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diff --git a/old/51600.txt b/old/51600.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 3cf6494..0000000 --- a/old/51600.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6500 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Border Boys Along the St. Lawrence, by -Fremont B. Deering - -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 Border Boys Along the St. Lawrence - -Author: Fremont B. Deering - -Release Date: March 30, 2016 [EBook #51600] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BORDER BOYS ALONG ST. LAWRENCE *** - - - - -Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -[Illustration: Outlined against the night in a vivid green glare was -what appeared to be a boat of living flame. (_Page 76_)] - - - - - THE BORDER BOYS - ALONG THE ST. LAWRENCE - - - By FREMONT B. DEERING - - Author of - -"The Border Boys Across the Frontier," "The Border Boys with the Mexican -Rangers," "The Border Boys with the Texas Rangers," "The Border Boys in - the Canadian Rockies," "The Border Boys on the Trail." - - [Illustration: Series Logo] - - A. L. BURT COMPANY - Publishers New York - Printed in U. S. A. - - Copyright, 1914, - BY - HURST & COMPANY - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - - CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I. Through the Rapids 5 - II. A Close Shave 15 - III. The Mysterious Gray Night Craft 23 - IV. On the Trail of the Ghost Craft 32 - V. Down to Montreal 46 - VI. Homeward Bound 54 - VII. Run Down 62 - VIII. A Misleading Light 73 - IX. Adrift at Night 83 - X. On Windmill Island 94 - XI. Ralph Investigates the Explosion 103 - XII. Saved from the Ruins 111 - XIII. A Race for the Doctor 119 - XIV. Harry Hears a Noise in the Bushes 127 - XV. Cross Purposes 137 - XVI. Harry Plays Detective 147 - XVII. A Visit to the Hospital 157 - XVIII. The Three Conspirators 165 - XIX. Ralph Gets a Telegram 175 - XX. Thinking Things Out 184 - XXI. A Big Surprise 193 - XXII. "Not Just Yet, Stetson!" 201 - XXIII. The Missing Boat 211 - XXIV. In the Grip of the Storm 218 - XXV. La Rue's Wild Leap 226 - XXVI. Looking for Their Chum 234 - XXVII. A Dazzling Discovery 242 - XXVIII. Checkmated 251 - XXIX. A Hermit of the St. Lawrence 258 - XXX. The Stolen Skiff 266 - XXXI. Afloat Again! 276 - XXXII. A Joyous Meeting 283 - XXXIII. Off on the Chase 289 - XXXIV. The Tunnel Entrance 296 - XXXV. Hands Up! 303 - - - - - The Border Boys Along the St. Lawrence. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - THROUGH THE RAPIDS. - - -"Steady, Ralph, old fellow, the Galoups are right ahead." - -"All right," responded Ralph Stetson from his position at the steering -wheel of the swift motor boat the _River Swallow_, "I saw them ten -minutes ago, Hardware. Just give Persimmons down below a hail and tell -him to slow up a bit. They're wild waters and we don't want to go -through them too fast." - -Harry Ware, who (from the fact that his initials were H. D. Ware) was -known to his chums by the nickname Ralph Stetson had just used, hastened -to the speaking tube connecting the bridge of the _River Swallow_ with -the engine room, in which Percy Simmons, another of Ralph's chums, was -tending the twin racing engines with assiduous care. - -"Slow down a bit, Persimmons," he yelled, "we're just about to hit up -the Gallops." - -"Whoop! Hurray for the Glues!" floated back up the tube, as Persimmons -abbreviated the name of the famous rapids into the form by which they -were locally known. "Hold tight, everybody. Zing! Zang! Zabella!" - -The rapids the boys were approaching had been well named by the early -French settlers along the St. Lawrence the Galoups, or, in plain -English, the Gallops, or, again, to give them their local name, the -Glues. - -For two miles or more near the American side of the river the -white-capped, racing waters tore along at thirty miles or so an hour. -The great rocks that lay concealed under the tumbling foam-covered -waters caused the river to boil and swirl like a hundred witches' -caldrons. - -To an experienced skipper, however, the Galoups held no particular -terrors. All that was needful was familiarity with the intricacies of -their currents and whirlpools and they could be "run" in perfect safety. -During the three months that the Border Boys had been the guests of Mr. -Stetson at his summer home on Dexter Island, some miles below, they had -gained the necessary skill to negotiate the racing, tumbling Glues. -Aside from the fact that he had ordered the engines of his father's fast -craft, the _River Swallow_, slowed down as they approached the place, -and that his hands gripped the steering wheel more tightly, Ralph -Stetson, only son of King Pin Stetson, the Railroad Magnate, felt no -particular qualms as the whitecaps of the rollicking Glues appeared out -of the darkness ahead. - -The _River Swallow_ was a narrow, sharp-stemmed motor boat which had -more than once successfully defended her title of the fastest craft on -the St. Lawrence. She was about sixty feet in length, painted a -gleaming, lustrous black, with luxuriously fitted cabins and engines of -the finest type obtainable, which drove her twin propellers at twelve -hundred revolutions a minute. No wonder the boys, who, since their -sojourn on the island, had become adepts at handling her, enjoyed their -positions as captain and crew of the craft. - -One of the two paid hands, who berthed forward, came up to Ralph just as -the latter reached out for the simple mechanism which controlled the -powerful search-light mounted near the steering wheel. - -The boy had decided to use the rays of the great lamp in picking out his -course. In one or two places big rocks bristled menacingly out of the -boiling rapids, and if the craft should happen to strike one of them, -even with a glancing blow, a terrible accident would be almost certain -to result. But with his search-light to act as a night-raking eye, Ralph -felt small fear of anything of the sort occurring. - -The man who came up to Ralph, just as a sharp click sounded and the -bright scimitar of electric light, its power increased by reflectors, -slashed the night, was a rather remarkable looking man to be an ordinary -paid hand on a wealthy man's pleasure boat. - -Fully six feet in height, powerfully built and erect, he had at first -glance a look of refinement and intelligence that did not, somehow, -appear to blend well with the somewhat inferior position he occupied. It -is true that it was honest, clean employment, of which no decent man -need have been ashamed, but Ralph felt every time he looked at him that -Roger Malvin--such was the name the man gave--might have secured some -more suitable occupation. - -Yet the first favorable impression that Malvin gave did not, for some -reason, survive closer acquaintanceship. Underlying his air of frank -intelligence was something else that Ralph had not so far been able to -understand. There was something almost sneaking and furtive about Malvin -at times. But Ralph, loath at any time to distrust any of those with -whom he was thrown in contact, decided that probably this was a mere -peculiarity of manner with no foundation behind it. - -The other paid hand seemed a less complex person. Olaf Hansen was a -short, rather insignificant looking little Norwegian, with light blue -eyes, a ruddy complexion and a shock of yellow hair. He appeared to be -rather under the sway of Malvin, who, before the boys had arrived, had -had command of the _River Swallow_. Whether or not Malvin held any -grudge against them for assuming charge of the boat and depriving him of -the easy berth he had enjoyed, Ralph was not able to determine; but once -or twice he had noticed little things about the man which more than half -inclined him to the belief that such was the case. If this were actually -so, Malvin had so far adopted no active measures of reprisal and obeyed -orders with alacrity and willingness, just as he might have done had he -always "berthed forward" in the cramped quarters assigned to the crew of -the _River Swallow_. - -"Want a hand to get through the Gallops, sir?" he asked respectfully as -he came to Ralph's side. - -"No, thank you, Malvin," was the rejoinder. "I guess by this time I'm -enough of a skipper to take her through without any trouble." - -"The river's fallen a little and they are pretty bad to-night," hazarded -Malvin. "I thought if I took the wheel----" - -He laid a hand on the spokes as he said this. - -"Be good enough not to do that again," said Ralph, rather sternly, as he -spun the wheel, thus shaking off the man's grip. "You made me swerve -from my course quite a bit, and that isn't safe right here, as you -know." - -He looked sharply at the man as he spoke. The _River Swallow_ had been -up to Piquetville after supplies, groceries, and so forth, for use on -the island. Malvin and the other hand had been given leave to go uptown -while the boys marketed. For an instant a suspicion flashed across -Ralph's mind that Malvin had been intemperate during his "shore leave." -But a minute later he decided that it was only his imagination. Still, -he did not like the way in which the man had deliberately tried to wrest -the wheel from him. It savored of insubordination, something which he -had never noticed in Malvin's conduct hitherto. - -"You can tend the search-light, Malvin," he ordered sharply. "Try to -pick up Big Nigger rock. Our course lies to starboard of that. Then -we'll pass the Needles on the port. After that it's a clear run. The -current will carry us through without much help from the engines." - -"Very well, sir," said Malvin respectfully, taking up his position by -Ralph's side, one hand on the mechanism of the search-light. - -Suddenly the even tenor of the _River Swallow's_ course was changed. It -was apparent that a force superior even to her powerful engines had hold -of the craft. Her light fabric shook as if in the grip of a giant's -fingers. She wallowed, swerved and plunged in the swift waters, throwing -spray high over her bow as she entered the grasp of the Gallops. - -Ralph thrilled. There was something that made the blood race through his -veins as fast as the rapids themselves in the swift, sweeping dash -through the treacherous channel. Once in the grip of the Gallops, there -was no turning back. The task of bringing the _River Swallow_ safely -through lay in his hands and in his hands alone. On his nerve and skill -everything depended during the next two miles. - -The _River Swallow_ shot forward, drawn by the tension of the racing -rapids. - -Suddenly Ralph's attention was attracted to Malvin. For the second time -that evening an ugly suspicion flashed into his mind. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - A CLOSE SHAVE. - - -As Malvin had said, the river was lower by a foot or more than it had -been earlier in the summer. The Gallops were worse than Ralph had -hitherto seen them. In going up the river to the town that afternoon -their course had lain on the Canadian side, for it was impossible for -any craft to ascend the rapids, no matter how powerfully engined. -Therefore, Ralph had had no previous notion of the wildness of the -waters which were now hurtling the _River Swallow_ forward like a stone -out of a sling. Had he known what effect the drop in the river would -have had upon the swirling waters, it is likely that he would have taken -to the Canadian side on the return trip. But the voyage through the -rapids, as has been said, always exhilarated him; and, besides, it was -growing late, and the passage through the Gallops shortened the trip to -Dexter Island materially. - -He was thinking these things over, giving all the while an alert mind to -the handling of the boat, when his attention was drawn to Malvin in the -manner described. The man was apparently making no effort to use the -search-light to find out the jagged outlines of the rock known as Big -Nigger. Instead, he appeared to be making aimless sweeps on the water -with the light, and not trying in the slightest to locate the chief -menace of the Gallops. - -"Malvin!" called Ralph sharply. - -"Sir!" the man's voice was steady and respectful. - -"I told you to locate Big Nigger." - -"I'm trying to, sir." - -"Nonsense. You know as well as I do that the rock should lie off on the -other side. We pass it to starboard. Why don't you cast the light in -that direction?" - -"I will, sir. I quite forgot that for a minute, sir," was the response, -in the same respectful tones. - -"Odd that you should forget it," spoke Ralph, "when you have run these -rapids scores of times! I don't understand----" - -"Wow!" - -The cry came from Hardware. - -"Holy mackerel! Ralph!" - -"Great Scott!" - -Ralph spun the wheel over with every ounce of power at his command. The -rapids strained and tore at the rudder frantically. It was as if they -wished to aid and abet in the destruction of the _River Swallow_. For -dead ahead of the craft had loomed suddenly a sinister, menacing object -that had caused the wave of panic to sweep over the boys on the bridge -of the motor boat. - -Big Nigger Rock! - -Revealed by the rays of the search-light as suddenly as if it had been -thrust upward by an unseen hand from the bottom of the rapids, the black -boulder that bore the name dreaded by rivermen had appeared. - -"We're goners!" The cry came from Malvin. - -He threw off his coat, and Ralph noted with astonishment, even as -excited as he was, that the man had on under that garment a life -preserver! - -But the boy had not a moment to ponder on this strange fact, although it -looked almost as if Malvin knew, by some marvelous instinct, that -something was going to happen and had prepared for it. All the boy's -energies just then were centered in one task: to keep the _River -Swallow_ from being shattered into kindling wood against the gleaming, -spray-wet sides of the Big Nigger. - -"Shut down on your port engine; come full speed ahead on your -starboard!" - -Ralph had seized the flexible speaking-tube and roared the command down -it. - -"Jump now!" he added, as Persimmons' "Aye! aye!" came back to him. - -It was the only chance of saving the _River Swallow_ from annihilation. -By stopping one propeller and coming ahead on the other, Ralph hoped to -be able to aid the rudder enough to swing the _River Swallow's_ bow -outward from the rock. - -Malvin paused by the rail. He had apparently been in the act of casting -himself into the waters that boiled and seethed alongside. But Ralph had -no time to notice the man now. All that he had eyes to see was the -towering black buttress of rock ahead of them, against which it appeared -that nothing short of a miracle could save the _River Swallow_ from -being splintered. - -Young Ware, white-faced and tense, stood by Ralph's side. Like Ralph, he -sensed the full measure of the danger confronting them. Yet it spoke -volumes for his pluck that he did not utter a sound after that first -startled exclamation had escaped him, when the Big Nigger swung into the -search-light's vivid circle of white light. As for Persimmons in the -engine room, he knew that some emergency must be confronting them. Yet -he did not dream of deserting his post. Then the young skipper's voice -came down the tube once more. - -"Get on a life preserver and come on deck. Quick! It may be life or -death!" - -The _River Swallow_ headed straight for the Big Nigger. Ralph, every -nerve and muscle in his active body strained to the breaking point, -exerted every effort at his command to stave off the apparently -inevitable crash. He knew that he had done all he could to avert the -disaster that threatened to be swift and annihilating. All that was left -to do now was to await the issue. Suddenly a sharp exclamation escaped -Persimmons' lips, and an instant later it was echoed by the others whom -the young engineer had joined on the bridge. - -"She's swinging out!" - -It was true. Out of the grasp of the rapids a boy's skill had snatched -victory against what had appeared to be overwhelming odds. - -The Gallops roared and screamed and threatened in a thousand voices. -They danced and leaped like white teeth defrauded of their expected -prey. For that time at least they were to be cheated of a harvest of -disaster to which, in the years gone by, they had become accustomed as a -regular toll on the part of those who braved their fangs. - -The _River Swallow's_ bow, forced outward by the engines and the rudder, -swerved slowly to port. The next instant, at racing speed, she shot by -the Big Nigger, hurtled along like a helpless chip on the surface of the -mad waters. - -So closely did they shave disaster that, from the bridge, it would have -been possible with extended fingers to touch the rough surface of the -Big Nigger as they were swept by. The next moment the peril that had -chilled the blood in their veins was behind them. - -"And now for an explanation from Malvin," spoke Ralph grimly. "I rather -think that there is one coming." - - - - - CHAPTER III. - THE MYSTERIOUS GRAY NIGHT CRAFT. - - -Perhaps Malvin, who had stood poised as if ready for a jump as they -passed the Big Nigger, heard the boy. At any rate, as Ralph spoke, he -turned. - -"A terribly narrow escape that, sir," he said. - -Ralph told Persimmons to go below and attend to his engines before he -replied. Then he turned on the man. - -"Yes, a terribly narrow escape which might have ended in disaster for us -all," he said, with an emphasis that allowed no doubt as to his meaning. -In case that Malvin had not fully understood him, he added: - -"Malvin, your carelessness almost cost us all our lives." - -"My carelessness, sir!" - -The man's voice held an aggrieved tone. He tried to slip into his coat -and cover the life jacket he wore. - -"I said 'your carelessness.' I don't care to use a harsher word. How did -it happen, Malvin, that you wore a life jacket to-night?" - -"A life jacket, sir?" - -"Yes; the one you put on under your coat. Surely you did not have an -intuition that we were going to be wrecked?" - -Ordinarily a bright, lively lad, Ralph could be stern enough when he -chose. His experiences out west and in old Mexico had broadened and -developed the youth whom we first encountered on a visit to Jack -Merrill's ranch in search of the health he had almost lost by overstudy -at Stonefell College. - -Ralph was not that boy now. He was the stern questioner of a man whose -recent actions had surely justified him in entertaining black suspicions -of the fellow. For the first time Malvin hesitated as Ralph shot out the -question about the life jacket. - -"Oh, yes, sir. The life jacket, sir. Yes, you see----" - -His voice trailed off. But Ralph pressed him harder. - -"Come, I am waiting for an explanation. If one is not forthcoming I -shall inform my father of your conduct." - -"I don't see why I can't wear a life jacket if I want to," said Malvin, -at length, in a voice that, for the first time, held a note of sullen -defiance. "I know these Gallops better than you do, Master Stetson. I -have always worn a life jacket when running them." - -"Yes," said Hardware dryly, "you are more timid than we thought you, -Malvin." - -"Never mind, Harry," struck in Ralph; "tend that searchlight and keep a -bright lookout for the Needles. We must pass them to port." - -"All right," responded Hardware cheerfully; "luckily, there's no -'needles in a haystack' business about them. They are as clear as the -freckles on Persimmons' face. Don't worry." - -He began swinging the search-light off to the left-hand side of the -boat, searching for the group of sharp-pointed rocks known as the -Needles, which were by no means the menace to navigation that Big Nigger -was. - -"So you always wear a life jacket in running the rapids?" insisted -Ralph, as his companion carried out his instructions. - -"Always, sir; yes, sir. It's the safest plan." - -"Well, I guess you are entitled to considerable praise for your -foresight, Malvin," said Ralph meaningly. "You can go forward." - -"All right, sir. Very well, sir," was the rejoinder. Malvin once more -appeared to have full control of himself. - -He descended the two or three steps leading from the raised bridge from -which the navigation of the _River Swallow_ was directed. As his figure -vanished forward in the darkness, Harry Ware turned to his chum. - -"What do you make of that fellow, Ralph?" - -"He's a puzzle to which we have no answer--as yet," was the reply. - -"A puzzle, all right. I sure agree with you. But as to the answer -part----" - -"Well?" - -"I rather think that we are not so far off from the solution as you -fancy. For instance, this business to-night." - -"Let's hear what you make of it." - -"Why, it looked to me as if the fellow deliberately tried to wreck the -boat." - -"But for what earthly reason?" demanded Ralph, in an astounded tone. - -"Well, for one thing, we have supplanted him on board her. You must -remember that before we came up here your dad had given Malvin absolute -charge of the craft. I've heard that he took full advantage of this. The -boat was seen cruising about at all hours of the night." - -"Even so. Granted that he dislikes us, even hates us, although he has -shown no signs of harboring such a feeling." - -"I'm not so sure of that. Under that smooth manner he hides a vindictive -nature. I've caught him looking at you once or twice, when he thought -you weren't looking and that nobody saw him, in a way that made me think -he didn't like you any too well." - -"Possibly he can't be blamed for that, either. It is rather a come-down -for him to have to take orders where he was used to giving them instead. -But, even assuming all this, what reason would he have to try to wreck -the _River Swallow?"