p> - -<p>“That’s a good idea!” Ball declared. “We don’t -mean any harm to these boys, but we certainly must -keep track of them until they get out of the -country. If their friends come back here and seem -to be all right, we’ll pack them all off in their own -boat, and wish them good luck on their trip down -the river. We can’t be too careful, you know.”</p> - -<p>The plan mapped out in this conversation was -carried out. Case and Jule were marched to the -farm house where Clay had taken his breakfast and -locked up in a room guarded by the motherly old -lady who had been so kind to Clay. Dismayed but -not disheartened at the sudden change of fortune, -the boys sat down on rude chairs in their not very -secure prison and regarded each other with humorous -glances.</p> - -<p>“And when we wake up,” Jule mocked, “well -see the <i>Rambler</i> riding in the cove and Alex -cooking a catfish a la Indian at the fire! If I couldn’t -get things any straighter than you can, Case, I’d -certainly go out of the prophet business! As a -forecaster of future events, you’re about as big a -frost as the weather department of the United -States Government! What does all this mean, -anyway?”</p> - -<p>“You can search me,” Case answered a little -sourly. “I don’ know whether we’re under arrest, -or whether we’ve been snatched up by a choice -collection of river pirates, or stored away for -ransom by whitecaps.”</p> - -<p>“The leading impression in my mind, if you -want to know,” Jule announced, “isn’t in my mind -at all; it’s in my stomach!”</p> - -<p>“You’re always hungry!” laughed Case.</p> - -<p>“Hungry!” repeated Jule. “The word hunger -doesn’t express it. I wonder if the old lady will -give us something to eat.”</p> - -<p>“And indeed I will!” cried a feminine voice -from the other side of the door. “Sure I will, -boys! Somehow it seems to be raining boys on -this ’tarnal old farm this morning!”</p> - -<p>“Let us out,” Clay suggested, “and we’ll help -you get something to eat. You’ll want water or -wood to be brought, or something of that kind. -We won’t run away.”</p> - -<p>“I reckon my old batter pail will be empty if -any more hungry lads come up from the river,” -Mrs. Peck went on, opening the door.</p> - -<p>“Did you have one hungry boy here this -morning?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Peck replied in the affirmative, and Case and -Jule exchanged significant glances. They -understood very well who that hungry boy was, and, in -answer to questions asked of the friendly old -woman, were soon in possession of all the facts -connected with Clay’s visit to the place and return to -the river.</p> - -<p>And while the boys were eating a generous breakfast -prepared by their kind-hearted jailor, Alex, -Clay and Uncle Zeke were discussing the possibility -of reaching the <i>Rambler</i> by the cut-off across -Horseshoe bend.</p> - -<p>While they talked and planned two pair of black, -suspicious eyes were gazing out at them from the -undergrowth on the east side of the cove, and the -dog was sniffing suspiciously in that direction.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXXII'>CHAPTER XXII.—THE NIGHT-RIDERS.</h2> - -<p class='first'>While the two boys laid their plans by the -embers of the camp-fire, Peck and his companion, -the watchers, moved stealthily over in their -direction and came within sound of their voices.</p> - -<p>“Now, Uncle Zeke,” they heard Alex say, “if -you can get us through the cut-off and bring us out -to where the pirates have their ‘nest’, as you call -it, we’ll give you ten dollars, and if we succeed in -getting the <i>Rambler</i> away from them, we’ll take -you down the river with us and get you a good job -up north.”</p> - -<p>“Ah’d hab to work up norf!” Uncle Zeke answered -with a grin.</p> - -<p>“You certainly would,” Clay laughed.</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did cotton to no work!” the negro -replied.</p> - -<p>“Well, then,” Alex promised, “if we get the -boat, we’ll give you twenty-five dollars. Now, -you’ll do your best to get us through, won’t you? -We’ve just got to get that craft and slide out of -this country.”</p> - -<p>“That’s about what I thought!” Peck whispered -to his companion. “All the boys want is to get -their boat back and get out of the country.”</p> - -<p>“What was it that kid said about pirates?” asked -the other.</p> - -<p>“Perhaps the pirates stole their boat,” suggested -Peck.</p> - -<p>“If we keep still, we’ll soon find out, probably.”</p> - -<p>“Before we leave this country,” Clay said in a -moment, “we ought to get even with those pirates -in some way. They tried to shut us into the lagoon -so they could get possession of the boat, and we got -away from them. Now they’ve actually captured -the <i>Rambler</i>, and may do a lot of harm to the -motors before we can get it back. I don’t believe -they know how to run a boat like the <i>Rambler</i>!”</p> - -<p>“There!” Peck exclaimed, nudging his companion -in the side. “Them pesky pirates are to -blame for the boys being here. Now if these boys -have seen anything that might make us trouble, -these river robbers are to blame for it. I wish we -hadn’t sent the two kids we found here up to the -house. They are having troubles enough of their -own.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Peck’s companion observed, “I don’t -see any necessity for us to remain here after this. -We’ve got to see a lot of the boys to-day, after we -find out exactly what is to be done to-night, and so -we may as well go on about our business.”</p> - -<p>Peck hesitated for a long time before he replied.</p> - -<p>“The boys,” he said then, “seem to be bribing -the old nigger to show them the way through the -cut-off.”</p> - -<p>“That’s the way I get it.”</p> - -<p>“And the old coon’s been telling them that the -pirates have a rendezvous somewhere near the end -of the cut-off. Is that the way you understand it?”</p> - -<p>“That’s what the boy said,” was the answer. -“Anyway, they’re expecting the nigger to take -them to the pirates’ rendezvous and help them get -their boat back.”</p> - -<p>“Then,” Peck continued, “if you’re satisfied that -it’s the right thing to do, I’ll go back to the house, -turn the other boys loose, and tell them where they -can find their friends.”</p> - -<p>“That’ll be all right so far as I’m concerned.”</p> - -<p>Captain Joe ran inquisitively toward the thicket -as the men moved away, but made no demonstration, -as the intruders were not approaching the fire.</p> - -<p>“Now,” Alex said, “if we can persuade Uncle -Zeke to bring in a large, long piece of firewood, -or a stone from the river, or some edible thing of -that sort. I’ll have breakfast. If you can’t find -anything of that sort that I can digest, Uncle Zeke,” -he went on whimsically, “pass me one of the oars -and I’ll take a light lunch off that.”</p> - -<p>“Why,” Clay laughed, “what’s the matter with -Uncle Zeke going out and getting a fish?”</p> - -<p>“That may be all right,” Alex replied. “But -look here, Uncle Zeke,” he went on, “if you get -hold of a fish of the forty-mule-power variety, don’t -you ever try to pull him in! He’ll drag you down -the river, and there’s a party of thieves in a -houseboat down there who are waiting for some nice fat -darkey to cook for their dinner.”</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did cotton to no houseboat trash!” -the negro exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“Can you catch a fish for this starving boy?” -demanded Clay.</p> - -<p>“Ah suah can!” answered Uncle Zeke. “Dar’s -plenty ob fish in de ribber, but Ah hain’t got no hook -an’ line.”</p> - -<p>“Can you find bait?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Worms and grubs!” replied the darker pointing -to the bank of the river.</p> - -<p>“Well,” Clay informed him, “there are hooks -and lines under the prow of the rowboat. You’ll -find all kinds of fishing outfit there, including a -piece of a jointed bamboo rod. If I wasn’t so -nearly dead for want of sleep, I’d go and catch a -fish myself!”</p> - -<p>“That’s the ticket!” cried Alex. “You crawl -under there and go to sleep, and when Uncle Zeke -and I come back from our fishing trip, you’ll be -somewhere up in the blue sky looking for Case and -Jule.”</p> - -<p>“Mighty funny thing where those boys went -to!” Clay suggested. “Do the pirates ever come -over into this cove, Uncle Zeke?” he added.</p> - -<p>The negro, being somewhat puzzled at the abrupt -question, Clay explained to him that two of their -chums had disappeared in a mysterious manner. -After listening to the explanation, the old negro -made a circuit of the cove, examining the turf -closely as he passed along.</p> - -<p>When he returned to the embers of the fire, what -was left of his gray hair was standing almost on end -notwithstanding its natural kinkiness. The terror -he had felt at the sight of the bear was nothing to -this.</p> - -<p>“What is it, Uncle Zeke?” Alex asked.</p> - -<p>“Night-riders!” replied the old darkey.</p> - -<p>“You’ll have to get a new dream book, Uncle -Zeke!” Alex laughed. “Ten or fifteen years ago -there were night-riders, and all that sort of thing -in Kentucky, but nothing of that kind goes now.”</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did cotton to no night-riders!” -exclaimed the negro.</p> - -<p>“What makes you think night-riders have been -here?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“’Cause,” answered the negro, “dey’re gettin’ -mighty promiscuous lately. Ah’m feared ob dem -night-riders.”</p> - -<p>“What did you see over there?” demanded Clay,</p> - -<p>“Hoss tracks!” answered the negro.</p> - -<p>The two boys looked at each other with understanding -in their eyes.</p> - -<p>“Do you remember the trampling we heard at -the bar where the barges were stranded?” asked -Alex.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Clay, “and I remember, too, the -horses tied in the thicket near the house where I -had breakfast.”</p> - -<p>“Do you think the night-riders carried the boys -away?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Ah sure do!” replied Uncle Zeke. “Mighty -’spicious people, dem night-riders! Ah nebber did -cotton to ’em.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Alex suggested in a moment, “you go -see if you can get a fish. I’ll stay here with Clay -and watch for night-riders. If they show up while -you’re gone. I’ll pick out the fattest one and eat him -for breakfast. I’m hungry enough to eat a night-rider, -horse and all!”</p> - -<p>Uncle Zeke disappeared in the direction of the -boat with a grin on his black face, and in a few -moments Alex had the satisfaction of seeing him -haul a couple of good-sized perch from the river. -The boy instantly darted into the thicket after dry -wood, and before many minutes the old darkey was -on shore with his catch.</p> - -<p>“Now,” Alex asked, “how am I ever going to -get them cooked?”</p> - -<p>“Why,” Clay answered, “there’s a small frying-pan -in the bow locker of the boat. Don’t you -remember how we always kept a few provisions -and cooking utensils in there in case of accident?”</p> - -<p>“What kind of provisions?” shouted Alex, -dancing about.</p> - -<p>“Why, canned beans, and tomatoes, and -chicken!” answered Clay.</p> - -<p>“Je—rusalem, my happy home!” shouted Alex. -“Do you mean to tell me that all that good eating -has been in the boat all this time while my stomach -has been growing to my back bone?”</p> - -<p>He dashed off to the boat as he spoke, and soon -returned with a beaming face, his arms piled high -with tinned goods. He soon had some of the cans -opened and before many minutes, the perch were -sizzling in the frying-pan.</p> - -<p>“Ah sure should know ’bout that chicken!” -grinned Uncle Zeke as he watched the boys open a -tin can.</p> - -<p>Clay sat back and laughed heartily at the puzzled -expression on the negro’s face.</p> - -<p>“If you’d only known about that chicken being -there, you’d have found a place for it long before -this, wouldn’t you. Uncle Zeke?” he asked.</p> - -<p>“Ah sure would!” replied the old darkey. “Ah -sure done gettin’ hungry right now! Yaller-legged -chicken! Huh!”</p> - -<p>“All right!” Clay suggested. “As soon as Alex -gets the fish ready, we’ll all have breakfast. I’ve -had one good feed this morning, but I can stand -another.”