_ - -"I imagine that in the answer to that lies the solution of that puzzle -you were talking about a while back." - -"Well, let's suppose--although I don't for a minute believe it--that he -actually was fiendish enough to try to destroy the craft out of malice, -would not he have gone to the bottom, too?" - -"I'm not so sure. Malvin is reputed to be the strongest swimmer in these -parts. He was wrecked in a canoe in the rapids once and swam to an eddy -and eventually reached the shore. Then, too, to-night he had on a life -jacket. Does not that point to the fact that he believed some accident -was going to happen, in which it would be necessary for him to swim for -his life?" - -"Oh, as to that, he had a good explanation for it," responded Ralph. - -"So I suppose," was Harry Ware's dry comment. - -"After all, we may be unduly excited and manufacturing a melodramatic -scare out of nothing at all," pursued Ralph. "Well, there go the -Needles! In a minute more we'll be out of the Gallops, and for once I -shan't be sorry. That was just about as near to a smash-up as I care to -come." - -The _River Swallow_ shot onward for a short distance, and then, as she -entered smoother water, Ralph rang for full speed ahead on both engines. -He had hardly done this, when Hardware gave a sudden yell and pointed -frantically ahead of them. - -Through the night the gray, dim outlines of a passing craft, slipping -along under the shore of one of the islands which dotted the other side -of the Gallops, was visible. She carried no lights and was moving at a -swift rate of speed. - -In addition to the fact that the other craft carried no lights, she had -risked collision with the _River Swallow_ by cutting right across her -bows. Both these actions were gross violations of the river law. The two -boys stared into the darkness ahead as the gray shadow slipped on toward -the Canadian shore. - -"Well, I'll be jiggered!" burst from Harry Ware's lips. "It's the ghost -craft again." - -"Ghost nothing! If we'd hit her we'd have found her solid enough, I'll -bet," declared Ralph. "Clap the search-light on her, Hardware. We've -seen that craft so often lately that the thing is getting on my nerves. -Men who are out on lawful errands don't sneak about without lights. -Let's show her up and see what sort of a boat she is, and who mans her." - -Harry obediently turned his attention once more to the search-light. But -though he swung it assiduously in the direction in which the "ghost -craft," as he called the mysterious gray motor boat, had last been seen, -its rays failed to reveal a sign of her. - -"Well, she can appear and vanish in a mighty spook-like fashion, even -though she may be built of solid wood and iron," declared young Ware, -with conviction, as he reported no trace of the craft that had glided -across their course in the darkness of the night. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - ON THE TRAIL OF THE GHOST CRAFT. - - -The boys, whom we left so sadly puzzled by the strange appearance and -almost simultaneous vanishment of the "ghost craft" at the conclusion of -the last chapter, formed part of a group of healthy, high-spirited lads -who are already familiar to most of our readers under the name of the -Border Boys. They earned this title in the first place by their feats on -the troublous Mexican frontier, where, as related in "The Border Boys on -the Trail," they defeated the machinations of a notorious cattle rustler -named Ramon De Barrios, who had long proved a thorn in the side of the -ranchers along the frontier. - -Particularly had De Barrios harassed the cattle and horses of Mr. -Merrill, whose son Jack, a school-fellow of the others at Stonefell -College, had invited Ralph Stetson, son of the railroad "king," and -Professor Wintergreen, to spend some time with him and "rough it." In -this volume the secret of the lone mission was revealed, and the boys, -by pluck and brain, regained the stolen herd of stock rustled under -cover of night from the Merrill ranch by De Barrios and his followers. A -thrilling experience was that of the attempted dynamiting of a big -irrigation dam in the midst of a violent storm, which had raised the -prisoned waters almost to the breaking point. Jack Merrill and his chums -succeeded in thwarting the plans of the rascals who hoped to inundate -half a county and ruin much valuable property, out of revenge. - -In the second volume of this series, "The Border Boys Across the -Frontier," we made the acquaintance of Buck Bradley, a bluff and hearty -circus manager who proved to be a trusty ally of the boys when they made -their escape from a band of Mexican revolutionists. The boys' capture -had followed their attempt to prevent a large consignment of arms and -ammunition from being shipped from Uncle Sam's side of the line. Once -more they proved their right to the title of "Border Boys," for, by a -subterranean river flowing under a supposedly "haunted" mesa, they -crossed the international boundary, and at once plunged into a series of -strange and exciting adventures, including a ride on a big locomotive -that ran the gauntlet of armed rebels. - -The boys were next met, together with other old friends, in a succeeding -book, which was called "The Border Boys with the Texas Rangers." Again, -amid new scenes, the lads found themselves in exciting predicaments. -Jack was lost in a hidden valley from which he escaped by a climb up -steep and rocky cliffs, triumphing over apparently insurmountable -obstacles. But his pluck and sturdy training brought him successfully -through this adventure, and he rejoined his comrades in time to -participate in the heading off of a wild stampede of cattle, an -opportunity which tested the boys' best efforts. - -In yet another volume, the experiences of the lads with the rurales of -Mexico were set forth. This book was called "The Border Boys with the -Mexican Rangers," and painted a picture of life in the wilder parts of -old Mexico amid rugged mountains and brigand-infested plains. A clever -use of an extemporized heliograph was made by the lads and saved them -from a predicament into which they had been forced by a stupendous -cloud-burst which swept their camp away. At a lone ranch, too, they met -with some surprising adventures which culminated in a ride for life -across the plains. At a grand fiesta they won several of the prizes, a -feat which earned them the still further enmity of men who had good -reason to dislike and fear them. In old Mexico, the land of fascinating -romance, the boys surely had their full share of incident and adventure, -and their experiences served to strengthen their characters and broaden -their minds. To cope successfully with difficulties forms the best sort -of training for lads, and our Border Boys showed that when it came to -the test they were not lacking in energy or grit. - -A fifth volume, called forth by the demand on the part of our readers to -follow the boys still further through their lives, dealt with a -different phase of their existences altogether. In "The Border Boys in -the Canadian Rockies" the lads traveled on their sturdy little mustangs -through a wild and rugged country. Not the least interesting phase of -their experiences dealt with the mystery surrounding Jimmy, the waif, -who came into their lives when they landed at a tiny way station on the -Canadian Pacific Railroad. Several mysterious happenings, too, puzzled -and annoyed them not a little while they were on their journey to the -Big Bend of the Columbia River. These incidents involved a man of -strange personality who, for no apparent reason, harassed and alarmed -them on numerous occasions. However, in the end all that had appeared -inexplicable was cleared up, and Jimmy, the waif, came into his own at -last. - -About two months before the present volume dealing with their adventures -opens, the lads had accepted the invitation of Ralph Stetson's father to -spend some time with him at his estate on Dexter Island, in the -wonderful St. Lawrence River, that mighty outlet of the Great Lakes, -which rolls its turbulent current along the border line between the -United States and Canada. The scene of much historical interest in the -past, the making of history is still going on along the St. Lawrence. -Both the United States and Canada keep a sharp lookout for smugglers and -other evildoers along the line which extends through the exact center of -the great river. Interesting adventures are of almost daily occurrence -in that region. - -Beginning with the night upon which we encountered them in the rapids, -the boys were destined to be plunged into experiences along the -international boundary line that would demand all the resourcefulness -and efficiency which had been developed in them by the scenes through -which they had already passed. - -But for the time being, at any rate, the mystery of the ghostly craft -had to wait for a solution. The next day was the one selected by the -boys for a joyous excursion on their swift, sure craft down the historic -waters of the St. Lawrence, which has been called "the noblest, the -purest, the most enchanting river on God's beautiful earth." - -For a thousand miles from Lake Ontario to the sea the mighty current of -the great waterway runs, embellished with islands and made beautiful by -leaping rapids and swirling whirlpools. Except to the specially built -river steamers these rapids, that is the larger ones, are not navigable -except on the way down the river. Coming up, even the most powerful -craft have to take to the canals, of which there are several, all on the -Canadian side and free to all commerce. - -The boys planned a quick trip down to Montreal and thence to Quebec. The -return trip would have to be made more slowly, owing to the obstacles -already mentioned. - -Having provisioned the _River Swallow_, on which they intended to make -their home during the cruise, there was nothing left to do but to start -up the engines and set out. For this trip Malvin and Hansen were left -behind, as Mr. Stetson needed them to do some work about the island and -they were not actually required on the river craft. - -It was a glorious morning when the boys started out. The sun lay -glitteringly on the clear, swiftly flowing waters, and the _River -Swallow_ glided from her dock as if she were as pleased with the -prospect of the cruise as were the boys. - -Ralph Stetson, naturally studious, had found much to interest him in the -history of the great river they were navigating; and, indeed, no stream -in the world has more storied interest than the mighty water course that -marks the border of the United States and Canada. - -Jacques Cartier is generally given the credit of the discovery of the -St. Lawrence, although some historians mention other candidates for the -honor. Ralph's studies told him that little is known of Cartier, beyond -the fact that he belonged to a hardy race of French fishermen. - -By some writers he is even referred to as a corsair, although there does -not appear to be much evidence to support this theory. It was not until -his second voyage, however, that Cartier really entered the river, to -the mouth of which he gave the name of the Bay of St. Laurens. - -With the spirit of exploration strong upon him, Cartier pushed onward, -hugging the southern shore of a river eighty miles wide. To his mind, he -had found the Mecca of every explorer of that day: the visionary passage -to Cathay. For to discover a waterway to the far east was the dream of -every early voyager. - -As he sailed onward, mighty rock walls rose up majestically on each side -of the great stream he was traversing. Gray rocks piled themselves tier -upon tier, topped by huge forests and backed by glimpses of mountains -beyond. - -Then came bold headlands, thrusting their fronts into the river. From -day to day the scene shifted, with the current ever increasing in -swiftness. The rocky headlands gave way to long level reaches of swampy -land. Cartier, in his records, speaks of the innumerable crows that -haunted these marshes, although there were plenty of duck and other wild -fowl. - -But at last Cartier began to realize that he had not stumbled on the -passage to Cathay as he had fondly dreamed. - -The year before he had taken two Indians captive. They were still part -of his crew. He summoned them before him. - -"What river is this?" he asked. - -One of the Indians pointed majestically to the west. - -"The river without an end," he said solemnly. - -Cartier found the Indians extraordinarily skillful in managing their -frail birch bark canoes, even in the wildest of the rapids. He was -greatly interested in all the different tribes which he encountered. -Many of them were at war with each other, although all sprang, according -to present-day opinion, from the Cree stock. - -The old French traveler says that he found the Indians friendly. He -describes a visit to one of their towns, which stood at the base of a -hill surrounded by cornfields, with the river and the primeval forest -beyond. This village, occupied by a tribe known as the Amerinds, was -well fortified, as were all the villages of this tribe, by a high -stockade. - -With a body guard of twenty of his men Cartier entered the walled -village. They found inside the stockade a gallery from which missiles -could be hurled down on any foe. Piles of stones lay in readiness for -this purpose. - -Behind the village stood an imposing height of land which Cartier, -impressed by the noble view from its summit, named Mont Royale. This was -the origin of Montreal, which city stands on the site of the stockaded -Indian village of Hochelaga. - -It was too late in the season when the bold investigator reached this -village to press on further, and he therefore made his way back to -winter quarters at Havre de St. Croix on the St. Charles River. His -experiences during the "white winter," as he called it, were enough to -daunt even his courageous spirit. To add to his troubles, his men -contracted scurvy, and many died before spring came, from the close -confinement and lack of proper food. - -The Indians brewed for the sufferers a sort of tea of pine boughs and -bark called "ameda," which appeared to have a good effect on the victims -and, in Cartier's opinion, saved the lives of many of them. - -He returned to France and, some time later, made a third voyage. This -time it was a trip for colonization. But the little colony suffered -terrible privations and much illness and misery, and it was to the -Indians that they owed what succor in the way of provisions and -primitive medicine they were able to obtain. Cartier sailed back to -France, leaving the remnants of the colony, and never returned again. - -Then came Champlain, the founder of Quebec. It is a far cry from the -noble city of Quebec as it is to-day to the huddle of huts erected in -the form of a square by Champlain, and surmounted by a dovecote on the -top of a pole to symbolize his peaceful intentions. Of his discovery of -the historic lake that bears his name it would be beside the mark to -speak here, inasmuch as this necessary digression is simply to acquaint -our readers with a little of the history of the river on which our -Border Boys were destined to meet such surprising adventures, and with -the city of Montreal, to which they were now bound. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - DOWN TO MONTREAL. - - -The run down the river to Montreal was made rapidly and without -incident. The boys found the slow progress they had to make through the -canals adjoining the Lachine and Long Sault rapids, which they could not -descend, rather tedious. Nevertheless, they thoroughly enjoyed watching -one of the red-funneled excursion steamers from up the river shoot -through the boiling waves and cascades, apparently to certain -destruction. - -At the Lachine Canal they were "locked down" eighty-two feet, passing -through three locks in the process. They arrived at Montreal, Canada's -"White City," that evening. The next morning they devoted to seeing the -sights of the town. - -Perhaps some extracts from a letter written some days later by Ralph to -a school chum will give our readers a boy's idea of this city and of -Quebec. - -"About the first thing we noticed," wrote Ralph, "was the Victoria -Bridge, which spans the south channel of the St. Lawrence and carries -the rails of the Grand Trunk Railway. It is almost two miles long, has -twenty-four spans, and hangs sixty feet above the river. We saw it first -in the twilight. It looked like a black ribbon stretched across the sky. - -"Montreal is the queerest city from the point of view of design that I -ever saw. It is built up from the river in a series of terraces. It is -chock full of fine buildings, as fine and finer than any in New York, -but of course not so tall. There is the big cathedral of Notre Dame, -with twin towers like the one in France. It has a bell weighing 24,780 -pounds, the heaviest bell in North America. The church will seat fifteen -thousand people. - -"The ice cream sodas here are not good. We know, for we sampled them. -But I was going to tell you, under Notre Dame Street are buried the -bones of Le Rat, a Huron chief, who broke the peace pact between the -French and his tribe. He fell dead as a door nail while addressing a lot -of Hurons and French who had come together to have a pow-wow. - -"We didn't spend very much time here, however, being anxious to get on -to Quebec. Besides, something happened the other night at the island -that we are anxious to get back to solve. I can't tell you more about it -now than to say that it was a 'ghost ship'! That sounds promising, -doesn't it? - -"Now, to tell you something about Quebec. I am mighty glad to have been -there. It is truly a wonderful city. Somebody told us that it got its -name from Cartier exclaiming, as he saw the three-hundred-foot rock that -rises from the river, '_Que bec!_' Knowing that you are not much of a -French scholar, I will translate. That means 'What a beak!' And so that -is how Quebec got its name, and, if you'd ever seen it, you would think -it was a good one. - -"I can't describe the city better than to call it a huge cliff all stuck -over with spires, roofs, chimneys, ramparts and muzzles of antiquated -guns that a modern piece of artillery could knock into a cocked hat. -Cape Diamond, as the immense rock is called, is all tufted with patches -of shrubs. It made me think of Professor Crabtree's face. You know: all -hard and rugged, with whiskers scrawling over it! - -"The Lower Town, as it is called, lies at the base of this rock. Here is -the water-front section, and streets that turn and twist about like -corkscrews. It is a smoky, ancient, old place full of queer smells and -business. - -"You get out of it to the Upper Town by Mountain Street, and it's all of -that! They say that till thirty years ago a carriage couldn't get up it, -but it has been graded so that now you can drive up. We walked, thinking -it would be good exercise for Persimmons, who hates walking, anyhow. - -"The citadel is a wonderful place perched up on a high rock, and you can -see all over the region from it. One thing to be seen there is a brass -cannon the Britishers captured at Bunker Hill. No wonder they're proud -of it. I guess it's about all they did get. - -"The Citadel runs, in the form of a big granite wall with towers and -bastions stuck on it at regular intervals, all along the brow of the -height overlooking the city, like a wrinkle on a forehead. Quebec, as -perhaps you know, is the only walled city in America. It certainly is a -great place to see. You might think that you were looking down from the -Citadel on some old town in the middles ages--except for the tourists -with their cameras! - -"We went out to the Plains of Abraham; that is, Persimmons didn't go, -having overeaten on some cake he made himself and we wouldn't touch, -having sampled his cooking before. This is the place where Wolfe licked -Montcalm. But both their names are carved on a monument just as if they -had fought side by side. - -"In the Post Office, where I am going to mail this letter, there is a -block of granite from an old building that once stood on its site. It -was called the _Chien d'Or_, or the Golden Dog. There is a story -connected with Phillibert, the merchant who built it. He came here when -Bigot, a 'grafter' or 'boss,' as we should call him nowadays, had -control of the city and of New France. He ran things to suit himself and -pocketed all kinds of crooked money. Phillibert ran a sort of department -store and fought Bigot all he could. Over the door of his store he had -the figure of a dog cut. It was gnawing a bone. The dog was meant to be -Bigot and the bone the country he was 'grafting' on. Bigot got so sore -at this that he had his brother-in-law assassinate Phillibert. - -"There are more churches here than in any place I ever saw. The folks of -Quebec ought to be the best in the world. Near the market in the Lower -Town is one of the first churches built in America. A porch was built -over its door as a token of thanksgiving when a fleet of British ships -on its way to wallop Quebec was wrecked off the mouth of the St. -Lawrence. - -"Near where this church stands is a place where they will tell you -Champlain lived in 1608 and planted the first garden in the country with -seeds brought from France. In a convent on Garden Street Montcalm is -buried. The Canadians have marked all these places with tablets. I think -it would be a good scheme