</p> - -<p>“Tell you what,” the old darkey continued with -his eyes fixed ravenously on the frying fish. “Ah -don’t go through no cut-off wid de sun up! Dat -country’s full of pesky pirates.”</p> - -<p>“Mother of Moses!” cried Alex. “Have we got -to wait here until night? If we have, I’ll spend the -time eating.”</p> - -<p>“That might not be a bad idea!” Clay exclaimed. -“Case and Jule may come back before long. If -they really have been captured by the night-riders, -they won’t be held very long.”</p> - -<p>“We don’t know that,” Alex insisted. “The -man we talked with up at the barges was probably -a night-rider, and he talked fair enough, but if -they suspect the boys of being spies, it will be a -long time before they gain their liberty.”</p> - -<p>“Anyway,” Clay suggested, “if we have to remain -here until twilight, we can look about on the -chance of finding the kids.”</p> - -<p>“Ah’m advisin’ you boys not to do no lookin’ -about in dis here country!” Uncle Zeke exclaimed. -“Mighty ’spicious people, dem night-riders!”</p> - -<p>“That’s exactly the idea, Alex!” Clay expressed -himself. “The night-riders probably suspect that -we are here as spies and that’s why they have taken -the boys away. Now there’ll probably be something -doing here before long, for the riders seem to be -out in force.</p> - -<p>“After they have accomplished the purpose of -their gathering, they’ll probably disband, and there’ll -be no more trouble with them until they get ready -to burn down another tobacco warehouse, or beat -up some defenseless grower, whose only crime is to -want to get rid of his product.”</p> - -<p>While these events had been taking place at the -landing, Case and Jule, very much to their surprise, -had been released from surveillance at the farm -house and advised to make their way back to the -river.</p> - -<p>“My old man declares there’s no harm in you-ins,” -Mrs. Peck said, as she patted the boys on the -shoulder in a motherly way and wished them good -luck. “You’ll probably find your friends at the -cove,” she said, “for our folks just returned from -there, and the boys were waiting for you to show -up. Only don’t say a word about having been -brought here at all. It will be better for you not -to.”</p> - -<p>The boys agreed to this, and shot away at a -double-quick pace toward the cove, anxious to meet -their chums, and doubly anxious to be on the deck -of the good old <i>Rambler</i> again. They were hardly -outside the clearing in the middle of which the old -farm house stood when a party of a dozen men came -dashing across the weed-grown field and approached -the old woman now standing in the doorway.</p> - -<p>“Where are those boys?” the man who seemed -to be the leader of the party demanded. “Bring -them out here, quick!”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, several members of the party -flourished long beechen whips which had evidently -been cut from the forest very recently.</p> - -<p>“What do you-uns want of the boys?” asked the -old lady mildly. “We’ll explain that to them!” -answered the leader, his face flushing with anger. -“We don’t have to be cross-examined by you.”</p> - -<p>“I sho’ hope those boys hain’t done no mischief,” -the woman replied.</p> - -<p>“They’re spies!” the leader shouted. “We’ve -just found out that they’re spies! The word came -down the river! Where are they?”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure sorry,” Mrs. Peck answered, “but Ball -done brought me word from my old man to turn -the lads loose.”</p> - -<p>“Which way did they go?” demanded the leader. -Mrs. Peck hesitated. She knew what her fate -would be should she attempt to deceive these lawless -night-riders, and should be detected. Her idea -was to protect the boys as far as lay in her power, -yet she did not want to render herself and family -liable to the wrath of the riders.</p> - -<p>“Sho’, now,” she said after a moment’s silence, -“them boys ducked out of the clearing somewhere -west, and I was that stupid that I didn’t see whether -they kept straight on west or not.”</p> - -<p>“Oh, what’s the use of talking with a woman?” -demanded one of the riders. “The boys undoubtedly -returned to the river. We’ll find them -there if we make haste.”</p> - -<p>“And when we do find them,” the leader declared -spitefully, “we’ll give them a bit of instruction -according to Doctor Birch. We have desperate -work on hand for the next week, and we can’t afford -to have our plans frustrated by a few school-boys!”</p> - -<p>The party dashed away at a gallop. The old -lady saw them approach the forest with a sinking -heart.</p> - -<p>Before they reached the tumbled-down fence, -however, she saw them wheel suddenly about and -point with their whips to the south, where a mass of -flame and smoke was roaring skyward.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXXIII'>CHAPTER XXIII.—THE RAMBLER’S LIGHTS.</h2> - -<p class='first'>Unmindful of the peril which they had so -fortunately escaped, Case and Jule made their way -through the forest in quick time and finally came to -a point from which the camp at the head of the cove -was to be seen. It is needless to say that the sight -of their chums was more than pleasing.</p> - -<p>At the moment of their approach, Alex was taking -the fish from the fire, Clay was opening tinned -goods, and Uncle Zeke stood mourning over the -fact that he had not sooner discovered the presence -of the yellow-legged chicken.</p> - -<p>The boys dashed down to the fire with shouts of -joy, and the reader may well understand that their -welcome was a hearty one.</p> - -<p>“Where’s the <i>Rambler</i>?” Case asked of Alex -after the greetings were over. “She ought to be -put there in the cove.”</p> - -<p>“The pirates got her!” Alex answered briefly.</p> - -<p>“Have you been to breakfast?” Clay cut in.</p> - -<p>“Have we been to breakfast?” repeated Case,</p> - -<p>“We’ve been captured, and fed, and released since -we saw you. Do you know, boys,” he added, dancing -cautiously around, “that I’ve got an idea that -we’re mixing up with night-riders.”</p> - -<p>“We have just been informed of that fact by -Uncle Zeke,” Clay answered. “Where did you -see night-riders?” he added.</p> - -<p>“Just after you left,” Case explained, “a company -of men came here on horses. We heard them -talking about our being spies. Then we were taken -to a house back in the country and locked up. -Then we were given a peach of a breakfast by the -kindliest old lady you ever saw and turned loose. -Now what do you think of all that?”</p> - -<p>“Night-riders!” exclaimed Alex. “Why do the -riders ride, and why do the riders ride at night?” -“You’ve come to the right shop for information,” -Jule replied with a grin. “Just before we left -Chicago I was reading a book about night-riders. -They ride because they can’t get over the ground -fast enough on foot, and they ride at night because -they don’t want any one to see them riding.”</p> - -<p>“That’s all right!” chuckled Alex. “Now tell -me what they ride for. In other words, what’s the -answer?”</p> - -<p>“The night-riders want ten or twelve cents a -pound for their tobacco, and the planters on the -lower lands near the river are willing to sell theirs -for five or six cents a pound, because they can raise -more crops a year and because their land is easier -tilled.”</p> - -<p>“And so they’re getting up a combination in -restraint of trade, eh?” laughed Alex. “That -seems to be the proper thing to do.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know about that,” Jule went on, “but -they’re trying to equalize prices by reducing the -supply. Whenever these river planters get nice big -warehouses packed full of the weed, the night-riders -make their appearance in the dark of the moon and -burn them down.”</p> - -<p>“This night-rider business was all right ten or -fifteen years ago,” Clay insisted, “but I don’t -believe there’s anything doing in that line now.”</p> - -<p>“Then what are all these men out with their -horses for?” demanded Jule.</p> - -<p>“Yes, and why did they lug us off to a farm -house, and lock us up until some one sent word that -we wasn’t spies?” Case demanded.</p> - -<p>The boys now turned their attention to the old -negro who stood on a little elevation at the back of -the cove sniffing suspiciously at the air.</p> - -<p>“Where did you get that coon?” asked Case.</p> - -<p>“He brought our boat down the river to us,” -laughed Alex.</p> - -<p>“Honest, did he?” demanded Jule.</p> - -<p>“If he hadn’t, we wouldn’t be eating tinned goods -would we?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Why, you might get those out of the <i>Rambler</i>,” -Case ventured. “That was a joke about the pirates -getting the motor boat, wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“Indeed it wasn’t!” Alex replied gravely, and -in a short time the story of the boys’ morning -adventures was told.</p> - -<p>“Now, that’s what I call rotten!” Jule cried out. -“And I move that we get to a telegraph office -somewhere and notify some central point from -which all the police boats on the river can be notified -of what has been done. We’ve got to get the boat -back!”</p> - -<p>“I don’t like to call out the state troops,” Clay -grinned. “We got into this scrape, and I want to -get out of it without any help from the officers if -possible. Uncle Zeke thinks he can take us to the -<i>Rambler</i> to-night, and we’re going to wait here -until the edge of the evening and make the attempt.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the matter with Uncle Zeke?” asked -Case. “He stands up there snuffing the air as if he -smelled more chicken.”</p> - -<p>In a moment the old negro came dashing down -to where the boys stood, his eyes almost starting -from his head.</p> - -<p>“It doesn’t take much to frighten you, Uncle -Zeke,” Clay laughed as the old darkey came up on -a run. “According to all accounts, you have fits -on the slightest provocation. The bear and the dog -and the tracks of horses’ feet have all set you going -this morning. What is it this time?”</p> - -<p>“It’s done broke out! It’s done broke out!” exclaimed -the negro looking wildly about and even -starting for the rowboat.</p> - -<p>Clay caught him by the arm and held him back. -“Here,” he said, “you ain’t going away with -that boat right now! See if you can’t catch your -breath long enough to tell us what’s ‘done broke -out’. Put us wise to what the trouble is.”</p> - -<p>“De night-riders done broke out!” cried the old -negro. “Ah smell ’em!”</p> - -<p>“What is it you smell?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Burnin’ ’baccy!” was the reply. “Dey done -fire some warehouse!”</p> - -<p>“Not in the daytime!” exclaimed Jule. “They -don’t set fire to warehouses in the daytime!”</p> - -<p>“Cain’t nebber tell whut dem night-riders gwine -do nex’,” answered Uncle Zeke. “Dey’re pow’ful -ornery trash!”</p> - -<p>“I know what I’m going to do next!” Alex -exclaimed. “I’ve got a misery in my stomach and -I’m going to quell it right now!”</p> - -<p>“You hungry, Uncle Zeke?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Ah sure got mah eye on dat chicken!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Clay went on, “if you run up through -that fringe of trees and see what’s burning, I’ll -give you some chicken as soon as you get back.”</p> - -<p>The old negro was off like a shot. In ten minutes -he was back with the report that he had learned -from a farmer who was hastening toward the -conflagration that the Slocum warehouses, not more -than half a mile away, had been set on fire just -before daylight and had smoldered for hours before -bursting into flames.</p> - -<p>“It strikes me,” Case suggested, “that the best -thing we boys can do is to get out of this country -right now. We’ve bumped into river pirates, and -night-riders, and the next we know, we’ll be arrested -by some fresh officers charged with being in cahoots -with the incendiaries.”</p> - -<p>“I’m not going to run away without that motor -boat,” Alex muttered, his mouth full of fried fish.</p> - -<p>“What’s the use?” asked Jule. “If we start -out now, we’re likely to be followed, and if we -remain here in camp we may escape observation. -The night-riders know we’re here, of course, but -they’ll be too busy getting under cover to pay any -attention to us to-day.”