to do the same thing with historic places at -home. - -"But you are probably getting tired of all this. Tell the fellows we are -having a great time and expect to have a better. Anyhow, I will write -you before long how we come out about that queer motor boat. We are -going to find out what is up; you can bet your life on that. - - "Always your pal, - "Ralph." - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - HOMEWARD BOUND. - - -The next day the boys, enriched by many postcards and souvenirs, set out -on their return trip. They voyaged along under the high banks of the St. -Lawrence, from Cape Diamond to Cape Rouge, drinking in every bit of the -striking scenery with interest. - -About a mile above Wolfe's Cove they passed the historic little village -of Sillery, where, in the stormy days of the Christian conquest of -Canada, the Jesuits called about them the Hurons and preached to them in -a language of which the wondering Indians, listening with stoical -patience, understood not a word. - -In later years there came a dispute as to whether the land about Sillery -belonged to the Jesuits or the Hurons. The British decided in favor of -the Jesuits, but offered the Hurons other lands. These they refused, and -the red men soon melted away into the forests to dwindle ultimately to -extinction. - -About midway between Quebec and Montreal the boys stopped at the town of -Three Rivers, so called from the fact of its being on the triple -junction of the St. Maurice River with the St. Lawrence. Three Rivers -was an important early trading post, being the head of tide water on the -St. Lawrence. Champlain erected a fort there on the site of a primitive -defense built by the Algonquins and destroyed by the Iroquois. It was -from here, too, so Ralph was able to inform his chums, that Father -Brebeuf set forth with a party of Hurons to preach in the farthest -wilderness. - -The good father, according to history, was as much of a fighting man as -a preacher. He taught the Indians how to build fortifications and to -palisade squares with flanking towers, which were a vast improvement on -their round stockades. - -The boys stopped at a dock adjoining a small farmhouse, not far from -Three Rivers, to buy some fresh provisions, for Persimmons' experiments -in cookery had proved disastrous to their larder. - -The place was kept by a descendant of the old "_habitants_" of the -country, a man as brown as a berry, with high, Indian-like cheek bones -and beady black eyes. His house must have stood there for hundreds of -years. It was of rough, whitewashed stone, and had a steep roof, with a -huge chimney at one end. - -While they were waiting for the fresh milk and the eggs that the -_habitant_ promised to produce promptly, they gazed about the living -room into which they had been ushered. - -Its rough walls were whitewashed and adorned with crude pictures, -chiefly of religious subjects. Ropes of onions, hams and dried fruit -hung from the roof beams. In a corner, snowshoes and sleds and firearms -told a mute story of the severity of the Canadian winter. It was all as -it might have been in the days of the earliest settler. - -But, if the people were primitive, they had a clear idea of how to -charge for their viands! There was no help for it but to pay the bill, -while the cunning little eyes of the _habitant_ surveyed the roll from -which Ralph peeled the required amount. He was plainly wishing that he -had charged twice as much, particularly when he saw the fine boat the -boys had. - -The return trip through the canals with occasional stretches of clear -water was monotonous. Nothing occurred out of the ordinary. But the -delay in the canals and a slight overheating of the machinery resulted -in its being dark by the time they neared their island. - -"Well, we've had a grand trip, but I'm glad to be back again," declared -Ralph, as they came into familiar waters once more. - -"So am I," agreed Hardware. "I'll be glad to get a decent meal again." - -He glanced in an aggravating way at Persimmons, who had been the ship's -cook and bottle washer, as well as engineer at times, and was now -getting a breath of fresh air above deck. He ducked just in time to -avoid a well-aimed piece of oily waste which Persimmons, justly -indignant, flung at him. - -"Next cruise we take," declared the disgruntled lad, "you can take the -pots and pans, Hardware. And I'll bet that anything you make will taste -like your name!" - -"I'd rather it did than like an unripe persimmon!" declared Hardware. -Then Ralph had to exercise his good offices to make peace between the -belligerents. But soon more important matters occupied their minds. - -The strange craft that they had almost forgotten on their cruise of -sight-seeing came back now with vividness to their recollections. The -surprising appearance and equally startling disappearance of the -mysterious motor boat were recalled as they threaded home waters again. -As the _River Swallow_ moved through the darkness with her electric side -and bow lights glowing like jewels, each boy was busy with speculations -concerning it. - -Their reveries were cut short by a sudden shout which appeared to come -from right under the bow. - -"What was that?" exclaimed Hardware in a startled tone. He was alone on -the bridge with Ralph. Persimmons was below, having returned to his -engines. - -"Jiggered if I know! Somebody shouted, though. It was right under the -bow." - -"That's what I thought. Hark, there it is again!" - -Both boys strained their ears. Unmistakably a hail had come out of the -darkness. - -"Clap on the search-light quick, Hardware," ordered Ralph. - -The boy snapped the light on. It blazed out fan-like in the night, -cutting a broad circle of light that revealed the whole river as -Hardware swept it from side to side. Suddenly he gave a shout and -pointed. - -Embraced in the circle of light, and right under their bow almost, was a -frail boat. In it were seated two Indians. Their craft was piled high -with baskets which they had been trying to sell among the islands. - -The boys knew at once that the red men came from a reservation down the -river and belonged to the St. Regis tribe. - -"They're coming right down on us!" cried Ralph. - -"What's the matter with them?" cried Harry. "I see," he added -immediately, "they've broken their paddle. See, they are waving the -stump of it in the air! Steer out, Ralph! Steer out, or you'll run them -down!" - -"I--I can't," exclaimed Ralph in an agitated voice. - -"Can't! Why not?" - -"Don't you see where we are? There are rocks on each side. If I turn out -we'll be ripped like an egg shell on them." - -"Gracious, that's so!" And then Hardware noticed for the first time that -they were running through a narrow channel between two islands. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - RUN DOWN. - - -Something must be done. In another moment the frail boat would be drawn -by the current right down on the bow of the _River Swallow_ and cut in -two. But there was no room to turn out or avoid them! - -Ralph was the first to gain possession of his senses. He sounded the -gong impatiently for Persimmons. Then in the same breath he ordered -Hardware to hand him one of the life belts. - -"Now then, you take a rope and when we strike them, for it can't be -helped," he breathed, "lower it over and try to catch one of the men. -I'll get the other." - -Young Ware with compressed lips nodded. At the same moment Persimmons -came on deck. - -"Take the wheel, Perce," exclaimed Ralph in a low tense voice, "and keep -going upstream whatever happens." - -"What's going to happen?" asked the alarmed boy. - -"In another second we are going to hit an Indian canoe. If we can we are -going to save their lives. Hold fast!" - -There was a grating bump and a jar, and a cry of alarm came out of the -night. Hardware cast his rope, while Persimmons, with a white face and -strained muscles, kept the _River Swallow_ on her course. Ralph had -taken off his boots; now he ran to the other side of the bridge. - -For a flash he saw below him an upturned face, borne past with the -rapidity of lightning on the swift current. He cast the life preserver, -which had a rope attached to it. To his joy he felt the life-saving -device caught and the rope grow taut. But the next moment, under the -sudden strain of his weight, a line, stretched across an opening in the -bridge against which he had been leaning, parted. - -While the other lads set up a yell of alarm, they saw Ralph jerked from -the bridge into the tempestuous current. Ralph struck the water and went -under. - -When he came to the surface, he felt as if a hundred hands had hold of -him drawing him under again. Weighted by his clothes, he was sadly -handicapped. But he made a valiant fight for it. He still held the rope, -but he was unable to reach the life preserver, because it was borne down -stream with the Indian clinging to it, as fast as he was. - -For what appeared an eternity the battle kept up, and then Ralph felt -himself suddenly hurled upon some rocks. Gripping them with the grasp of -desperation he hauled himself out of the water and laid hold of the rope -with both hands. - -It pulled taut. It was plain, then, that the Indian still clung to the -life preserver. Conserving his strength for a few minutes, Ralph began -to draw steadily in on the line. To aid him he took a turn of it around -a small tree. The slender trunk bent like a whip under the strain, but -it held without snapping. - -Inch by inch Ralph hauled in, and after what seemed an interminable -struggle, he pulled up on the bank a dripping, half-dead figure. It was -that of the Indian who had grasped the life preserver. The man cast -himself down on the beach for a short time, but soon recovered with the -vitality of his race. - -He gazed at Ralph as if the boy had been a being from another world. -Then he appeared to realize what had occurred and broke out angrily into -a tirade. Ralph held up a roll of dripping bills to appease his wrath. - -"All right. No could help. Me pay," he said, trying to placate the angry -Indian. - -The man nodded, but still sullenly. - -"Where my friend? You drown him, you pay lot more!" he said. - -"So that's the way they rate friendship, is it?" reflected Ralph. "I -guess 'Lo, the poor Indian,' has been a lot overestimated, or else this -is an exceptional specimen." - -"I hope your friend is all right," he said aloud, "but anyhow, we'll -soon see. Look!" - -From up the river came a sudden glare of blue light. It was a Coston -signal from the _River Swallow_. - -"There they are now," cried Ralph. "They are lying to for us. Lucky -thing I have along my water-proof box of matches." - -He fumbled for the metal cylinder which had been of so much use to him -in many tight places. Then, followed by the Indian, he set off across -the little island to the side on which, judging by the light, the _River -Swallow_ was lying to. It did not take long to collect dry sticks and -leaves and make a bright glare. - -Through the night came a hail from the _River Swallow's_ megaphone. - -"Are you all right, Ralph?" - -Ralph cupped his hands. "Fine; but mighty wet! You'd better send ashore. -I've got the Indian." - -"Good! We got the other," came back another hail. - -"Your friend all right," said Ralph turning to the Indian. "Pretty soon -they send small boat ashore for us." - -"Huh," muttered the Indian, leaving a doubt to be inferred as to whether -he would not just as soon have had the extra money as learn that his -friend was safe. Not long afterward the small boat carried by the _River -Swallow_ came ashore, and they were rowed off by Hardware. - -Full speed was made to the island, where the Indians were accommodated -for the night. The next day they were sent on their way rejoicing with a -skiff which had been lying idle in the boat house and a substantial -recompense for their misfortune. - -It was two nights later, after the boys had made a flying trip to the -Thousand Islands with some guests of Ralph's father, leaving them there, -that, on the return voyage, they once more encountered "the mystery of -the river," as they had come to call it. - -Malvin and Hansen were both on board, but neither was on deck, when -suddenly out of the darkness the form of the gray, ghost-like motor -craft emerged once more, like a figure in a fog, lightless and suddenly -vanishing, as if swept from sight by an invisible hand. - -Ralph had the wheel. He gave a sudden gasp as the apparition appeared -before his eyes, then faded, vapor-like. - -"The search-light, quick!" he ordered Hardware in low breathless tones. -A bright spear of light cut the night. Here and there it swung, like a -radiant, pointing finger. But it settled on no gray, swiftly sneaking -craft. - -The momentary reverie into which Ralph had been plunged by the -mysterious appearance of the "ghost craft," already encountered upon -other night trips in the _River Swallow_, lasted but a brief time. - -"You can't find her with the search-light, eh, Harry?" he asked. - -"Not a hide nor hair of her, as Mountain Jim would have said," was the -reply; "she's certainly a big mystery, Ralph." - -"And one which it is going to be up to us to solve," was the rejoinder. -"You remember the last time we saw her, she was sneaking away from -Dexter Island. This is the first time we have noticed her since, and she -is coming from the same direction. From the fact that she carries no -lights and altogether acts in a highly suspicious way, it is fair to -assume that she is after no good. In some way that I can't just explain -I'm pretty sure that whatever tricks she is up to are in some manner -connected with Dexter Island." - -"Just the way I feel about it, old fellow," was his chum's rejoinder. -"I'd give a lot to unravel the mystery and--hello! Look there!" - -Right ahead of them seemingly a light had suddenly flashed up out of the -darkness. It was out of the path of the search-light and shone quite -brilliantly. The light was in about the location where they had last -sighted the gray night rover. - -"Out with that search-light instantly," ordered Captain Ralph snappily. - -Instantly the bright rays of the big electric night-piercer were cut -off. - -"Now switch off the other lights, the running lamps and the stern one." - -Harry Ware hesitated an instant. - -"You are going to run without lights?" - -"For a time, yes." - -Snap! - -Out went every light on board the _River Swallow_ that might betray her -whereabouts to any other craft. - -"We're taking a big chance, Ralph," said Harry Ware curiously. "What's -the game?" - -"Why, that light ahead belongs to the 'ghost craft'; I'm sure of it. At -any rate, it's a clew worth following." - -"You're going to chase her?" - -A thrill of excitement vibrated in Harry's voice. - -Ralph's jaws came together with a click. It was characteristic of his -father, the "railroad king," to do this when he had reached an important -determination. - -"Yes, Harry, I'm going to follow that light up for a while. See, it's -moving pretty quickly. Ring for more speed." - -"Well, that old spook of the St. Lawrence will have to go some to dodge -the _River Swallow_," ejaculated Harry, as he obeyed Ralph's order; and -almost simultaneously the swift craft leaped forward in pursuit of the -Will o' the Wisp ahead of her. - -The chase was on. It was destined to be the beginning of a strange -series of adventures. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - A MISLEADING LIGHT. - - -"Can you make out anything of that craft yet, Harry?" - -The chase had been on for half an hour, and still the elusive light -bobbed along ahead of them. - -Percy Simmons, down in the engine room, had been fully informed by young -Ware of what was going on, and he was coaxing his fine machines to their -top notch of effort. - -"I can't see anything of her outlines yet, Ralph," was Harry's response -to Ralph's interrogation. "She must be a flyer." - -"She'll have to be to get away from us." - -"Anyhow, it looks like a stern chase." - -"But not necessarily a long one. I haven't heard of a craft yet that -could get away from the _River Swallow_, at least, in these parts." - -"You mean an earthly craft," rejoined young Ware, in rather quavery -tones. - -"Good gracious! What's got into you? You surely don't think that the -boat we are after is anything but a motor boat like this one, run by men -who have a good reason for not wanting us to catch up with them?" - -"Um-er, I just had a shiver. A 'goose walked over my grave.' My -grandmother says that that means that some sort of spirits are about." - -"Rubbish! I thought you were a different sort of a fellow from that, -Harry. We'll have to quit calling you 'Hardware' if you are going to be -so soft as to think there is anything supernatural about that elusive -boat." - -"Just the same, there's something queer about her." - -"Nothing but what will admit of an explanation," was the reply. "As for -the way they are dodging us, it's just what I expected. Honest men would -not run away from us any more than they would go sneaking about in such -a mysterious way at night." - -"Maybe they are only fish dynamiters," suggested Harry Ware. "You know -how strictly the law is dealt out to those rascals, and there have been -several Canadian fish destroyers caught on the American side lately, and -stiff terms dealt out to them." - -"Pshaw! Fish dynamiters are poor, poverty-stricken fellows who are too -lazy to get fish in a proper, lawful manner, and crawl out at night to -ply their trade in wretched, patched-up boats! No mere fish dynamiters -could afford a swift, powerful craft such as the one ahead surely is." - -"That's so," agreed Harry, "but that craft ahead is surely a riddle just -the same. I think----" - -He broke off with what might be fairly termed a yell. - -"Ow!--oo! Look there! _Now_ do you say that there isn't something more -than natural about that boat?" - -In spite of himself, Ralph felt his scalp stiffen as he beheld the -extraordinary sight to which Harry's alarmed exclamation had attracted -his attention. - -Outlined against the night in a vivid green glare was what appeared to -be a boat of living flame! - -The water around her burned lambently as the apparently flaming boat -plunged along through it. - -"Gracious!" gasped Ralph, as he looked at the strange spectacle. There -was a touch on his arm. He started in spite of himself and turned -quickly. - -Malvin was at his elbow. He was pointing at the green, blazing craft -ahead of them. - -"It's--it's the _Lost Voyageur_!" he exclaimed, in trembling tones. -"Don't chase it any more, sir! The legend is, that it means death to -those who see that boat and pursue it." - -By this time Ralph had recovered his equanimity. His sturdy common sense -asserted itself. He listened impatiently while Harry exclaimed -triumphantly: - -"There; what did I tell you! That's the boat I heard about! The boat in -which a party of the old voyageurs committed all sorts of outrages on -the St. Lawrence Indians. In revenge for their cruelties the Indians -attacked the boat one night and massacred the whole party. Ever since, -at times, the ghost craft has been seen on the river, and death has -followed every one who has tried to chase it or inquire into its -mystery." - -"Oh, dry up!" snapped Ralph. "Malvin, get forward where you belong -instantly." - -"But, sir----" - -The man appeared genuinely frightened, but somehow Ralph had an idea -that he was not so scared as he seemed. - -"See here, Malvin, obey my orders. I am in command of the _River -Swallow_. Get forward at once and keep a bright lookout. As for you, -Harry, I'm more than astonished at your being foolish enough to believe -such a pack of children's stories." - -As Malvin left the bridge, seemingly with reluctance, Harry spoke up: - -"But, Ralph, look at that green fire! Ugh! it makes me shudder." - -"Heard of phosphorus, haven't you?" - -"Y-y-y-yes, but----" - -"No 'buts' about it. Those fellows think that we are just a pack of kids -that they can scare by a foolish ghost trick. See, the light is dying -out. Well, they'll find out in a few minutes that their trick didn't -scare us. I'm more convinced than ever now that we have tumbled headlong -into a big game of some kind. What it is I can't imagine, but that -fellow Malvin knows more about that boat than we do." - -"What makes you think so?" - -"Why did he come butting in up here on the bridge and try to get us to -stop chasing that craft?" - -"Scared, I guess. I know _I_ was." - -"Scared! Nonsense. If I read Malvin rightly, he's not the sort of fellow -to shy at a child's trick like the one those fellows played. No, Harry, -there's something back of all this, and I for one mean to find out what -it is before I'm many hours older." - -"Go ahead," was all young Ware had to say, but to himself he muttered: - -"We'll never overtake that craft, and--I hope we don't!" - -The night shut down blacker than ever as the green glare that had -outlined the fleeing craft in such startling fashion died out. - -But right ahead the light still shone, the light that Ralph knew was the -stern lamp of the craft they were pursuing. It had apparently been -hoisted in defiance, and this made the young captain all the more -determined to find out more about the gray stranger. - -"What are you going to do if you do overtake her?" asked Harry. - -This question was a poser. Ralph, in the excitement of the chase, had -not considered this. He had no right to board the stranger or even to -question those on board, for legally he had nothing upon which to -proceed. - -"It may prove to be a foolish chase, after all," he admitted. "It may -all come to nothing, but I couldn't sleep unless I did what I could -toward unraveling the mystery that I am sure envelops that craft. No men -would go to the pains to rig up a ghost scare and all that unless they -had a mighty good reason for doing so. I'm going to keep after her till -I get close enough to hail her." - -"What then?" demanded Harry. - -"Why, I don't just know," admitted Captain Ralph, "but if I don't get -satisfactory answers to my questions I mean to follow her till she makes -port and report the matter to the authorities, and then it will be up to -them. I feel justified in doing this from the fact that she has been -seen off our island, presumably on mischief bent." - -There came a sudden sharp outcry from the bow. - -Ralph gazed ahead and his heart fairly jumped into his throat. - -Dead ahead, right under the bows of the onrushing _River Swallow_, was -the light they had been pursuing, the stern light of the other motor -boat. - -"Great Scott! We'll be crushed like an eggshell when the collision -comes!" was the thought that flashed through his brain as he rang, half -automatically, for "full speed astern!" - -"Back her!" roared the voice from the bows, the voice of Malvin. - -Harry Ware stood speechless, gripping the rail. He was helpless for the -moment in the face of the impending disaster. The _River Swallow_ was -making almost thirty miles an hour. To collide with a solid body such as -the craft ahead at that speed meant disaster, swift and certain. - -Then a yell of terror burst from his lips. A sharp cry was torn from -Ralph's throat simultaneously. - -The next instant, at almost top speed, the _River Swallow_ struck. -Fairly head on, she had collided with the obstacle before her. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - ADRIFT AT NIGHT. - - -There was a jarring bump. Something rasped and grated along the keel, -sending a shudder through the light timbers of the high-speed _River -Swallow_. - -Then she raced on as fast as ever. And that was all. Where was the boat -whose stern light they had struck? Was she indeed formed of ghostly -vapor and had she no tangible fabric? - -Ralph, sweating from every pore, and tremblingly grasping the wheel, was -half inclined to believe so, as he felt the propellers at last take hold -on the reverse motion and the _River Swallow_ begin to back. So startled -was he from his accustomed presence of mind, that for a moment or two he -felt more as if he were passing through the phantasmagoria of a -nightmare than participating in every-day life. - -"Wha-wha-what was it?" palpitated Harry Ware, still clutching the rail -and staring straight ahead as if he expected to see the form of the -ghostly craft emerge once more in front of them. - -"Are we going down? What's up?" came from Percy Simmons below. - -"We're all right, Persimmons," hailed Captain Ralph, in reply, as his -faculties came back with a rush. "Just check your engines, will you? -There's something I want to find out. Malvin!" - -"Aye! aye! sir! Narrow escape, sir. I was 'most frightened to death! I -thought we were goners," came back the man's voice from the bow. - -"Well, apparently we have suffered no harm. A trick of some sort has -been played on us. I mean to try to find out what it is. You and Hansen -attend to lowering the anchor at once. Then get the small boat -overboard." - -"The boat, sir? What for, sir?" - -"Obey my orders and ask no questions," shouted Ralph. "Now, then, Harry, -you go below. Search thoroughly for a leak. I don't think there is one, -but still I'll take no chances." - -"But wha-wha-what was it?" persisted Harry. "It must have been a ghost, -that craft. We hit it and went right through it as if it had been smoke. -I--I'm scared, Ralph." - -"Well, work off your fears in attending to your duty below. We hit -something, all right. It wasn't the boat. I want to find out what it -was." - -"Humph! this all comes of going chasing a ghost ship!" muttered Harry, -none too graciously, as the anchor chain rattled out and he departed on -his mission. - -Left alone on the bridge, Ralph concentrated in deep thought for a few -moments. Then he galvanized into action. - -"Anchor down?" - -"Aye, aye, sir!" - -"Lower away on the boat and place the portable search-light in it." - -"Yes, sir." - -Presently came the sound of the ropes running out through the davits -which supported a small, light motor tender used by the _River Swallow_. - -"All gone?" asked Ralph, as he heard the splash that announced that the -tender had struck the water. - -"Yes, sir. But if you'll pardon my making a suggestion, there's no use -waiting round here, sir. The current's bad, sir, and I doubt if the -anchor will hold." - -"I'll decide that, Malvin. Get the search-light into the tender as I -told you." - -"Very well, sir." - -"It's odd," mused Ralph, "that that fellow Malvin wants to try to block -every move we make to unravel the mystery of that gray motor boat. What -can be his motive unless he is interested in her? I've got a suspicion -that this is a big game we've blundered into, but I mean to see it -through as far as I can. Dad hates a quitter--boy or man--and I know -that when I tell him about to-night's work he'll agree with me that I -acted for the best." - -But, had Ralph known it, it was to be many days before he would have an -opportunity of seeing his father and telling him of the strange events -of that night and those that were destined to succeed them. - -The _River Swallow_ lay motionless. All about was a black void. Of the -gray motor boat nothing was to be seen or heard. In fact, not from the -start of the chase, nor on any of the previous occasions that the boys -had sighted her, did the motor craft that had proved so elusive and -tricky make any sound. From this Ralph argued that she was equipped with -an under-water exhaust, a device which silences the otherwise noisy -explosions of a gasoline engine. - -Harry Ware came back on deck. - -"Sound as a dollar," he reported. - -"Good! I thought so, but dared not fail to have an investigation made," -rejoined Ralph. - -"But, Ralph, what became of the other craft? What was she, a ghost or a -submarine?" - -"Neither." - -"What, then?" - -"A solid, speedy craft just like this one." - -"But we struck her." - -"We did not. We never touched her." - -Harry Ware gasped. - -"Are we all crazy? We hit that stern light and went clean through it." - -"We didn't even hit a stern light." - -"But we saw it. It was as plain as the nose on your face." - -"We saw a light. That doesn't prove that it was the gray motor boat's -stern light." - -"What, then?" - -"It simply goes to show that those fellows on board her were too smart -for us." - -"They played us a trick?" - -"That's what." - -Percy Simmons, being needed no longer at the engines, had joined his -companions on deck. He had been an interested listener. Now he spoke. - -"They fooled us, eh?" - -"Just what I've been saying," rejoined Ralph. "But, see here, let's get -into the boat and go hunting." - -"Go hunting? Say, what's the matter with you? What are we going hunting -for?" - -"We're going a-gunning to find the heart of this mystery," was Ralph's -rejoinder. "Come on, boys." - -He gave a brief order to Malvin to stay by the _River Swallow_ with -Hansen and await their return. Then, with Harry and Percy as companions, -he rowed off into the night. - -"Keep that search-light playing," he ordered, referring to the small but -powerful lamp on the bow of the tender. The motor was not used, as the -tender was light and rowed quite easily. As he rowed, Ralph kept looking -around over his shoulder. After some time, during which he had rowed in -ever widening circles, with the _River Swallow_ as a focal point, he -gave a sharp cry of triumph. - -"Ah-ha! There's what I expected." - -Bobbing up and down on the waves, not many feet away, the search-light -showed a strange object. It was apparently a round tub with a pole set -upright in it. And such it proved to be on closer inspection, which also -disclosed the fact that a lantern, extinguished, was swinging on top of -the pole. - -"And here's the clever trick that fooled us into thinking we were -overhauling that motor boat," said Ralph, as he inspected it. "They -simply towed this tub with the lantern on the pole for some distance -till we thought it was their stern light. Then, when the chase grew too -hot, they set it loose with an anchor on it and scudded off, while we -ran down the light, foolishly thinking that we were colliding with the -other craft. Simple, isn't it?" - -"But blessed effective," declared Percy Simmons. - -"That's your ghost ship, Harry," laughed Ralph. - -"Don't rub it in. I feel enough like a chump already," groaned Harry. - -"Well, anyhow, their little bit of deception has ended the chase for -to-night," said Ralph, after some more discussion. "Let's get back to -the _River Swallow_, boys, and then light out for home. We've spent a -lot of time on this job. I was going to say 'wasted,' but I guess we're -destined to see more of that craft in the future, and it has done no -harm to learn what cunning fellows are in charge of her. We'll be harder -to fool next time." - -"You bet we will," came from both his companions, with a meaning -emphasis. - -"Now for the _River Swallow_," said Ralph, as he took up the oars and -prepared to row back to the craft. - -"Where's the light you told Malvin to put out?" asked Percy, in a -puzzled voice, for the darkness shut them in all around and no light -showed through it to guide them back. - -"Why, I don't see it. However, I know about where we left her," -responded Ralph. - -But his knowledge was not as accurate as he surmised, for, after pulling -about on the dark waters for more than an hour, and shouting at the top -of their voices without eliciting any response, the lads were face to -face with the fact that the chances of their finding the _River Swallow_ -that night were very remote. - -"It's that rascal Malvin at his tricks again," declared Ralph angrily. -"When we get back home I'll get my father to discharge him. He's sore at -us because we've got full charge of the boat, and he's trying to take it -out in every mean, petty way he can think of." - -"It looks very much like it," agreed Percy Simmons, "but in the meantime -we are adrift on the St. Lawrence with only a mighty hazy notion of -where we are. What are we going to do?" - -This question was to prove a poser for some period of time. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - ON WINDMILL ISLAND. - - -Drifting in the darkness, they were still discussing the situation when, -through the gloom, they saw, not far off, a tall, black shadow showing -darkly against the curtain of the night. - -"What is that off there?" demanded Percy Simmons, indicating the tall -object. - -"Looks like some sort of a monument," supplemented Harry Ware. - -"I guess I can solve the mystery," struck in Ralph. "That is Windmill -Island, or I'm very much mistaken. That tall tower is all that is left -of an old windmill that stood there many years ago." - -"Seems to me I've heard a lot about Windmill Island," said Harry. "Does -any one live there?" - -"I think there is one hut on it. It is a deserted, lonely sort of a -place, rocky and barren," replied Ralph. "You know something of the -story connected with it?" - -"Only that it was used as a sort of hiding place for the invading -parties at the time of the attempted Fenian invasion of the Dominion of -Canada," responded Harry, who had been reading up on the history of the -St. Lawrence. - -"That's right, Harry. That is just the purpose the island once served. -It is almost in the center of the river. It was the plan of the -conspirators to make it a sort of headquarters, and it was well stocked -with arms and ammunition, all hidden in carefully excavated caves and -galleries within the island itself; although there were some caves -already in existence, for the place was selected for that very reason." - -"What became of the invaders?" inquired Percy Simmons, who was not -versed in this chapter of the history of the northern border line. - -"They were repulsed and many of them surrounded in the old windmill -tower and starved, or shot to death by the Canadians," was the reply. -"Others, who took refuge in the caves and tunnels, were driven out by -hunger and made prisoners. Oh, yes; Windmill Island has seen stirring -times since the old French settlers first put up that tower. The sails -of the mill rotted away long ago, and now there is only the tower left -to show what once stood there." - -"But who lives there now?" asked Harry curiously. - -"I don't know that it has any regular residents," was Ralph's rejoinder. -"I've heard that it is sometimes used by smugglers or fish dynamiters, -but so far as that goes, I have no first-hand knowledge." - -"At any rate, we might land there and remain till daylight," suggested -Percy Simmons. - -"That's a good idea, Persimmons," concurred Ralph. - -He turned the tender's head and started to row toward the island. They -could now see its rocky shores bulking up darkly under the tall tower, -which had once been a windmill, peacefully grinding out grain for the -early settlers on the St. Lawrence. - -"I suppose Harry would rather stay in the boat," said Percy Simmons -mischievously. "There are sure to be spooks around on an island that has -seen so much of tragedy." - -"Say, do you want to _swim_ ashore?" demanded Harry indignantly. "Just -cut that out if you don't want to get hurt. Wow!" - -From the shores of the island, toward which they were pulling, a sudden -gush of red flame split the night. It soared up waveringly toward the -heavens, casting a red glare on the waters. - -"Fire!" shouted Percy Simmons. - -"It's a hut ablaze!" came from Harry Ware. - -"Great Scott, fellows, it's going up like so much kindling wood! Let's -hurry ashore. We may be able to help and----" - -Bang! - -An explosion that rocked the earth and beat deafeningly on their -ear-drums had occurred. The burning hut was blown high into the air and -almost immediately red-hot fragments came raining about them. - -"Throw them out of the boat," cried Ralph, as the blazing embers began -dropping. "There's gasoline in our tank, and if any of those sparks set -the boat on fire--good night!" - -Regardless of burnt fingers, the boys commenced throwing the blazing -fragments, that hailed about them like a fiery rain, into the river. -They struck the water with hissing sounds. Once or twice the boys -narrowly escaped severe burns. But they hardly thought of this as they -worked to save the boat from catching fire. - -At last the fiery torrent ceased. They looked shoreward. A quadrangular -figure, marked in brightly glowing fire, showed where the foundations of -the hut had stood. All other trace of it had been wiped out utterly by -the explosion. - -"What on earth can have happened?" demanded Harry. - -"An explosion," came sapiently from Percy Simmons. - -"As if we didn't know that! That was no kid's fire-cracker that went -off, either," determined Ralph. - -"What, then?" - -"Dynamite," was the reply, "or some similar explosive. I felt the river -heave under our boat when she went up." - -"Great gracious! A dynamite explosion!" cried Percy Simmons. - -"Say, let's get out of here! Some more might go up and then we'd be -right in the middle of more trouble," cried Harry, in rather alarmed -tones. - -"I hardly think we need fear another explosion," said Ralph, "but, to be -on the safe side, we'll just stay here for a while. Then if anything -more is due to go up in smoke we'll be safe." - -"Safe!" exploded Harry. - -"Why, yes. In a few minutes, if nothing happens, I mean to go ashore -there." - -"You do! Are you crazy?" - -"Not that I am aware. At any rate, I don't see ghosts flitting about -over the river," parried Ralph, with a good-natured laugh at the -discomfited Harry's expense. - -"But why go ashore? It looks like a mighty dangerous place to me," -supplemented Percy Simmons. - -"I want to go ashore for just one reason," said Ralph, "and that is to -satisfy myself that no human beings were injured in that explosion." - -"You're dead right, Ralph," exclaimed Harry heartily, wringing his -chum's hand; "we didn't think of that. We're with you from the jump, old -chap, and if any one has been injured you can rely upon it that we will -do our best for them." - -"I knew you'd think that way about it, boys," said Ralph. "And now let's -pull in toward shore. I guess we needn't fear another explosion." - -"There's a rough sort of landing pier ahead," said Harry, as they drew -closer. "Better pull in there." - -The boat's head was swung. In a few minutes more she grated against the -ramshackle timbers of a tumble-down dock. - -"Now then, boys, pile out. Let's see what has been going on here," said -Ralph, in a brisk voice, as he shipped his oars and tied the painter to -a convenient pile. The others clambered up after him on the wharf. A -short distance back from the shore the remains of the exploded hut still -glowed, casting a lurid light about the scene. Through the ruddy glow -they saw a figure come striding toward them as they advanced up the -dock. - -"Some one coming," declared Ralph. "Hullo, there, you! We saw the -explosion from the water. Is any one hurt? Do you want help?" - -Right then the Border Boys were in for the surprise of their lives, -though they did not know it till the advancing figure, that of a tall, -strongly built young man, spoke. - -"You blooming Yankees, get right out of here," were the astonishing -words that greeted them. "Get, now. Do you understand, or do I have to -make my meaning plainer?" - -"Well, I'll be double gash-jiggered!" exploded Percy Simmons. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - RALPH INVESTIGATES THE EXPLOSION. - - -"What happened? What exploded?" demanded Ralph, ignoring the man's -manner purposely. - -"I suppose you figure that it's some of your bally business?" was the -response, in loud, bullying tones. "We've not got much use for Yankees -this side of the line, and you can put that in your pipe, smoke it and -just dig out." - -Ralph's anger began to rise. The tone in which the man spoke, his utter -ignoring of their kindly purpose in coming ashore, and the scene they -had just witnessed, all combined to put him in a ferment. Ralph didn't -often get angry, but when he did, like men said of his father in the -financial district, he "made things hum." His companions heard his jaws -click in the well-remembered fashion. - -"I asked you a proper question in a decent way, my man," he said, in a -quiet voice, controlling his anger with an effort. - -"And I don't choose to answer you. That's enough, ain't it? Now get!" - -The tones were peremptory. - -"Don't move a step," said Ralph to his companions. "This fellow has no -business to order us about." - -The man had, by this time, advanced quite close to them. They saw he was -tall, rather swarthy and fairly well dressed. He did not look like a man -who "used the river," as the phrase goes, for those who make their -living from the waters of the St. Lawrence. - -"I'll order you about just as much as I please," he snapped angrily, -seemingly in a towering rage. "This island is mine." - -"I'll have to contradict you there," rejoined Ralph calmly. "Since the -time of the Fenian invasion the island has been a sort of no-man's-land. -The United States and Canada have not yet decided to which government it -belongs. We've as much right here as you have." - -"You impudent young whelp, don't accuse me of telling an untruth!" - -"I'm doing no such thing," retorted Ralph bluntly. "I'm stating facts -and--you're not." - -"Well, anyhow, you can't land here. I've no idea where you came from, -but I don't want you here; so get out before I drive you out." - -"You'll have to answer me a few questions first. What exploded here?" - -"What do you think you are? A bloomin' bobby?" - -"No, I don't think I'm a policeman; but neither I nor my friends here -intend to leave till we know more about this explosion. If you have -explosives stored here you are a menace to the other islanders, of whom -my father is one." - -"A lot I care about that. Are you going?" - -"No." - -"Then take that!" - -The man made a rush at Ralph, apparently meaning to throw him off the -dock on which they were still standing. But before he could reach him -something happened; or rather, two things happened at once. - -Something twining and snake-like in its grip encircled the man's legs; -almost at the same time, deprived of his footing, he sat down violently -and with a sad loss of dignity. - -It was Harry Ware's doing. Seeing that trouble was impending, and -knowing Ralph well enough to realize that his chum would not yield to -rough coercion, he had bethought himself of the only weapon they had. -This was a heavy weight attached to a long line which was sometimes used -as an anchor when they went fishing in the tender. To hasten to the boat -and bring back the weight and the attached line was the work of little -more than a moment. - -The boy returned with his improvised weapon just in time to behold the -man's onslaught. He swung the weight and then suddenly released it. The -heavy iron shot out and in a jiffy it had swung the rope round and round -the man's legs, effectually depriving him of the power to move, without -injuring him in the slightest, except in his self-respect. - -[Illustration: The heavy iron shot out and in a jiffy it had swung the -rope round and round the man's legs.] - -"You infernal young demons!" yelled the man furiously, as he sat -helpless on the dock. - -The force of his fall had shaken him, and this had not helped to improve -his temper. - -"Come, calling us bad names won't do any good," soothed Ralph. - -"I'll have you arrested! I'll have the law on you! See if I don't," -bawled the man, struggling to release himself from the encircling rope. - -"I wouldn't talk about law right now," warned Ralph, in smooth, even -tones. "The law might be interested to know something about this -explosion to-night, you know." - -"Yah-h-h-h-h-h!" snarled the man. His anger and humiliation had rendered -him incapable of any more articulate form of speech. - -"Come on, boys, we'll go up to the ruins," said Ralph, while the man -still struggled with his bonds. In the darkness he was having a hard -time to untangle them. - -"Don't you dare go up near that hut," he roared at the top of his voice. - -"See here, my friend, you've said enough," hailed back Ralph, as, -together, the three chums set off for the glowing timbers that marked -the smoldering remains of the hut. - -"I'll fix you," roared the man, springing to his feet and rushing after -the boys the instant he succeeded in getting loose. - -"Don't make any attempt to interfere with us," warned Ralph, as the man -rushed at them. - -"Oh, I won't, eh? Well, you'll see. I'll just----" - -Whack! As the man pounced on him, Ralph's fist shot out like a piston -rod on a compound engine. - -It appeared to have almost as much "kick," too, for the man went down -like a stone and lay on the ground, using bad language and threatening -the Border Boys with all sorts of terrible things. - -"Stop using profanity," advised Ralph; "it never did anybody any good -and never will. Besides, we don't care to hear it. Good night." - -"I'll fix you, you young jackanapes," screamed the man, still, however, -not rising from the ground. "How dare you strike me? How dare you----" - -"Remember, I warned you not to interfere with us," rejoined Ralph, -perfectly coolly; "you have only yourself to blame. I simply defended -myself against an unjustifiable assault." - -"Unjustifiable!" shouted the man. "Is it unjustifiable for you to -intrude in my affairs? Is it unjustifiable to come butting in----" - -"Where we appear to be needed?" said Ralph, suddenly pausing in an -attitude of keen attention. "Hark, boys!" - -From the neighborhood of the ruins there had come a low groan. - -"There's somebody suffering there! Come on!" shouted Ralph. - -The others needed no second urging to the rescue. Followed by the -imprecations of the man they left behind, they hastened on toward the -smoking pile that marked the site of the hut. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - SAVED FROM THE RUINS. - - -"The groans seem to come from over there," said Harry, after an interval -of searching among the scattered beams and timbers. - -"Where?" - -"Right there where the remains of that stone chimney are standing. Phew! -what a strong odor! It makes my head ache." - -"Dynamite," was Ralph's brief response; "that shows I was right. It was -dynamite that blew up the hut." - -Right by the chimney that Harry Ware had indicated was a confused pile -of boards and scantlings. As the boys reached the spot a hollow moan -came from beneath the tumbled mass of wreckage. - -"Here, boys! It's right under here!" cried Ralph. "Hurry now and tear -this stuff away. It may be a matter of life and death." - -The boys worked feverishly for a few minutes and then they uncovered an -arm, and a minute later an unconscious form was stretched out before -their eyes. - -"Why, it's a boy!" exclaimed Percy Simmons, as the white face of the -inanimate form was illumined by a faint glow from the smoldering hut. - -"So it is. Just a kid. See, there's a bucket over there and a well -yonder. Make haste and get some water, Harry," said Ralph. "We'll bathe -this cut on his forehead." - -"Poor little fellow, he looks about all in," said Percy Simmons, as -Harry hurried off on his errand of mercy. - -"I'm not so sure about that. He may have only been knocked unconscious -when those beams fell on him," replied Ralph hopefully. "I can find no -trace of broken bones." - -"Well, that's good, anyhow. See, here comes Harry back with the water. -What now?" - -"We must bathe the wound and then try to get him to a doctor," was the -reply. - -"A doctor?" - -"Certainly. He needs medical attendance. We can only give first aid -measures." - -"But there's no doctor nearer than Piquetville." - -"Think again." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Why, on North Twin Island, not far from us, Dr. Chadwick has a summer -home. He arrived there two days ago. We'll take this boy there, and see -what can be done for him." - -While this conversation was going on Ralph had been tenderly bathing the -little lad's wound, while the others supported his limp frame. He -appeared to be hardly more than eleven or twelve years old, with a -meager, starved-looking little body; but his hands were cruelly scarred -and mauled as if by hard work. His feet and calves were bare and a -tattered shirt and torn trousers formed his sole garments. Altogether, -it was a forlorn little scarecrow that they bent over in the dim light -of the ruins. - -All this time they had forgotten completely about the man they had left -behind them, felled by Ralph's necessary blow. He now was recalled -abruptly to their recollection by no less a circumstance than his -arrival on the scene. - -"What are you doing with that boy?" he demanded roughly. - -"Trying to do the best we can to patch him up till we get him to a -doctor," said Ralph sharply. "Did you know he was in the ruins?" - -"What is that to you if I did or not?" grumbled the man. "If you must -know, I was looking for him when you came up and interfered." - -"And you wasted valuable time which might, for all you knew, have cost a -human life, in quarreling with us? You're a fine specimen--not!" growled -out Ralph. He was mad clear through at the other's brutal cynicism. But -he was to get madder still presently. - -"Don't you dare take that boy off this island," the man said -peremptorily. - -"And why not?" demanded Ralph. "Surely it's plain enough, even to as -callous a being as you are, that he needs medical attention." - -"I can attend to him. If you take him away from here, you do it at your -peril," was the extraordinary reply. - -"Great Scott, man, do you call yourself a human being?" burst out Percy -Simmons. - -"Come on. Pick him up and carry him down to the boat. Easy now, don't -shake him," said Ralph as, after bandaging the lad's head with his -handkerchief, he issued the order to his chums, ignoring the man -utterly. The fellow fumed as Percy Simmons and Harry Ware took the -injured lad's head and feet and started off for the boat. - -"Put down that boy!" he screamed. - -"By what authority?" demanded Ralph. - -"By mine. I'm his father." - -"Then you must have married mighty early. You don't look much over -twenty-one or so." - -"Confound your impudence!" shrieked out the man. "How dare you come here -and kidnap my son?" - -"Oh, we're not kidnapping. We are taking him to Dr. Chadwick on North -Twin Island. He may decide that he must go to a hospital. If the doctor -does order this we will inform you. Will you let us have your name?" - -"I will not," shouted the man. "I warn you that you are law-breakers. -You'll be punished for this. I'll see to that, if it takes me the -longest day I ever live!" - -"Then you'll have to wait till the time that men or boys are to be -punished for saving lives," flung back Ralph scornfully, as they made -their way to the landing. - -The man offered no further objections to their taking the boy. Possibly -he had had his lesson already and found out that instead of three mere -boys, he had tackled lads who had seen enough of peril and adventure to -render them capable of rising to almost any emergency that might present -itself. - -Nevertheless, he followed them to the dock and watched without comment -while they stowed the lad as comfortably as they could on the floor of -the little tender, using the cushions off the seats so that he might -rest the more easily. - -"We'll let you hear from us in the morning," cried Ralph, as they shoved -off, the man still remaining in silence on the dock. - -"Don't you dare to come back here again," he bawled in reply. "If you -do, I shan't be alone." - -"Perhaps we shan't be, either," shot back Ralph, as he fell to work on -the oars. - -With this parting dart, they left the strange man of Windmill Island -silhouetted against the glowing remains of his hut. As long as they -could see him, he stood motionless there, watching the receding boat. - -"Well, if this isn't a night of adventures and mysteries, jumbled up -like a tangled fishing line, I'd like to know," exclaimed Percy Simmons -feelingly, as the boat moved slowly through the water. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - A RACE FOR THE DOCTOR. - - -"We'll switch to the motor, Persimmons." - -The dawn comes up early so far north as the St. Lawrence. It was not yet -three o'clock in the morning, yet there was a faint gray light -illumining the river. - -They had been waiting for this. In the darkness, and with the many -whirlpools and rapids that occur in that part of the river, it would -have been dangerous to do anything more than wait about for daylight. As -the light grew stronger the little motor began to crackle and bang, and -the tender moved swiftly off through the water in the direction of Dr. -Chadwick's island. - -"How is our patient getting along, Ralph?" asked Harry, who was -steering. - -"Breathing easily, but still unconscious. Give us all the speed you can -get, Percy. This boy's life may be the reward of a few extra miles -coaxed out of the engine." - -"I'll do my best," young Simmons assured him. - -With Persimmons making good his promise, it was not long before the -tender's headway was checked off Dr. Chadwick's island, a pretty, wooded -spot with a bungalow showing amid the trees. The bungalow stood back -from the water up a steep, grassy slope. The first rays of the rising -sun were gleaming on this when the little tender came to a stop at a -neat stone dock. - -"Blow the whistle," ordered Ralph. "I guess somebody is up. Anyhow, -there is smoke coming from the chimney." - -Obediently, Percy Simmons began sounding the pneumatic whistle. - -Toot-toot-toot-toot-toot! - -At the fifth blast the figure of a servant appeared from the bungalow at -the top of the slope. - -Ralph snatched up the tender's megaphone. - -"Dr. Chadwick at home?" he shouted. - -The servant nodded in reply. - -"Then please ask him to hurry down here as soon as possible. We've got a -badly injured boy with us. Ask him to make all the haste he can. It's a -serious case." - -The man gave a wave of his hand to show he understood and vanished. It -did not take long for Dr. Chadwick to appear. He was evidently up early -to go on a fishing expedition, for he wore outing clothes. He was a -middle-aged but active man. He came down the slope quickly, carrying a -black surgical case in one hand. As he saw the boys he broke into a run. -Speedily he was on the dock looking down into the tender. - -"Well, well," he exclaimed, "you young men are early callers. What is -the trouble? Ah! that lad there! Cut on the head, eh? Bring him ashore -and I'll examine him." - -The injured lad was carefully lifted to the dock by the boys and laid -down on the crib-work, while the physician bent over him sympathizingly. -He removed the bandage that bound the boy's head. As he saw the wound he -whistled. - -"Pretty bad cut, this. How did it happen?" - -As the boys explained the case to him, he worked on the wound, applying -antiseptics and carefully bandaging it. - -"Is the skull fractured?" inquired Ralph. - -"That is impossible to say. I cannot do more than examine it now." - -"What had better be done?" - -"I'd recommend a hospital," said the doctor. - -"Is there one near here?" inquired Ralph. - -"Yes, at Cardinal, on the Canadian shore." - -"We had better take him there?" - -"I should strongly advise it. In fact, it may be his only chance of -pulling through. It was a good thing you came to me so early. I am going -down the river to-day and may be gone for some time. Otherwise I should -be glad to help you out in elucidating the mystery of that island." - -"Thank you," rejoined Ralph; "we mean to try and do something in that -way ourselves." - -"Well, you look capable enough," said the doctor dryly, with a twinkle -in his eye. - -Not long after, for the doctor had cautioned them not to delay, the -tender shot out from the dock. In the rush of events it had hardly -occurred to the boys to talk over the disappearance of the _River -Swallow_. Now, however, that they had done almost all they could for the -boy, and the tender was headed for Cardinal, not more than six miles -off, the talk swung naturally enough to that topic. - -Indignation against Malvin was the ruling feeling, although Ralph warned -them not to prejudge the man. - -"He may have had some good reason for what he did," he said. - -"He'll have a good excuse, anyhow. I'll bet my head on that," said Harry -Ware, with emphasis. - -They were swinging between the North Twin and the South Twin Island as -the lad spoke. As they shot around a promontory on the latter's easterly -end, Percy Simmons, who had relieved Harry at the wheel, checked their -talk by an abrupt shout. - -"Motor craft ahead!" he cried. - -"Where?" demanded Ralph. - -"Right over our bow. By hickory," the boy's voice became surcharged with -sudden excitement, "it's--it's the _River Swallow_!" - -"By all that's wonderful, so it is!" and Ralph echoed the other's shout. - -"Hail her!" suggested Harry, "it won't be long now before we squeeze -some sort of an explanation out of that wiggly Malvin." - -The tender was urged to top speed. The _River Swallow_ was bound down -the river, apparently headed for Dexter Island. She was making good -speed, but, aided by the current between the two islands, the tender -bade fair to intercept her. Harry Ware opened a locker and snatched out -a flag. He waved it energetically above his head. - -Before long the _River Swallow's_ way was checked. She swerved from her -course and headed for the little tender. As she came alongside, Malvin's -face appeared on the bridge. His countenance beamed with what appeared -to be genuine relief as he met the boys' eyes unflinchingly. - -"Thank heaven you're safe, young gentlemen!" he cried. "I feared -something had happened to you." - -"Humph," muttered Harry to himself, as some steps were lowered and they -prepared to board the _River Swallow_, "I've got more than half a -notion, my friend, that you weren't half as worried as you would like us -to think." - -Malvin and Hansen helped to get the injured lad on deck, where he was -laid out in the cockpit. Had Ralph not been preoccupied he would have -noticed Malvin give a perceptible start as his eyes fell upon the lad's -pallid face. - -"It's Henderson Hawke's boy, Jim Whey," he muttered to himself. "So it -_was_ these brats of Border Boys who landed on Windmill Island last -night. I thought so from the description Hawke gave me of his visitors." - -After seeing the wounded lad comfortably disposed, Ralph ordered full -speed ahead. Cardinal was reached after a swift run and the lad hurried -to the hospital in an ambulance summoned from the dock. - -"I think we may hope for the best," said the house surgeon in answer to -the boys' inquiries. "What is the lad's name?" - -"We--we don't know; but I'll be responsible for him," rejoined Ralph. - -"Humph! Queer sort of lads," muttered the surgeon, as he turned to give -some orders and the boys returned to their fast motor craft. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - HARRY HEARS A NOISE IN THE BUSHES. - - -"And now for some sleep." - -Ralph spoke, as, after enjoying a hearty breakfast of fruit, steaks and -coffee, the two latter cooked on the _River Swallow's_ electric broiler -by Percy Simmons, the three boys, who had passed such a sleepless, -trying night, yawned openly in each other's faces. - -Malvin had the wheel with orders to steer direct for Dexter Island. -Ralph had already questioned the man and, as Harry Ware had prophesied, -Malvin, the inscrutable, had his excuses all down "pat." - -It was as he had said, he declared. The swift current at the point from -which the lads had left the larger craft in the tender had caused the -anchor to drag. Caught by the swift current, and with only the Norwegian -to run the engines, Malvin declared he had had a narrow escape from -going on the rocks. - -His story was circumstantial, direct, and told without the flicker of an -eyelid. Ralph had no choice but to accept it, as well as Malvin's -explanation that he had been searching for the boys ever since he had -regained control of the large craft. - -It is almost unnecessary to say that Ralph, in view of his suspicions of -the man, did not believe, at least as a whole, Malvin's carefully -detailed story. In fact, he resolved to question the Norwegian hand at -some later time. But it may as well be stated here that from Hansen, a -stolid fellow who fully lived up to his title of "squarehead," the boys -were able to glean but little. - -Ralph and his chums slept till noon. They were astonished when Harry -Ware, the first to awaken, peeped out of a porthole and announced that -they were lying at the dock at Dexter Island. - -"Confound that fellow Malvin," muttered Ralph. "I told him to call us as -soon as we landed off the island. We must have got here more than two -hours ago, and yet he let us sleep; just another instance of his -carelessness." - -There came a knock on the cabin door. - -"Come in," cried Ralph, and then, as Malvin entered with a folded paper -in his hand, he demanded why they had not been called. - -"My father was expecting----" began Ralph, when Malvin interrupted him. - -"Begging your pardon, sir, here is a note from your father." - -"A note?" exclaimed Ralph, in an astonished voice. - -"Yes, sir." - -"I don't just see why dad should send me a note, when he is here on the -island himself," said Ralph, as he took the folded paper. - -"That's just it, sir, if I may say so," said Malvin, more obsequiously -than ever; "you see, he isn't here." - -"Not here!" - -"No, sir. He left the island last night on Mr. Collins' boat. The -servant who handed me the note said that it would explain everything." - -"All right. You can go, Malvin." - -Ralph unfolded the paper and saw that scrawled on it in his father's -big, forceful writing were a few words. It was characteristic of the -older Stetson that he didn't waste words when he had anything to say. -The note read as follows: - - -"Dear Jack: Called away to Montreal. Conference on a steel-rail deal for -the new Georgian Bay Railroad. Can't tell when I'll be back, but get -along as best you can and enjoy yourself. - - "Dad. - -"P. S.