</p> - -<p>“That listens good to me!” Alex put in. -“We’ll stay here till night and work our way -through the cut-off by the light of burning warehouses. -I wish I could say ‘by the light of burning saloon -boats’, too.”</p> - -<p>“Talk about your wild life at the head waters of -the Amazon!” roared Clay, “this peaceful little old -Ohio river beats anything we have encountered yet. -We seem to get into the thick of it everywhere we -go.”</p> - -<p>The boys were not molested during the day.</p> - -<p>Shortly after noon a negro who looked about as -badly frightened as one could imagine, came down -the river in an old canoe and stopped to talk with -Zeke.</p> - -<p>He stated that the night-riders had destroyed -several warehouses the night before, and had also -whipped several planters who had resisted.</p> - -<p>“Ah nebber did done cotton to no night-riders!” -the old darkey informed the boys as he repeated the -story.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if those outlaws will make trouble for -Mrs. Peck for letting us go,” mused Case. “Say, -Uncle Zeke!” he said in a moment. “If you’ll send -this friend of yours up to a farm house in the -interior, we’ll give you a dollar.”</p> - -<p>“Ah wants dat dollah!” Zeke exclaimed.</p> - -<p>“All right, go yourself if you want to,” Case -answered. “We want to know if the woman in -the farm house has been troubled at all by the -night-riders. We want you to go and tell her that we’re -down here in the cove, and will do all we can to -help her if she gets into trouble.”</p> - -<p>“Dat’s mah dollah!” cried Uncle Zeke already on -his way.</p> - -<p>In a couple of hours the negro returned with -the information that he had talked with the woman, -and that she had seemed grateful for the offer made. -He stated, too, that there were men about the house, -and that they had been highly amused at the message -he had delivered.</p> - -<p>“Dey sure done laugh at dis ol’ coon!” Uncle -Zeke added, “when ah tole ’em you-all wanted to -come up an’ fight for de lady what gib you-all -pancakes an’ coffee. Dey sure did roar!”</p> - -<p>“What did they say about the burning -warehouse?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>“Ah sure don’ mention no burnin’ warehouse -where dem men is,” replied the darkey. “Mought -be dey set dat fire demselves.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Case said handing the darkey a silver -dollar. “Here’s your money. I would have given -more to have informed the old lady that we felt -grateful for what she did for us this morning.”</p> - -<p>“She shore glad you-all feel so!” Uncle Zeke -replied.</p> - -<p>At five o’clock in the afternoon, Alex sent Uncle -Zeke out to catch more fish and began building up -the fire.</p> - -<p>“What’s coming off now?” asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“What do you ’spose is coming off?” demanded -Alex. “I haven’t had anything to eat for two or -three hours.”</p> - -<p>“The kid is all right!” Clay declared. “We -must get supper early and make up a lot of sandwiches -for midnight. We may have to lay and -wait in the cut-off for hours before we can get to -the <i>Rambler</i>. We can’t show any lights, and so it -will be impossible to cook. So, as Alex will be -sure to be hungry, we’ll take our midnight supper -with us.”</p> - -<p>“What you going to make your sandwiches of?” -asked Jule.</p> - -<p>“Huh,” laughed Alex, “I’m going to take fat -perch and stuff ’em with beans and chicken. How -would a sandwich like that go on South Clark -street?”</p> - -<p>“It would go down mighty quick!” laughed Jule.</p> - -<p>After eating their supper and putting up a large -supply of provisions for the night, the boys made -ready for their trip to what Zeke declared to be the -pirates’ nest. They were at twilight, moving slowly, -silently across the river and then down the cut-off, -which at high water was navigable for small boats, -and which would soon make an island of the -peninsula enclosed within the rim of the river.</p> - -<p>By nine o’clock it was very dark. The trees overhanging -the narrow channel through which the boat -was poled and dragged—the water being too -shallow in places for the use of the oars—stood like -grim walls, shutting out what little light came from -the uncertain sky.</p> - -<p>Owing to fallen trunks and heaps of rubbish -washed in by a recent freshet, the cut-off was -difficult of navigation, but just after midnight the lads -saw across a wooded point of land a strong light -flash out for a moment and then die away.</p> - -<p>“And there burn the <i>Rambler</i>’s light” Alex -cried.</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXXIV'>CHAPTER XXIV.—THE LIGHTS HELP SOME.</h2> - -<p class='first'>I’d give a good deal to know just how many -people there are around that boat!” Clay whispered.</p> - -<p>“If you’ll just push this old scow up a little -closer, I’ll sneak over there and find out,” said Alex.</p> - -<p>“If he tries to get away, tie him up with a rope!” -whispered Jule. “Every time that boy gets out of -sight, he lands in trouble up to his long ears!”</p> - -<p>“There were only two when I left the <i>Rambler</i>,” -Alex exclaimed, making a sly face at Jule. “They -shot a dozen bullets at me while I was getting away, -and never turned a hair!”</p> - -<p>The boat was worked slowly through another -hundred yards of the cut-off, and then the boys -could see the bulk of the <i>Rambler</i> outlined against -a cloudy sky. There were no lights on board and -no sounds were heard.</p> - -<p>The boat lay in a sort of a bight carved out by -the river as it bent away to the north just before it -made the western turn. Behind it was a tangle of -swamp.</p> - -<p>In front swept the heavy current of the river. -The rowboat halted within perhaps a hundred yards -of the place where the stolen <i>Rambler</i> lay.</p> - -<p>“If they had had the good sense to anchor on -the other side of the river,” Case whispered to Alex, -“they might have made us a lot more trouble. I’m -glad they stopped where they did.”</p> - -<p>“I’m afraid there are a whole lot of outlaws on -board,” Clay whispered, as the boys sat in the -rowboat, watching the dim bulk of the <i>Rambler</i>.</p> - -<p>“Then the two thieves who stole the boat have -picked them up out of the river,” Alex insisted. -“There were only two when I left the deck, and -they came off from a coal tow which was going -downstream.”</p> - -<p>“If there were only two, we ought to go and -blow the tops of their heads off, and take the boat -away from them, just to show that we can,” said -Jule. “We ought to do something to show them -that they’re not the only apples on the tree. Don’t -you think so, boys?”</p> - -<p>“You’re the bloodthirsty little pirate now!” -laughed Clay. “I’ll be satisfied if we can dump -them in the river and get on board the good old -<i>Rambler</i> again.”</p> - -<p>The boys sat still in the boat for a long time, -hardly knowing what course to pursue. The sky -was clearing of clouds, and the glow of the stars -shone dimly down on the <i>Rambler</i>. Although no -lights showed on board the motor boat, suspicious -noises in the cabin and on the deck informed the -lads that people were moving about there.</p> - -<p>“They’re awake and watching us, all right!” -Alex whispered, after a time. “We’ve got to do -something to place them off their guard!”</p> - -<p>While the boys were listening and waiting, -Captain Joe sprang out of the boat and waded and swam -over to the hard ground on the south of the cut-off. -The boys saw only a white flash as the bulldog left -the water and disappeared in the darkness of the -jungle. Teddy, the bear, seemed inclined to follow -him, but the boys held him back by main force.</p> - -<p>“Now I wonder,” whispered Jule, “if the pirates -are over there, too! If they’ve got us surrounded, -we’re likely to open a barrel of trouble in about a -minute.”</p> - -<p>The noise made by Captain Joe and also by the -struggle with the bear apparently attracted the -attention of those on board the <i>Rambler</i>, for a -faint light blazed up in the cabin of the motor boat -for an instant and was then extinguished.</p> - -<p>“They’re getting their guns ready, I guess,” Clay -whispered. “Suppose we pull the boat under the -shadow of the bank and take to the shore. We -might be safer there.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll tell you what I think,” Case observed. -“When those fellows turned on the light they were -getting ready to set the motors going. If we don’t -watch out, they’ll have the <i>Rambler</i> whizzing -downstream at the rate of twenty miles an hour.”</p> - -<p>“Well,” Jule declared, “if we go ashore we may -get into trouble there, so I propose that we land on -the north side of the cut-off and try to make a sneak -on board.”</p> - -<p>“Whatever we do,” Clay advised, “we ought to -keep the boat within reach so that, if they do go -on downstream, we can follow them as fast as the -current will carry us.”</p> - -<p>The boys argued in whispers for some time over -Clay’s proposition and then Alex broke out:</p> - -<p>“If you fellows will push over to the south shore -for a minute, I’ll get out and see what is going on -there. I don’t like the idea of having a gang of -pirates come up behind us after we land and advance -to the <i>Rambler</i>. That wouldn’t look well.”</p> - -<p>“Don’t you never let him go!” Case advised. -“If you do, he’ll get mired in a swamp or bring -a company of night-riders on top of us.”</p> - -<p>Alex, however, did not wait for the boys to -either pole the boat to the south shore, or to decide -as to whether he ought to land. Before any further -objections could be offered, he was up to his waist -in water moving toward the shadows on the south -bank.</p> - -<p>“The little monkey!” whispered Case. “I wish -I had a rope around his neck!”</p> - -<p>“What shall we do now?” asked Jule. “We -can’t go away and leave him in that patch of -woods.”</p> - -<p>“I think we’d better go on over to the north -shore and see if we can retake the <i>Rambler</i>” Clay -answered. “Alex, probably, has some notion in his -head which we don’t understand, and, anyway, he is -capable of taking care of himself.”</p> - -<p>In accordance with this idea, the three boys -landed and, leaving Uncle Zeke in charge of the -boat and the bear, with instructions to answer -Alex’s call from the south bank, they took their way -to the bight in which the <i>Rambler</i> lay. They had -only a shore distance to go, and were soon within a -few feet of the motor boat, which lay within a -couple of yards of the shore.</p> - -<p>From the position they now occupied, they could -see a dilapidated old houseboat lying beyond the -<i>Rambler</i>, her nose resting lightly on the bank.</p> - -<p>“That’s where the pirates have been living!” -whispered Case. “If we could only do something -to drive them back to the old hulk, we might -possibly get the <i>Rambler</i> away.”</p> - -<p>All remained dark and silent on board the motor -boat, still the boys knew that the men on board were -awake and alert. They had seen the prow light -turned on when farther up the cut-off, and only a -few moments before a light had shone in the cabin.</p> - -<p>The boys waited for what seemed to them an -hour or more, watching and listening, hoping for -Alex’s return, and hoping, too, for some indication -of the intentions of the pirates.</p> - -<p>“We’ve just got to make a break pretty soon,” -Jule said. “I believe those fellows on board the -boat know that we’re in the vicinity. They’re not -asleep, and they wouldn’t be sitting there in the -dark unless they were suspicious.”</p> - -<p>“If you boys will stay here,” Clay suggested, -“I’ll attempt to gain the after deck of the <i>Rambler</i>. -If I succeed, I may be able to drive the pirates out -of the boat.”</p> - -<p>“I was just thinking of that myself!” whispered -Case.</p> - -<p>“You remain here,” Clay went on, “and I’ll see -what can be done.”</p> - -<p>The words were hardly out of his mouth before -the “chug, chug, chug,” of motors was heard, and -the <i>Rambler</i>, still showing no lights, glided softly -upstream!</p> - -<p>After proceeding a few paces, however, the power -was shut off, and she remained swinging in the -almost stagnant waters of the bight. Her position -was, perhaps, a hundred paces to the north of the -cut-off, and perhaps ten paces from the shore where -the boys were.