--I hailed Collins' boat as she went by and he will take me to -Point Lalone, where I can catch the Grand Trunk for Montreal. My address -will be Imperial Hotel, Montreal." - - -"Well, if that isn't too bad! Just when we need his advice, too," burst -out Harry, as Ralph concluded reading the brief note aloud to his chums. - -"It is hard luck. But it's just like dad," laughed Ralph. "Here he comes -up here for a vacation, and the first thing you know he's plunging off -to Montreal to bury himself in work again!" - -"That's the American business man all over," commented Percy Simmons -judicially; "duty before pleasure; the nose to the grindstone always." - -"No danger of your ever being taken that way," scoffed Harry Ware; "a -hammock and a big glass of ice cream soda for you, if you ever get -rich." - -"Oh, I don't know that I'm any exception to some folks I know," retorted -Percy airily. - -"Say, fellows, let's go up to the house," suggested Ralph. "I want to -make some inquiries about what time dad left, and so on. Then this -evening we might take a run over to the Canadian shore and send a wire -to the Imperial." - -"All right," rejoined Harry; "suits me." - -"Look out, we might encounter that spook craft again," said Percy -Simmons teasingly. - -"Oh, all right for you," retorted Harry, flushing up, "you, buried down -in the engine room! You didn't see that boat when she burst out into a -green glare. I thought sure it was that _Lost Voyageur_ craft that they -tell about." - -"I've a notion," remarked Ralph, as they walked up the path leading from -the boat landing to the large, handsome house that topped a rising -knoll, "I've a notion that others than ourselves might be interested in -hearing about that ghost craft." - -"Who, for instance?" asked Harry. - -"Why, the authorities. I've a strong inclination to report the matter to -the Canadian police when we run over there to-night." - -"Why not kill two birds with one stone and run into Cardinal? We could -find out there how our young friend is getting along, and also do what -you suggest. But what makes you think the authorities would be -interested in the matter?" - -"Why, just this. That craft is engaged in some sort of nefarious -business, probably smuggling. It's the only plausible explanation for -the conduct of those on board her, and all their devices to throw -pursuing craft off her track." - -"Smuggling! I guess you've hit the nail on the head, all right, Ralph. -But why should she have been seen off this island?" - -"That is exactly what I want to find out," was Ralph's rejoinder. "In -fact, if I wasn't so certain that some link exists between that queer, -night-roving boat and Dexter Island, I wouldn't take so much trouble to -run all possible clews down." - -"Hark! What was that?" exclaimed Harry Ware suddenly, stopping and -wheeling right about face. - -"What?" - -"I heard a rustling sound in that clump of bushes," explained the boy. - -"Gracious! More spooks. You've got 'em on the brain," scoffed Percy -Simmons loudly. - -"Say, just can that comedy stuff of yours, will you?" demanded Harry -Ware. Then turning to Ralph, he said, "It wasn't my imagination, Ralph. -I sure heard something in there." - -"Probably a squirrel. There are several on the island," rejoined Ralph. - -"Yes, make a noise like a nut and maybe he'll come out," kindly -suggested Persimmons. - -"Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll leave that to you. You see, you -could do it more naturally," parried Harry Ware, to Percy's -discomfiture. - -"We'll take a look in there just to satisfy ourselves," said Ralph, who, -for some reason, appeared to take Harry Ware's report more seriously -than did Persimmons. - -But a search of the clump revealed no sign of life, human or animal. - -"Score up another one to the spooks," chuckled Persimmons. - -But it was no spook or animal, either, that had made the rustling sound -which Harry's sharp ears had detected. It was a man; Malvin, in fact. He -had glided like a weasel from the boat the instant the boys left it. -Following a circuitous track, veiled from the main path by flowering -shrubs and ornamental bushes, he had secreted himself in the clump of -plants to which Harry had drawn attention. - -He had heard almost every word of the latter part of their conversation, -and an evil smile mantled his face as he listened. When the boys stopped -short he had glided off like a snake through the screening shrubbery, -and as he went he muttered words that boded no good to the boys, should -they put into effect their intention of informing the Canadian -authorities of the "ghost craft" and its ways. - -Clearly Ralph had not guessed wrongly when he hazarded the belief that a -link existed between Dexter Island and the mysterious men of the -night-roving motor boat. - -The link was Roger Malvin. - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - CROSS PURPOSES. - - -Following out his prearranged plans, Ralph ordered the _River Swallow_ -to be made ready for her run to Cardinal that night. After a good supper -the three young Border Boys, now changed to motor boatmen, sauntered -down toward the dock somewhat ahead of the time they had decided on -leaving. - -Harry Ware was in advance of his comrades, and as he turned an angle in -the patch he came into full view of the _River Swallow_ lying at her -dock. - -"What a pretty picture she makes lying there," he thought. "My, to look -at her you'd never think she could hustle over the water the way she -can!" - -Malvin and Hansen were standing near the craft, and the former turned as -Harry came round the corner. - -Instantly a long, low whistle came from the fellow's lips, and Harry -could have sworn that at the same instant a third figure arose from the -deck of the _River Swallow_, where it had seemingly been lounging, and -vanished down the forescuttle. - -Harry Ware rubbed his eyes. - -"Well, I'll be jiggered!" he exclaimed. "Am I seeing things, or what? -There are Malvin and Hansen on the dock. Besides the servants, they are -the only men on the island, and that man on the deck--or the man I -thought I saw on the deck--is most assuredly not one of them." - -He stood there puzzled exceedingly by what he had seen, for he was -almost certain that his eyes had played him no tricks. Yet if he had -really seen a third man on the _River Swallow_, how had he come there? -No boat had come into the dock that afternoon, and there was no other -way of landing on the island except at a point which was commanded by -the house. It was another mystery to be added to the strange events that -appeared to be piling up around the boys in baffling confusion. - -"Shall I tell the others about it and risk getting the life joshed out -of me?" thought Harry to himself, as his comrades' steps drew nearer. - -After a minute's cogitation, he decided to remain silent about what he -had seen--for that it was no optical delusion he was certain. - -"But I couldn't convince them of that," he mused. "They'd say I had been -seeing spooks again, and Persimmons would kid the life out of me. No, I -guess I'll keep my mouth shut and do some detective work on my own -account." - -With this resolution in his mind, he joined his chums, and, arm in arm, -the three strolled down to the _River Swallow_. - -"All ready, sir," declared Malvin, "but you're a little bit ahead of the -time you said, sir. I wasn't expecting you." - -Harry looked sharply at the man. - -"No, I'll bet you weren't expecting us," he thought. - -"All right," responded Ralph to Malvin. "Percy, get below and tune the -engines up. It is almost dusk. I would like to get under way before -dark." - -Persimmons dived below, donned his engineer's overalls and began to test -up his engines for the night run. To his surprise, they responded -sluggishly to his efforts to get them in working order. - -"The first time they've laid down on me," he muttered, as, monkey wrench -in hand, he tried to locate the source of the trouble. - -"What's the matter?" hailed Ralph impatiently down the tube. "Aren't you -ready yet?" - -"Not yet. There is some trouble here I can't locate." - -"Bother! I wanted to get under way as soon as possible. What do you -think is the matter?" - -"Impossible to say yet." - -"Well, hurry up and do the best you can." - -"You bet I'll do that. It may take some time, though." - -"But they were working all right when we tied up this afternoon." - -"That makes it all the more puzzling. Something has happened to them -between then and now, that is certain." - -The young engineer went vigorously to work. Systematically he went over -wiring and ignition and tested the compression. All were in perfect -working order, and yet the engines only responded with a lifeless series -of "shoo-oo-o-oofs-s-s!" to all his efforts. - -Percy Simmons knitted his brows. He sat down on a leather-covered bench -that ran along one side of the engine room. - -"Let's see; I've been over everything," he mused, "gasoline valves, -spark plugs, wiring, batteries, magneto and all. They're all running as -smoothly as a hundred-dollar watch. What the dickens----" - -He broke off suddenly. - -"I'm a fine engineer!" he exclaimed. "The carburetors!" - -Industriously he commenced examining the carburetors, the "hearts of the -motors." There were four in all on the twin four-cylinder engines of the -_River Swallow_. After he had worked a while, Percy Simmons made a -discovery that brought him to his feet with a yell. - -In the bowls of all the carburetors sand had been placed. This, of -course, prevented the proper mixture of air and gasoline taking place, -and made it impossible to start the engine. - -"Now what wretch can have done such a thing?" exclaimed Percy to himself -as he made this discovery. "Somebody with a knowledge of engines and how -to cripple them in just the last place any one would think of looking to -locate the trouble!" - -Malvin's was the first name that flashed into his mind, for suspicion is -one of the most infectious of mental maladies, and Ralph's attack of -"nerves" in regard to the former captain of the _River Swallow_ had -communicated itself swiftly and forcibly to his two young chums. - -But a moment's reflection caused Persimmons to reject this explanation -of the sanded carburetors. Malvin, while capable of running an engine -when it was in perfect working order, had no technical knowledge of -machinery such as the person who had maliciously "doped" the carburetors -must have possessed. - -Hansen? No, the Norwegian was even less skillful about a motor than -Malvin. Who, then, could have been responsible for such a wanton act of -vandalism? - -"Gee! If we get up against any more mysteries I'm going to quit and go -back home," breathed Persimmons agitatedly to himself. "What with spook -motor boats, mysterious ghostly lights and strange doings on uninhabited -islands, and lastly these sanded carburetors, life along the St. -Lawrence is getting too rich for my blood." - -In response to Persimmons' summons, Ralph came below. The young -captain's shipmate explained the state of the case to him. - -"What do you make of it?" he concluded. - -Ralph could only assume a puzzled expression. - -"I don't know what to say," he said. - -"Well, Malvin and Hansen are pretty well eliminated, don't you think?" - -"I guess so. I agree with you that neither is possessed of enough -technical engineering knowledge to enable him to cripple a motor in this -fashion." - -"That settles that, then. But it is equally certain that none of us did -it." - -"That goes without saying." - -"Then we come down to one culprit," announced Percy, looking important. - -"Who is that?" - -"One of Harry Ware's ghosts," declared Persimmons soberly, but with a -twinkle in his eye nevertheless. - -"I guess we can safely call the ghosts out of it," laughed Ralph, in -spite of his vexation. "The thing is, who would have a motive to try to -prevent the _River Swallow_ leaving Dexter Island to-night." - -"There's only one motive that I can suggest," said young Simmons -seriously. - -"And that one is?" - -"A desperate desire to prevent us from communicating to the authorities -our experiences of last night." - -"But who could know anything about that? We agreed to keep that part of -the object of our journey to ourselves. Nobody could know of it." - -"Unless somebody overheard us when we talked it over." - -"What do you mean?" - -"That maybe Harry Ware wasn't so far off as we thought he was, when he -declared he heard a rustling in that shrubbery." - -"But, even so; even if anyone did overhear us, Malvin, for instance, -we've already decided that he couldn't cripple the engines in such a -skillful manner." - -"That being so, there is only one explanation. The sand is there. Some -one placed it there. It wasn't one of us. It is practically impossible -that it could have been Malvin or Hansen. That lets everybody out." - -"Yes," said Ralph slowly, "unless----" - -He paused. - -"Well, unless what?" - -"Unless there is somebody on board this boat that we know nothing -about." - -Percy Simmons broke out in a frantic yell. - -"Holy Mackerel! You're getting 'em, too. We'll all be seeing things -before we get through." - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - HARRY PLAYS DETECTIVE. - - -It is strange upon what slender circumstances big results sometimes -depend. Had the fear of ridicule not held back Harry Ware from telling -the others about the figure he had seen glide along the deck and vanish -in the crew's quarters of the _River Swallow_, a great part of the -events of that night might have turned out differently. - -As it was, however, Harry kept his counsel, with what results we shall -see before long. The trouble with the engines once located, it did not -take Percy Simmons long to adjust matters, and within half an hour he -had the big motors whirring as evenly as if nothing had ever disturbed -the even tenor of their workings. - -As soon as he was notified that everything was all right below, Ralph -rang for the reverse and the _River Swallow_ backed out from her dock -into the darkness that was falling fast. But for the delay, thought -Ralph, who had chafed impatiently over it, they might have been in -Cardinal by that time. But there was no help for it, and as soon as he -had room to turn he sent down a clanging signal to Persimmons for "full -speed ahead." - -Harry Ware was on the bridge by the young captain, but after a while he -said he thought he smelled gas, and went forward. He wanted to explore -the crew's quarters for himself. Malvin and Hansen were on the lookout -stations in the bow, and, as Harry approached the forescuttle, the -former came up to him. - -"Where are you going, sir?" he asked in a tone that struck Harry as -being rather agitated. - -"Why, we suspect there's a leak in one of the gas tanks," was the boy's -ready reply. "I'm going down there to see if I can locate it." - -"I'll go, sir," interrupted Malvin eagerly; "let me go, sir." - -"Don't bother yourself," replied Harry; "your place is forward on the -lookout. Captain Stetson would be angry if he knew you had left it. -You'd better go back." - -Malvin did not obey at once. Instead, he placed his head right over the -scuttle, and in a loud voice announced, after a minute of sniffing, that -he could smell no fumes of gasoline. - -"It's no use your taking the trouble to go nosing around down there," he -said, turning to Harry. "If the gas was leaking, I'd smell it sure." - -"Nevertheless, I shouldn't be doing my duty if I didn't obey Ralph -Stetson's orders," stoutly declared Harry. "Let me pass; I'm going down. -I'd recommend you to get back on your station." - -Malvin's rejoinder was peculiar. He did not, in fact, address it to -Harry at all. He placed his mouth over the scuttle and in a loud voice, -unnecessarily loud it sounded to Harry, he bawled out: - -"Oh, all right, sir. Go below if you want to. But--LOOK OUT -BELOW--there's some low carlins there you might bump your head on." - -The last part of this speech was delivered in low and cautionary tones. -Having uttered the warning, Malvin turned and, with a respectful nod, -paced back to his post of duty. - -"Now I wonder why he hollered, 'Look out below,' at the top of his lungs -like that?" pondered Harry. - -"Well, I'll give it up," he murmured, renewing his meditations. "Anyhow, -here goes for an exploration of the forecastle." - -He dived below, having first switched on the electric light in the -sailors' quarters by means of a switch at the head of the ladder leading -below. - -As he descended the steep rungs, not without difficulty, for the _River -Swallow_ was being driven fast and was pitching and rolling -considerably, he looked sharply about him. But there was nothing to -indicate that anyone was in hiding there. In the men's bunks the beds -were neatly made up. In one corner were their chests and personal -belongings. Everything was shipshape, orderly and--empty. - -"It was my imagination then, after all," breathed Harry as he looked -about him; "I'm glad I didn't say anything to the fellows." - -At precisely the same moment, Ralph was remarking to Persimmons, the -latter having come on deck to gulp down a breath of fresh air: - -"Don't say anything about the sanded carburetors to Harry, Percy. He's -scared enough as it is." - -"You can bet I won't. He'd be off on his old spook tactics again if I -did," responded the Simmons boy with alacrity. - -And thus did the lads on board the _River Swallow_ play at cross -purposes, little dreaming what mutual benefit might have resulted from a -comparison of notes. - -Firmly convinced that he had been the victim of a delusion, Harry made -his way back to the deck and retraced his steps aft to join Ralph on the -bridge. - -"Everything all right?" asked the latter. - -"Oh, sure." - -"Malvin at his post?" - -"Oh, yes. He and Hansen were right on the job. There with both feet." - -"Good. I didn't feel altogether sure of that Malvin fellow." - -Without further comments Ralph reverted to his duty of steering the -_River Swallow_ through swiftly moving currents and eddies, for they -were bound up the river. Harry leaned against the rail beside him. - -"Whereabouts are we?" he asked as the boat sped along through the -darkness. - -"Passing Chimney Island. You can make it out off there to the left." - -"Not up to Windmill Island yet?" - -"Not yet. Anyhow, we won't go near it going up. I'll pass it on the -return trip, though. We can make better time by striking the current -there." - -The remainder of the journey to Cardinal, a rather sleepy, though fairly -populous, Canadian town, was made without incident. As they came abreast -of the town dock, which was brilliantly illuminated with electric arc -lights in expectation of the arrival of the steamer bound down the river -for Quebec, they noticed the crowd idly gathered there. It was ready for -any excitement and broke into a cheer as the fast boat came sweeping up -to the dock. Then, at a signal from Ralph, the _River Swallow_ suddenly -slackened speed, churning the waters whitely with its reversing -propellers, and eventually came to a standstill with the precision of an -auto being driven up to the curb. - -It was a fine bit of boat-handling that the spectators were quick to -recognize and applaud. - -Malvin, bow line in hand, leaped ashore as the _River Swallow_ glided -up, and Hansen equally quick, for the man was a good sailor, hopped -nimbly about, dropping fenders to prevent the racing motor boat's sheeny -sides being scratched or marred by contact with the timbers of the dock. - -"Good bit of work that, lad," said a grizzled old man on the dock, as -the boys came ashore, all dressed in natty yachting garments, visored -caps, blue coats, white flannel trousers and white canvas shoes. - -"Thank you," laughed Ralph. "I guess my engineer was as much responsible -for it as I." - -"Ah-hum," said the old man. "I used to handle a boat once, but now I -ain't fit for nothing but just night watchman at the grain elevator -yonder," and he pointed to a towering structure that loomed against the -dark sky. - -Malvin and Hansen had been left in charge of the _River Swallow_. Arm in -arm the three boys started up the street. But after they had gone a -short way, Harry suddenly declared that he had left something he wanted -in the cabin. - -"I'll go back for it. You fellows keep right on," he said. - -"Where shall we meet you? We're bound for the hospital," said Ralph. - -"Where from there?" - -"To the Western Union offices." - -"And then?" - -"Why, I guess to the police station or whatever answers to it over on -this side. I've a burning desire to lay the facts in the case before the -authorities." - -"Very well then, I'll meet you at the telegraph office." - -And so it was arranged. While Percy and Ralph hastened to the hospital, -which lay at one end of the town, Harry made the best of his way back -toward the _River Swallow_. His conscience hurt him a bit for not having -told his friends the true reason for his return to the motor craft. - -Harry was not in search of something forgotten. - -He was on the trail of the third man who, despite all evidence to the -contrary, he was still firmly convinced was concealed somewhere on board -the _River Swallow_. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII. - A VISIT TO THE HOSPITAL. - - -At the hospital, Ralph and young Simmons were informed that the lad they -had brought in that morning was better, and that it was almost certain -that he would recover in course of time. Naturally, both boys were -anxious to see him, as they felt that the lad they had found in the -ruins of the dynamited hut could throw a great deal of light on that -mysterious occurrence. - -For some reason, which he himself could not have defined, Ralph was -beginning to link the different strange happenings of the previous night -into a continuous chain. Irrational as the idea appeared that there was -any connection between the blowing up of the hut and the latest voyage -of the gray motor boat, he could not help feeling that somewhere the two -occurrences dove-tailed into each other. But he said nothing of this to -his chums, as, actually, he had nothing upon which to base his belief. - -Permission to see the lad whom they had saved from almost certain death -under the smoldering timbers was denied to them, after they had waited -some time to obtain it. Percy was bitterly disappointed. Ralph was also -rather put out that they could not see and talk to the little lad, who, -they felt certain, held the key to the mystery. But he was not -astonished. He knew better than Percy Simmons how serious the boy's -condition had been that morning. - -"Come back in two days," the house surgeon said. "I could not think of -permitting you to talk to your young friend until then. He must on no -account be excited." - -"He is resting easily?" asked Ralph. - -"Yes; but--he is terribly fragile and emaciated." - -"Any-anything else?" asked Percy, recollecting certain bruises and marks -he had spied on the lad's body. - -"Why, yes. Since you ask, I should say that he has been the recent -victim of cruel and inhuman treatment. Do you know anything concerning -this?" - -"No, we know nothing about him except that we brought him here," said -Ralph; "but we take an interest in the case." - -"Oh, it's not very interesting," rejoined the man of medicine, mistaking -his meaning; "a simple case of slight concussion of the brain and -exhaustion and shock. We have many such cases. It is quite ordinary, I -assure you." - -"I guess you and I look at cases from different angles," smiled Ralph. - -"Ah; quite so! quite so!" exclaimed the Canadian surgeon, and hurried -off to make his nightly inspection of the wards. - -But, before he went, he had a question to ask: - -"I say,--Yankees, aren't you?" - -"We are Americans," rejoined Ralph gravely. "That is, we're Americans -all we know how to be, twenty-six hours out of the twenty-four, and -three hundred and sixty-five days a year, and more on Leap Year." - -"My word! You Yankees are----" - -"There's no such word as Yankee," struck in Percy, not knowing whether -to laugh or be angry. - -"Oh, well, Americans, then. Same thing! Same thing! Jolly smart people, -just the same. Good-night!" - -And off the little bald-headed man bounced, leaving the two lads alone. - -"No use waiting here, Percy," said Ralph, as the surgeon vanished. - -Percy looked around the bare office. A desk, a telephone, and a long row -of dismal, precise-looking chairs were its sole ornaments. A smell of -disinfectants hung heavily in the air. Behind the desk a small man with -a closely cropped head, and very neat, well-brushed clothes, was writing -in a big book, a supply of spare pens held behind his ears on either -side of his shiny skull. - -Suddenly the telephone jangled harshly. The man jumped up and went to -it. The boys, half unconsciously, paused. - -"Hello," they heard the little man say in snappish, peeved tones, -"hel-lo. Yes-yes-yes. This is the Mercy Hospital. Yes, I said. -Yes-yes-yes. A boy? A boy wounded in the forehead? Concussion case? Yes, -we have such a case here." - -The boys exchanged glances. There appeared to be hardly a doubt but that -some one at the other end of the wire was calling up about "their boy." - -The conversation to which they were auditors at one end only continued. - -"Who is this?