</p> - -<p>“I guess they’ve got us going now!” Case exclaimed -regretfully. “They’ll shoot upstream in a -minute, and that’ll be the last of the merry -old <i>Rambler</i>! We’ll have to build another boat, boys!”</p> - -<p>No one replied, for just at that moment the splash -of oars and poles was heard, coming swiftly down -the cut-off. The boys turned their eyes in that -direction and almost shouted in their amazement as -three blue lights, following the channel of the cut-off, -proceeded to the west, to all appearances floating -six or eight feet above the surface of the water! -The boys stood silent for a moment.</p> - -<p>“Now, what do you think of that?” whispered -Clay. “Three times and out!”</p> - -<p>“I know now what the three blue lights mean!” -gasped Case. “They constitute a signal used by the -night-riders!”</p> - -<p>“There ain’t any tobacco warehouses to burn -here!” Jule scoffed.</p> - -<p>The three blue lights came on steadily, stopping -after a time at the very mouth of the cut-off, two -or three hundred feet from where the <i>Rambler</i> lay.</p> - -<p>Heretofore the lights had seemed to be floating in -the air. Now the boys could faintly distinguish the -bulk of a boat looking weird and ghostly under the -mysterious illumination.</p> - -<p>“I wonder if that won’t scare the pirates?” asked -Jule.</p> - -<p>The answer came from the <i>Rambler</i> itself, for -the motors were turned on and the boat whirled -swiftly away toward the opposite bank of the river. -Then a volley of shots rang out from the mysterious -boat, and a voice called over the water:</p> - -<p>“Obey the signal, boys! If you don’t, we’ll fill -you full of lead! You know what three blue lights -mean!”</p> - -<p>Much to the amazement of the boys, the motors -ceased their clatter and the <i>Rambler</i> lay swaying -just at the edge of the current.</p> - -<p>“Do you mind that now?” whispered Case. -“The pirates on board the <i>Rambler</i> don’t know -that the outer walls are all bullet-proof!”</p> - </div> - - <div class='chapter'> - <h2 id='chXXV'>CHAPTER XXV.—GRATEFUL NIGHT-RIDERS.</h2> - -<p class='first'>The next moment the great flashlight on the -prow of the <i>Rambler</i> blazed out over the waters.</p> - -<p>“Why!” exclaimed Clay, “that’s our boat, and -there’s some one holding three blue lights up on a -stick!”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” exclaimed Jule, fairly dancing up and -down in his excitement, “and that little monkey in -the prow is Alex! He’s the one that’s holding up -the three blue lights! Now where do you suppose -he got that layout?”</p> - -<p>“He has a way of picking things out of the -atmosphere!” laughed Case.</p> - -<p>“Looks like a scene in a play!” cried Jule.</p> - -<p>“That would be a mighty good place to drop a -curtain!” suggested Case.</p> - -<p>“Not quite yet,” Clay insisted. “The scene -mustn’t close just yet. The audience wants to know -what the three blue lights are going to do to the -<i>Rambler</i>.”</p> - -<p>The boys were not long kept in waiting in this -regard. The rowboat, sunk almost to the guards -under the weight of four men and a boy, swept up -to the <i>Rambler</i>. Directly all were on the deck of -the motor boat. Alex dancing excitedly up and -down when he was not waltzing over the deck with -the white bulldog.</p> - -<p>“Why don’t you let us in on that?” demanded -Jule from the bank.</p> - -<p>“Oh, there you are!” shouted Alex springing -up on the gunwale. “We thought you boys had -gone and got lost. Wait a minute, and I’ll row the -boat over to you.”</p> - -<p>The lad dropped into the rowboat with a tunk, -and soon had his wondering companions on the deck -of the motor boat. What they saw there added, if -possible, to the surprise of the previous five minutes.</p> - -<p>Four men, two of whom Alex recognized as the -men who had stolen the boat, lay tied hard and fast -on the deck, and four other men, two of whom -had visited the camp at the cove during the forenoon, -were standing over them with guns in their -hands. The prisoners seemed to be trying to the -best of their ability to conciliate their stern-faced -guards.</p> - -<p>“We didn’t know that you had an interest in the -outfit,” one of the prisoners was saying. “Those -boys rammed our steamer, and we were bound to -get even with them.”</p> - -<p>“It’s hands off the boys!” exclaimed Peck -sternly. “What do you think we ought to do with -them?” he asked turning to his companions.</p> - -<p>“We ought to stretch their necks!” was the fierce -reply.</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t mind assisting at a necktie party,” -Peck answered, “but, under the circumstances, I -think we’d better not become too prominent in any -such society event. You three men pitch them over -into the old houseboat and drift along the river until -you come to a Government steamer. Then turn -them over as outlaws and return on the Government -steamer if it’s going upstream to the cove. If it’s -going downstream, get the first upboat you can.”</p> - -<p>Peck’s authority seemed to be supreme, for in -five minutes the four bound men were transferred -to the houseboat which was then nosed out into the -stream by the <i>Rambler</i>. This done, Peck sat down -in a deck chair and regarded the four boys -quizzically.</p> - -<p>“Where’s the old negro?” he asked in a moment.</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you hear him splash in the water?” -asked Alex. “When you showed the three blue -lights, he waddled ashore with a face so white it -made a chalk-mark on the night.”</p> - -<p>“What does it all mean?” asked Clay.</p> - -<p>As he spoke he pointed to the blue lights still -burning on the prow of the rowboat.</p> - -<p>“It’s all easily explained,” Peck replied with an -engaging smile. “Just after two of you boys left -my house to-day, a gang of good fellows laboring -under a misapprehension came up with a supply of -birch whips intended for the backs of you kids. -Their attention was attracted to a burning building, -or they would have overtaken the lads before they -reached the cove and beaten them half to death.</p> - -<p>“When I reached home, my wife told me of the -incident, and I began worrying for fear the boys -would be caught and mistreated. While we were -talking it over, that old nigger came up and said -that you boys wanted to do something for my wife -because she had been so good to you.</p> - -<p>“This kindness on your part—this willingness to -do anything you could if we needed your help—stirred -me up considerable. So we started out -through the woods for the cove. When we got to -the cove, which was after dark, of course, you were -not there, and we’ve been floundering around in the -water and woods and bushes ever since. We crossed -the stream in a rickety old scow and landed on the -peninsula, thinking that perhaps the river pirates, -known to have headquarters here, had made trouble -for you.</p> - -<p>“Just as we were about to turn back, this little -chap,” pointing at Captain Joe, “came plunging -through the bushes and we knew that you were not -far away. Then this boy came panting along and -we grabbed him. He was frightened half to death -for a minute, but when things were explained, he -told us the kind of a mixup you were in.</p> - -<p>“Well, we came down to the cut-off and got into -the boat and came down here. Then we remembered -that the river pirates stand in deadly terror -of the three blue lights—our boys having been a -little rough with them!—so we put up the signal you -saw, and I guess that’s about all!”</p> - -<p>“I guess I know what the three blue lights mean,” -Alex blurted out. “They constitute a signal used -by the night-riders. I don’t wonder the pirates are -afraid of them!”</p> - -<p>“And I guess the night-riders are the ones who -keep the ghost stories about the lights going!” Jule -added.</p> - -<p>“Of course,” Peck replied with a whimsical smile, -“I don’t know anything about that. One of my -friends, here, just happened to have three blue lights -with him, so we put ’em up to scare the pirates. -We thought that if we could make the outlaws believe -that we belonged to the night-riders, we could -throw a bigger scare into them.”</p> - -<p>“Of course,” Case laughed, winking at Peck, -“we never thought for a moment that you -gentlemen belonged to the night-riders!”</p> - -<p>“Of course not!” laughed Peck, winking back. -“Nobody around here belongs to the night-riders! -You might travel up and down the river, and over -the mountains, for a thousand miles, and not find -a night-rider in the whole country! Fact!” he -added, significantly.</p> - -<p>“Do they put out blue lights whenever they’re -going to burn some one’s warehouse?” asked Alex.</p> - -<p>“Boy,” answered Peck, patting Alex kindly on -the shoulder, “you mustn’t ask any questions about -the night-riders in this section of the country. They -think they are protecting their own interests in what -they do, and that’s all I know about it.”</p> - -<p>“I’d just like to know how they make the lights -go out so quickly,” Jule grinned. “They go out -with a loud noise, don’t they.”</p> - -<p>“I had that explained to me once,” replied Peck -with a queer smile, “and if you won’t say anything -about it. I’ll tell you how it’s done.”</p> - -<p>“The three blue lights are placed on a board, -either floating on the water or suspended from -some elevation. On the same board is a stick of -dynamite with a long fuse. After the lights burn a -few moments—they are just little kerosene lamps -with blue globes, you know—the dynamite explodes -and that ends the display. Perfectly simple, ain’t -it, boys?”</p> - -<p>“I should think it was!” answered Clay.</p> - -<p>Peck remained on board the <i>Rambler</i> until -daylight, and then the boys took him back up the river -to the little cove near his own home. When at last -he shook hands with the lads at parting, they did -their best to reward him, but he refused every -offering made.</p> - -<p>“I did this for you boys,” he said, “just because -you sent that word up to my wife. You thought -she was alone, and might be in trouble, on account -of the rough characters you had seen about, and you -notified her that you were ready and willing to fight -for her if she wanted any assistance. That was -enough for me!”</p> - -<p>After cooking breakfast at the old camp at the -head of the cove, the boys again set out on their -journey. During the rest of the trip they avoided -saloon boats and coal tows.</p> - -<p>They also tied up at night near some city or -town. Now and then they read in the daily -newspapers stories of alleged outrages by night-riders, -but their experiences with the men of the three blue -lights led them to make many excuses for them.</p> - -<p>They spent nearly a month loitering along the -river, stopping here and there, sometimes tying up -for two or three days at a time. When at last they -saw the lights of Cairo they were heartily sorry -that the journey was ended.</p> - -<p>“We have had a pleasant trip, mixed with a little -healthy excitement!” laughed Case, as they threw -out their lines at one of the lower wharves.</p> - -<p>“A little excitement?” repeated Alex. “Say, -look here, kid, the Ohio is the sixth river we’ve -navigated, and she’s given us the liveliest run for -our money we’ve had yet.”</p> - -<p>“And now,” Case said rather soberly, “we’ll sail -up the Mississippi, through the Illinois river and the -canal, and get back to our little pier up on the South -Branch.”</p> - -<p>“Whew!” exclaimed Alex, “won’t Captain Joe, -the old sea-captain, be glad to see us come sailing -in?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t believe he’ll accept half our three-blue-lights’ -stories as true!” Jule put in.</p> - -<p>“Anyway,” Clay replied, “we’ve had the experiences, -and Captain Joe can think what he likes!”</p> - -<p>THE END.</p> - </div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The River Motor Boat Boys on the Ohio, by -Harry Gordon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RIVER MOTOR BOAT BOYS *** - -***** This file should be named 50327-h.htm or 50327-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/3/2/50327/ - -Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.bookcove.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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