--Who?--Say it again.--Malvern?--No?--Speak louder, can't -you? Oh, Malvin. Yes----" - -"Great Scott!" - -The exclamation fairly leaped from Ralph's lips. - -The busy little man looked around angrily. - -"Can't you keep still while I'm 'phoning?" he demanded. "Boys are a -nuisance." - -He applied himself again to the 'phone. - -"No, sir, I did not say _you_ were a nuisance. I said, 'Boys are a -nuisance.' Yes." - -He turned and glanced malevolently at the boys, as much as to say, "Now -see what you've done." - -Then the conversation went on. - -"See the boy?--No, that is impossible.--Two boys were here to-night -to--Hey! What confounded impudence!" - -Ralph had dashed forward and was clutching his arm. He had jerked the -receiver from the fussy little old man and slapped his other hand over -the transmitter. - -"Don't say anything about us being here, sir, I beg of you. You may foil -the ends of justice. You may----" - -"Hoity-toity! What's all this? What are boys coming to? Be quiet, sir. -Let me talk at once. Hullo, Mr. Malvern! Hello, sir! Are you there?" - -But apparently "Mr. Malvern," to use Canadian telephone terms, was "not -there." - -At any rate, the little man hung up the receiver with a thump and a -snort. - -"That man has left the 'phone. See what you did!" he exclaimed angrily -to Ralph. "It might have been something of the highest importance." - -"I assure you, sir," declared Ralph eagerly, "that the man at the other -end of that wire was one whom we have every reason to believe a -suspicious character. I had a strong reason for not wanting him to know -we had been here to-night, and that was why I interfered, as I'm afraid -you think, without just cause." - -"What, hey? Suspicious character, eh? Well, allow me to say, young man, -that your own actions are not above suspicion. No, sir!" - -The fussy little man took a huge pinch of snuff. While he was sneezing, -the boys slipped out. - -"Where to now?" asked Percy Simmons. - -"To the telegraph office. Then to the police station. We've found out -something important to-night. Malvin knows that boy! I'm equally certain -that he knows the crew of the phantom motor boat, and the fellow who -tried to drive us off Windmill Island." - -"Do you really believe it?" - -"Just as surely as I do that we are standing here. But don't let's waste -time. That boy in the hospital knows something, and the 'other side' -knows that he knows something. It's up to us to beat them to it!" - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - THE THREE CONSPIRATORS. - - -Harry made his way down to the dock, where the boat had been left, with -"both eyes open," as the saying goes. He did not fear that he would miss -sighting whoever came off the _River Swallow_ as soon as they were sure -that the boys had gone up town. Of course he was assuming that Malvin -and the man he was certain he had spied earlier that day, would leave -together. If they did this, even if they vacated the motor craft before -he reached it, there was only one road that they could follow, and that -was the street down which Harry was walking, the only thoroughfare that -led to the dock. - -As he hurried along, many thoughts surged into the lad's mind. What was -he to do in the event of the mysterious "third man" actually leaving the -boat? - -"I guess my best plan will be just to stick to their heels wherever they -go," he said to himself. "Yes," he went on, busily turning matters over -in his mind, "that's the scheme. While Ralph and Harry are looking after -things in town, this end of the game is up to your Uncle Dudley." - -As he neared the wharf, Harry became aware that great excitement and -bustle were going forward there. The down river passenger boat had just -arrived, and a number of people were struggling to disembark by way of -the gang plank, while an equally determined crowd was striving to get on -board. Suddenly the boy became aware of three figures among the crowd, -whom he recognized instantly. - -The trio was composed of Malvin, Hansen and another man. - -As Harry saw this third member of the group, he almost gave vent to an -involuntary cry of recognition. - -The stranger was the same man whom they had encountered on Windmill -Island on the eventful previous night. - -There was no mistake. Harry recognized instantly every feature of the -fellow's face, which had been etched upon his mind with all the -vividness of a photograph. - -Harry's pulses bounded as he made this discovery. So, then, it appeared -that Ralph had been right. Unquestionably a link did exist between -Windmill Island and Malvin, and also, apparently, Hansen, although the -boy was morally certain that the obtuse Norwegian was merely an -insignificant pawn in whatever mysterious game was being played by -Malvin and the other man. - -"Well, this is a discovery," gasped the boy as he watched the three -talking earnestly together, not far from where the _River Swallow_ lay -tugging at her moorings. - -Then, like a galvanic shock, another thought flashed through his mind. - -The third man,--the man of the island,--was also, almost without -question, the fellow whom Harry had seen slip along the deck and vanish -down the forescuttle, when the Border Boys appeared to board the _River -Swallow_ some time before they were expected. - -The elation of this revelation was still stirring in the lad's mind, -when the three men, who seemed oblivious of the crowd about them, -suddenly shoved their way through the press, and, walking side by side, -set off up the road that led toward town. - -This was insubordination of the rankest sort on Malvin's part. He had -been told by Ralph to stay by the boat. Now Harry's mind alternated -between indignation and curiosity as he saw the trio coming toward him. -Near where he stood was a big pile of empty boxes and barrels. It was -the work of only an instant for him to slip adroitly behind these and -effectually conceal himself as the men advanced toward him. - -They were talking earnestly and eagerly. As they came abreast of Harry's -place of concealment, he heard Malvin's voice. The fellow evidently did -not fear detection or eavesdroppers, for he was talking in a bold, loud -voice. - -"A lucky thing I hid in that shrubbery and overheard every word the -young whelps were saying," he was exclaiming. "Otherwise we might have -walked right into a trap. What do you advise doing, Hawke?" - -"So the man of the island is named Hawke, is he?" thought Harry, as he -listened with every instinct strained. "Well, that's one discovery, Mr. -Malvin. Another one is that I was not mistaken when I thought I heard -something in the shrubbery this afternoon." - -"Give me time to breathe a bit after my confinement in that gasoline -compartment," rejoined Hawke in a surly manner. "I thought I'd suffocate -in there. That inquisitive young brat stayed down in the forepeak too -long to suit me, I can tell you." - -"Well, it was a good thing I gave you warning by shouting, 'Look out -below,'" rejoined Malvin; "otherwise all our plans might have been -upset." - -Hansen's voice halted the two worthies just as Harry feared they were -about to get out of earshot. - -"Hold on, you fallers," he heard the Norwegian say, "vile I skoll gat -light by my pipe." - -"Hurry up, then. We've work ahead of us," came Malvin's voice. "Those -brats are off up town to try to talk to Jim Whey. We want to get ahead -of them." - -"If that boy talks, I'll----" Hawke's voice trailed off in a threatening -growl. - -[Illustration: "If that boy talks, I'll----" Hawke's voice trailed off -in a threatening growl.] - -"So Jim Whey is the name of that lad you said was your son till we -called your bluff," thought Harry, as he listened while the Norwegian -struggled to get a light in the brisk breeze that was blowing. - -"Pshaw! That lad won't be able to talk for some time to come, if he was -as badly hurt as you told me," said Malvin, reassuringly. "It was right -after I'd slipped my anchor and given the kids the go-by that I heard -the explosion and saw the flash. I always told you to be careful about -that dynamite, Hawke." - -"It was Rawson that would have it stored there," grumbled the other. "He -had a crazy notion that some time we might make a submarine mine out of -it, and make things hot for anyone who came snooping around Windmill -Island uninvited. How was I to know that that crazy dog would come -galloping into the shack and upset the lamp and blow everything to -Kingdom Come? If the boy and I hadn't skinned out as soon as it -happened, we'd neither of us be on earth to-night. I wonder where the -_Artful Dodger_ was when things exploded?" - -"I don't know," responded Malvin; "we'd sighted her not long before, and -she played the phosphorescent trick, the light stunt and all, but it -didn't scare those pesky kids, except one of 'em who swore she was a -spook!" - -Hawke burst into a laugh. Harry's ears burned as he heard. - -"I wish they were all like that," continued Malvin. "Confound them, they -ran me out of a good job, and we can't use the _River Swallow_ any more -in our work. And not content with that, they've got to start chasing the -_Artful Dodger_ now." - -"Well, they'll chase her a precious long time before they get any -satisfaction," responded Hawke; "and then it's liable to be in reverse -English. Rawson isn't the sort of man to stand for any monkey business. -He'd as lief send 'em all to the bottom as eat, I reckon." - -"Yes, that's Rawson," agreed Malvin. "Well, Hansen, got your light?" - -"Aye, aye," growled the Norwegian. - -"Then come on. We've wasted too much time already." - -The trio struck off up the road toward the town. Harry, after waiting -what he deemed a safe period of time, slipped from his place of -concealment and followed them. - -His brain was fairly in a whirl with what he had overheard. It explained -many things. - -Judging from what the men had said, the "spook motor craft" was called -the _Artful Dodger_ and was engaged in some nefarious business, as, -indeed, the boys had already guessed. A man named Rawson was in command -of her, and he was evidently a desperate character. The mention of the -submarine mines, the explosive for which had been detonated by accident, -amply demonstrated that. - -Moreover, Malvin must have visited the island the night before, after -they had left with the boy, and taken Hawke on board the _River -Swallow_, concealing him in a small space under the gasoline tanks -forward. Nor was this all. The injured lad, Jim Whey, was clearly a cog -in the machine somewhere. - -Also, judging from what he had overheard, Jim Whey knew much of the -machinations of the gang of which, apparently, he was an unwilling -member. Otherwise, why should the men have feared that he might talk to -the lads who had rescued him? That Jim had revelations of importance to -make, was clear from what had been said. - -"I'll have to hurry up and meet the others," exclaimed Harry to himself -as he hastened along, taking care to keep a safe distance behind the -three men he could see ahead of him. - -"My! I guess I've got something to tell them that won't sound like any -ghost story from Spook Land!" - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - RALPH GETS A TELEGRAM. - - -Harry met his friends at the telegraph office after he had tracked the -three men from the _River Swallow_ to a telephone pay station, the same -one, in fact, from which Malvin had called up the Mercy Hospital. His -excited face at once showed them that he had news of importance to -communicate, and they listened eagerly to his story, standing outside -the place so as to be sure there were no eavesdroppers about. Ralph had -already sent his telegram and was to have an answer in an hour. - -Harry Ware wasted no words in telling his experiences. His narrative was -soon over, and Ralph suggested an immediate start for the police -station. - -"We surely have got enough evidence against the gang now to warrant -informing the police," he said. "Of course, we've no idea what sort of -work this _Artful Dodger_ and these men are engaged in. But we know it -is something unlawful, and that is excuse enough for us to let the -police know what is going on." - -They were not long in reaching the police station, a solid-looking gray -stone building with two lights burning in front of it. They ascended a -flight of stone steps and entered the place, which was empty except for -a stout sergeant seated behind an oak desk. As soon as he spoke, the -boys discerned that he was a recent importation from England. - -"Is the inspector in?" asked Ralph. - -"The h'inspector h'is h'in, but h'I dunno h'if you can see 'im. W'at's -yer business, coveys?" inquired the sergeant, twisting a big mustache -and looking important. - -"It's--it's of a private nature," said Ralph, who was spokesman of the -party. - -"Ho, dear! Private, h'is h'it? Well, h'I'll notify the h'inspector, -h'and per'aps,--mind, h'I don't say for certain,--per'aps 'ee may see -you to-morrer." - -"But we must see him to-night. It's important, I tell you," cried Ralph -to the apathetic official, who appeared to be about to go to sleep. - -The reply to this was unexpected. - -"Yankees, h'ain't yer?" asked the sergeant. - -"Yes; Americans, that is. What of it?" - -"Ow, nuffin. H'only you Yanks h'are h'always in such a bloomin' 'urry." - -"Naturally we are in a hurry. We are on the trail of some malefactors. -Some bad men. They are engaged in some sort of nefarious business, and -we thought it our duty to notify you at once." - -"H'oh, h'is that so? W'at 'ave they been a-doin' h'of?" - -"Why, we don't exactly know. You see----" began Ralph in explanation. -But the sergeant cut him short. - -"So you don't h'even know w'at they've been a-doin' h'of, hey? H'I -thought there was something precious h'odd h'about this 'ole business. -Look 'ere, young chaps, 'ow do you suppose we can h'arrest these -men,--h'even supposin' there h'are h'any such persons,--h'unless we know -w'at they've been a-doin' h'of?" - -"That's for you to find out," cried Ralph, growing rather heated, for -the sergeant's manner implied that he did not place much credence in the -boy's story. - -"Ow! For h'us to find h'out, h'is h'it?" - -"Of course. We have reported them as suspicious persons. If we can see -the inspector, I will give him full details." - -"You will, will yer. Well, that's bloomin' condescending h'of yer. The -h'inspector 'as to go to a dawnce ter-night, and h'if yer wants ter see -'im, you'll 'ave to come around to-morrer." - -"You refuse to let us see him, then?" - -Ralph was red hot by this time. - -"H'I do, yes. By wurtue of the h'authority in me wested. H'as h'if h'I'd -disturb 'im for a bunch h'of kids!" - -"You may be sorry," warned Ralph. "In our opinion, there is some work of -grave import going forward,--probably smuggling,--although of that we -are not certain." - -"Oh, what's the use of talking to him!" exclaimed Persimmons, glaring at -the placid sergeant. "Thank goodness, we're Americans and get after our -law-breakers, instead of going out to pink teas when there is work to be -done!" - -"Yes, I guess the American police and Custom officials keep their eyes -open, in which respect they offer a refreshing contrast to the Canadian -authorities," sputtered Harry Ware equally irritably. - -"Oh, keep quiet, boys. What's the use of talking!" said Ralph with a -helpless look. - -"H'ow, no. Talk all you want to, mates," said the cockney sergeant. -"H'it h'amuses me, don'cher know." - -"Well, what do you know about that!" gasped Harry. - -"M' dear young chaps, h'I know nothing whatever h'about h'it," replied -the sergeant. - -Fairly baffled by such obtuseness, which seemed impossible to be natural -and therefore only assumed to irritate, the boys left the police -station. - -"Well, what shall we do now?" asked Harry hopelessly. "I guess we are up -a tree for fair." - -"I don't see it in that light," responded Ralph. "On the contrary, these -obstacles make me all the more determined to nail this crowd and find -out what sort of crooked work they are up to. We'll go back to the -telegraph office and find out what reply I've got from dad at Montreal." - -"And then?" - -"Well, I've got a plan if you fellows will consent to it." - -"We're in on anything you suggest, Ralph," responded Harry, while -Persimmons vigorously nodded his endorsement to that. - -"Well, then, fellows, my plan is this. It's plain there is no use -wasting time on Canadian officials. Therefore we've got to rely on the -American authorities." - -"Looks that way," agreed the others. - -"All right, then. We'll leave here for Piquetville without saying -anything to Malvin about our destination. We'll anchor off shore there -and go up to the dock in the tender. You can explain that the engines -have gone wrong, Percy. Then we'll communicate our suspicions to the -authorities and bring them off to the anchored _River Swallow_. In that -way we can nab the whole bunch." - -"Including the third man,--Hawke?" asked Harry anxiously. - -"Including him, I hope. It's my notion that Hawke has some articles of -value on his person which are to be smuggled, and that Malvin took him -off the island after the hut blew up for that purpose. It's likely that -Hawke was to be hidden on our island till a chance came to smuggle -whatever they are transporting illegally across the border. -Circumstances prevented this, and so Malvin concealed him on the _River -Swallow_. I'll wager that he'll be on board to-night by the time we get -down to the dock." - -Talking thus, the three lads were not long in reaching the telegraph -office. - -Ralph entered the place eagerly. - -"Any reply to that message I sent a while ago to Montreal?" he asked -anxiously. - -The operator glanced up at him with an odd look. - -"Why, yes," he said, "one came a few minutes ago." - -He handed him a pink telegraph form with a recurrence of his odd look. -Ralph noticed it, but it was not until he had glanced over the despatch -that its significance burst upon him like a thunderclap. No wonder the -operator had had a queer expression on his face! This was the message: - - "Am under arrest here. Suspected of diamond smuggling. Don't worry. It - looks like a joke on the authorities.--Dad" - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - THINKING THINGS OUT. - - -"Gr-e-a-t jumping Je-hos-o-phat!" - -The words fell from Percy Simmons' lips as Ralph, in a low tone, read -the despatch to his chums. - -"Diamond smuggling! Your dad!" gasped Harry. - -"It's-it's-well, it's got me beaten!" choked out Ralph impotently. - -"Here, give me a blank," he demanded of the operator impatiently. The -man shoved one over. Ralph seized a pencil and wrote feverishly. This -was the message he wrote: - - "Just got your despatch. An outrage. But many things that have - occurred here appear to be connected in some way with your dilemma. We - are beginning to get down to brass tacks. Wire me again as soon as - possible to Dexter Island.--Ralph." - -There was a motor boat that brought despatches among the islands, -charging a good stiff price for such service, but price wasn't worrying -Ralph just then. - -"Send that!" he said brusquely, shoving the despatch under the -inquisitive operator's nose. "I want the reply sent to Dexter Island the -instant it comes." - -"Well, of all the idiocy," he burst out angrily, after he had perused -his father's despatch once more. "For pure, unadulterated blunderers, -commend me to these Canadian authorities. It's all clear enough to me. -They have been on the trail of diamond smugglers. I guess the -authorities on both sides of the line have been cooperating. In some way -that we don't know, some of the operations of the gang have been traced -to Dexter Island----" - -"The _Artful Dodger_!" exclaimed Harry. - -"Yes; perhaps they suspected that boat and traced her there, or heard of -her being seen in that vicinity. Then when dad left hurriedly for -Montreal I suppose they leaped at the conclusion that he must be one of -the gang, and at once arrested him. Can you beat it?" - -_"You cannot_," said Percy Simmons with deep conviction; "you can't even -tie it." - -"What is to be done now?" asked Harry, with a note of despair in his -voice. - -Complications were surely piling up thick and fast for the Border Boys. -Even in their most exciting times on the southern frontier, they had -never encountered such a tangle of inexplicable happenings as that into -which they now found themselves plunged. - -"We'll stick to the program I just outlined," said Ralph. "It's all we -can do. If the authorities are on the lookout for the diamond smugglers, -and if,--as we have every reason to suspect,--Hawke and Malvin are -members of the gang, their arrest will be the first step in Dad's -exoneration." - -As there was nothing to be gained by lingering in Cardinal, the little -party hastened down to the _River Swallow_. They found the lights -burning, everything ship-shape, and Malvin and Hansen standing at the -gangway ready to receive them. As Harry looked at Malvin's respectful, -courteous smile of greeting, he could not help repeating to himself a -line from Hamlet that he had learned in school, to the effect that a man -may "smile and smile but be a villain still." - -Acting under Ralph's instructions, not one of the boys gave the faintest -sign that they suspected anything. Ralph addressed some perfunctory -inquiries and orders to Malvin, and then told him that he could cast off -as soon as he got the order. It came as soon as Percy Simmons hailed the -young skipper through the speaking tube, and told him that everything -was all right below in the engine room. - -A few minutes later, the _River Swallow_ had left the lights of Cardinal -behind her and was shaping a swift, sure course for Piquetville. - -"Wonder if Malvin suspects anything?" wondered Harry aloud to Ralph as -he stood beside the young skipper in his accustomed place on the bridge. - -"Blessed if I know," was Ralph's response as he twisted the wheel and -made the fast craft meet a swirl of some small rapids they were passing -through. - -"You don't appear to be worrying about it!" - -"No, to tell you the truth, I'm not. So far as Malvin's feelings are -concerned, I don't know and I don't care." - -"But, Ralph, hasn't it struck you that if they suspect our intention, -they are likely to try to overpower us?" - -"Well, I did think of that, too." - -"If they chose, they could make it hot for us. There's not much doubt -that Hawke is on board, concealed forward somewhere, and he is probably -armed. So, probably, are the other two. We haven't any weapons of any -kind." - -"And we wouldn't use them if we had," rejoined Ralph. "I learned out -west that the man who carries the most weapons is by no means the most -formidable. A man, or a boy, who carries a pistol is a coward, and more -than that, he is a dangerous coward." - -"Then you have no fear of Malvin trying reprisals?" - -"Not the least. In the first place, he wouldn't dare to do anything like -that. It would be simply putting his head in the halter." - -"And in the second place?" asked Harry, for Ralph had paused. - -"Well, in the second place, Malvin is not that sort of a man. His pose -is the meek and mild. The butter-wouldn't-melt-in-my-mouth-sir sort of -an attitude. Not but what snakes in the grass like that aren't -dangerous, but they rarely, if ever, resort to personal attack unless -they are mighty sure of coming out on top." - -"I hope you are right," replied Harry, "but if it should come to a -shindy, I've got a notion that we might come off only second best. There -are three of them and----" - -"Three of us," smiled Ralph. "I've an idea that even without weapons we -would prove a match for them. But, as I said before, Harry, there's -little fear of matters coming to that pass. Malvin & Co., in the first -place, must have probably guessed that the Canadian authorities did not -listen very warmly to our tale of woe. In such a belief, they probably -think they are perfectly secure in anything they may do." - -"But they know that we suspect them." - -"You hit the nail on the head there," rejoined Ralph rather seriously. -"That's the worst part of the situation. If Malvin hadn't overheard us -and found out that we were on to his little game, it would have been as -easy as rolling off a log to nab the whole boiling, or at least this -particular part of it." - -"You think there are more in the game, then? The same thing has occurred -to me." - -"I'm sure that there must be more in it. The outfit on board that -_Artful Dodger_, for instance. Those fellows must have been students of -Dickens to have thought that name out, but it's a good one, all right." - -"Yes, it sure fits that fly-by-night craft to a T," agreed Harry. - -"I wonder if we'll ever see her again," mused Ralph, as the _River -Swallow_ drove onward through the night. - -In the distance the lights of Piquetville began to bob up. They were not -far from their destination. - -"I don't know," rejoined Harry, "somehow I've got a notion that we shall -encounter her again, somewhere and sometime." - -"I have the same idea," agreed Ralph. - -Both boys were right. They were fated to see the night-loving craft of -the St. Lawrence again, and that before very long. Their next meeting -with her was destined to be under circumstances which were to be -indelibly imprinted upon their minds. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - A BIG SURPRISE. - - -"What dock are you going to make for?" asked Harry, as they drew nearer -and nearer to the American side of the river. - -"I guess the Piquetville Yacht Club's dock will be just about right," -was Ralph's rejoinder. "There's deep water off there, you know, and we -can anchor and go ashore,--that is, you fellows can go ashore." - -"Aren't you going?" demanded Harry in surprise. - -"No. It is necessary for me to remain on board the _River Swallow_ and -see that the rascals don't attempt any monkey tricks while you are -gone." - -"But it may be dangerous," protested Harry. - -"Pshaw! There's not much danger to fear from a rat like Malvin." - -"But Hawke?" - -"Depend upon it, he has good reasons for not wanting to be seen. I don't -apprehend any trouble with him. Now go below and tell Percy what we've -decided on." - -Harry would have liked to add more protests about leaving their young -leader alone on the _River Swallow_ with the men, who, as they all knew, -had deep cause to hate the railroad man's son. But there was no choice -in the matter for him, for, as they all knew, when Ralph's mind was made -up to anything, he could not be swerved from his determination. - -In due time the _River Swallow_ lay to off the lights of the Piquetville -Yacht Club. The place was brightly illuminated and so was the town that -lay behind it. Piquetville was a bustling, busy place. It maintained -plenty of business and was very up-to-date in every way. - -Down rattled the anchor. - -"I wonder what Malvin thinks is in the wind," said Harry, as he slipped -into a shore-going coat and Percy appeared on deck by his side all ready -to board the tender as soon as it should be lowered. - -"You can depend upon it that he is sharp enough to know that something -is up, but you can also bet that he will be too sharp to show it," was -Ralph's rejoinder. - -"Lower away the tender!" he hailed as Malvin reported the anchor down. - -"Aye, aye, sir," came in cheerful, willing tones. - -If they had not known Malvin to be such a rascal, they would have found -it hard to believe that the owner of such a cheerful voice could be the -schemer they knew him to be, and the criminal that they suspected more -than strongly he was. - -"Good-bye." - -"Take care of yourself." - -These were the leave takings between the boys accompanied by a warm -pressure of hands that meant more than words. A few moments later the -tender was chugging off ashore and Ralph was left alone on board the -_River Swallow_. He would have given a good deal to know what Malvin -thought of the night's proceedings. He knew the fellow was far too -shrewd not to guess that something was about due to break. But if Malvin -really had such ideas, he kept them to himself with admirable coolness. - -After the tender had departed, he came aft to where Ralph was sitting in -a deck chair and inquired if there was anything more to be done. - -"No; if all is snug, you may take a nap, Malvin, or amuse yourself as -you see fit." - -"Thank you, sir. I reckon I'll turn in and get forty winks, sir," -rejoined Malvin. - -He touched his cap and hurried off forward. - -"Now who would suspect that that man is the central figure in a big -smuggling scheme of some sort?" thought Ralph as the man departed. "He -is certainly an admirable actor." - -Ralph leaned back in his chair and watched the twinkling lights ashore. -It was a beautiful night, calm, peaceful and starlit. The water -shimmered like a sheet of silver. Hardly a ripple disturbed the -mirror-like surface of the St. Lawrence, which, at this point, was fully -two and a half miles wide, a mighty lake of swift flowing water. - -It was delightful to be seated there in the _River Swallow's_ -comfortable cockpit. But somehow Ralph did not think much of the scene -about him. His mind was busy with the dilemma of which his father's -despatch had informed him. - -What an odd turn of fate it seemed, that, while he and his chums were on -the trail of a gang of miscreants who had been using Dexter Island as a -rendezvous, his father should be arrested in Montreal for the very crime -which they were trying to lay at the door of Malvin and Co.! - -"I wonder how long this sort of thing has been going on," mused Ralph; -"probably for some time, perhaps ever since Malvin, two years ago, -entered my father's service. I remember Dad congratulated himself on -obtaining a man of such education and refinement to handle the _River -Swallow_. He was rather astonished, too, that a fellow who was so -intelligent and apparently well educated should be willing to take such -a post. It's all clear enough now. - -"The job Dad gave him afforded Malvin just the opportunity he wanted to -carry on his smuggling schemes without being suspected of a connection -with any such dealings. No wonder he had it in for us when we came and -deposed him from his position of boss of the _River Swallow_! It meant -that he could no longer have things all his own way. That henceforth he -would be liable to be watched, and that the visits of the _Artful -Dodger_ to Dexter Island would be likely to be observed and suspicion -aroused." - -He had been watching the lights of the tender as the speedy little craft -sped toward the shore. Now he saw them pause alongside the yacht club -dock and come to a standstill. - -"The boys have got ashore," he thought, "in a few minutes they will be -in consultation with the customs authorities. Then we shall see what the -next step in this little drama is going to be. I rather think that, by -this time to-morrow, Messrs. Malvin and Co. will have seen a great -light." - -In the meantime, Harry Ware and Percy Simmons had made their boat fast -and clambered up on the dock. - -A man in a uniform that they recognized as that of a U. S. Customs -Inspector stepped up to them the instant they set foot on shore. - -"Off the _River Swallow_?" he asked. - -"Yes," rejoined Percy, "we----" - -"That is all, be good enough to come with me." - -"Why--what----" began the boys, but the official sternly cut them off. - -"No questions now, the chief inspector wants to see you at once. I -guess, too, I'll be sending somebody out to watch the _River Swallow_." - -"What have we done? What's the matter?" demanded Harry. - -"Never mind. You'll know soon enough," was the brusque reply, as the -official bade them come with him and "make no trouble." - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - "NOT JUST YET, STETSON!" - - -Ralph was interrupted in his reverie by the sound of a swift, cat-like -footfall behind him. He was conscious of a sudden thrill that was not -exactly fear but rather apprehension, as whoever was pussy-footing -through the dark cock-pit drew closer. - -No man on an honest errand, as he well knew, would have adopted that -stealthy method of approach. For an instant Ralph regretted that he was -not armed. But it was only a momentary thought. - -He turned his eyes, till out of their corners he could see a dark form -drawing close to his chair. - -Ralph gave no sign that he had heard anything unusual. He kept his gaze -apparently riveted on the shore and sat motionless, without the quiver -of a muscle. But for all his seeming calmness, he sensed that a crisis -of some kind had arrived. - -Then out of the darkness emerged the figure of Malvin. The man was a -very different being from the obsequious creature he had hitherto -appeared to be. His voice rang harsh and stridently and in his hand -Ralph could catch the glint of a pistol. - -The weapon was aimed at the boy's head. - -"See here, Stetson," the fellow grated, "you're alone on this boat and -in my power. Are you going to do what I say without making trouble?" - -Ralph did not turn. There was not the flicker of an eyelid to show the -great bound his heart had given as he realized his situation. That -Malvin was a desperate man, the boy knew well enough; but just the same, -he had not believed that the man would ever dream of adopting the -tactics he had now assumed. - -"Well?" - -Malvin's grating voice, a very different one from the honeyed accents he -had hitherto used to address the young commander, came again in tones of -impatient interrogation. - -"Supposing, as commander of this boat, I don't choose to take orders -from you?" questioned Ralph. - -"In that case, jig is up for you, young fellow." - -"Going to kill me?" asked Ralph without a quiver in his voice, although -a very unpleasant feeling had taken possession of him. - -He felt that Malvin meant what he said. And he was in the fellow's power -absolutely. - -"Yes," spoke Malvin. "I mean to use this little piece of hardware -unless----" - -He paused as if uncertain of his next words. - -"He's nervous," thought Ralph, "he doesn't like this job. He's doing it -at the orders of somebody else, probably Hawke, who appears to exercise -an influence over him." - -"Well, unless?" asked the boy aloud. - -"Unless you obey orders absolutely. Just as I have had to obey your -orders since you sneaked your way into command of this craft." - -"You forget that this is my father's boat," reminded Ralph. - -"Yes, your father," sneered Malvin. "Your father, who is in jail in -Montreal!" - -"So you know that?" cried Ralph, startled out of his assumed calm. - -"Know it? Why, yes. Men with whom I am associated engineered his arrest. -Cleverly done, wasn't it?" - -"You contemptible sneak!" burst out Ralph. "So it was your gang that did -this?" - -"I don't see any reason to deny it. We wanted him out of the way and -sent that message summoning him to Montreal. Once there, our agents saw -to it that he was put where he wouldn't trouble us for a while." - -Words failed Ralph utterly. He saw red for a minute. But almost -simultaneously he steadied his nerves to meet the crisis. - -"I may as well tell you, Malvin," he said, "that it will pay you better -in the long run to desert these men with whom you are associated and -array yourself upon the side of law and order. Do this and I'll promise -you that, when the authorities descend upon you, I will do what I can to -make things easier for you." - -It was a forlorn hope and--it failed. - -Malvin hesitated for one instant, and Ralph's mind swung pendulum-wise -between hope and apprehension. But the man's next words showed him that -Malvin was irrevocably tied to the diamond smugglers. - -"As if I'd be fool enough to listen to such stuff!" he sneered. "Come -now, youngster; no more nonsense. We know what your two chums went -ashore for. To get the authorities, didn't they?" - -"Since you must have it, they did," shot out Ralph. - -"I thought so. We know every move you have made. Now you're going to -learn that it doesn't pay to butt in where you are not wanted." - -"What are you going to do?" demanded Ralph. - -"Get right out of here with this boat. You'll work her out. Do you -understand?" - -"Your words don't admit of any misconstruction," was the calm reply. - -"Mosey up on the bridge, then. Look sharp! Do you hear?" - -"I hear. Suppose I don't choose to obey?" - -"In that case----" - -Malvin emphasized this with a poke in the ribs from the revolver. - -"See here, Malvin," asked Ralph, eying the fellow without flinching, -"have you been drinking to-night, or are you simply ill-advised by bad -companions?" - -"No more trifling," warned Malvin sullenly. "You've robbed me of my job -as commander of this boat. Not content with that, you've tried to -interfere with my business. Do what I say at once, or let me give you a -straight warning. You're playing with your life." - -Ralph tried another tack. - -"Well," he said, "of course I don't want to get shot. Let's get down to -cases. What do you want me to do?" - -"Navigate this boat out of here. Hansen and--and--somebody else will -attend to the engines." - -"The somebody else being the man who put the sand in our -carburetors--Hawke." - -Malvin was perceptibly startled. - -"Hawke! What do you know about him?" he demanded. - -"Oh, quite a good deal. You're a fool to travel with such a man, Malvin. -We met him on Windmill Island. We know that you picked him up there and -have kept him concealed on the _River Swallow_. I more than suspect, -moreover, that he is a certain notorious diamond smuggler for whom the -authorities on both sides of the border have their nets spread. Is that -enough?" - -"Yes, it's more than enough. You're too flip. Now get up on that bridge -or take the consequences." - -"All right. Tell your men to get the anchor up." - -Malvin uttered a peculiar whistle. It must have been a signal, for the -clank of the windlass was heard almost immediately. The _River Swallow_ -began to swing her bow as the current turned her down river. - -Again came a whistle from Malvin and the engines began to rumble and -shake the craft with their revolutions. They were running "free." That -is, the clutch that caused them to engage the shafts had not yet been -"thrown." - -Ralph had a plan in his mind. It was a desperate chance to take, but his -seemingly ready agreement with Malvin's orders had proceeded from this -same wild plan he had suddenly formed. - -"Get up on that bridge. Remember, I'm behind you. One false move -and----" - -Malvin did not finish the sentence. He did not need to. His tone was -sufficiently eloquent. - -The boy ascended the few steps that led to the bridge. Malvin was right -behind him. Ralph could see in his mind's eye that menacing pistol held -close to the small of his back. - -They reached the bridge. The moment for Ralph's plan to be put into -execution had arrived. - -He turned swiftly. - -"Look!" he cried. "There comes a boat--a customs house boat!" - -Malvin, startled, off his guard, turned his head for an instant toward -the shore. - -With a loud cry, Ralph leaped for the man. He seized his pistol wrist -and wrenched it backward. Then he threw himself on the fellow with the -whole force of his vigorous young strength. - -As Malvin crashed backward down the steps, Ralph leaped for the -pneumatic whistle. It was operated by a lever. - -"Now for a police call!" he exclaimed pantingly as he grasped it. In -another moment a cry for aid would have gone shrieking out from the -_River Swallow's_ siren. - -Ralph's fingers trembled on the lever and he had just given it the first -move toward him when something happened. - -He felt himself seized from behind in a powerful grasp and his arms -pinioned to his side. - -"Thought you'd get the police, eh?" snarled a voice in his ear. "Not -just yet, Stetson." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - THE MISSING BOAT. - - -"So these boys are off the _River Swallow_?" asked Chief Inspector -Barrett of the U. S. Customs service as he gazed at Harry Ware and Percy -Simmons. - -They stood before him in his private office, whither they had been -escorted by the official who had met them on the wharf. Both boys were -indignant. The manner in which they had been treated had not served to -soothe their feelings. They had, in fact, been looked upon as -malefactors, when, in reality, they had come ashore for the purpose of -exposing a gang of rascals. It was a strange trick that Fate had played -upon them. - -"What have we done?" demanded Harry Ware angrily. - -"Yes, you'd think we were criminals from the way we've been treated," -seconded Percy Simmons. - -"Now, now, keep cool," conciliated the inspector. "We've had our eye on -the _River Swallow_ for some time. To-night we heard from Canada that -she was to touch in here to-night with gem smugglers on board. We've -been on the lookout for the gang that is suspected for some time." - -"And you mean to say you think that we have anything to do with it?" -gasped Harry angrily. - -"I didn't say so. But I'd like you to explain a few things." - -"Very well. But please hurry. We have left a friend on board the _River -Swallow_ with three desperate men. We want to hurry back. We had counted -on your assistance." - -"Well and good, and you shall have it. I think it only fair to inform -you that Dexter Island has been shadowed for some time. A motor craft -has been seen visiting there at night. We suspect the boat to be one -used by the diamond smugglers. The _River Swallow_ has been used to -convey the gems to this side. Doubtless you young men are not aware of -the extensive range of gem smuggling operations on the Canadian border. -In that case, let me inform you that the duty on cut gems brought into -America is sixty per cent. ad valorem. You can see, therefore, what a -fortune these gem smugglers can make by evading the lawful duty." - -"And in the meantime," said Harry sarcastically, "the men you want,--or -at least a part of the gang,--are on board the _River Swallow_." - -"What's that? What do you mean?" demanded the inspector quickly. - -"I'd have explained sooner, if you'd let me," said Harry dryly. - -He proceeded at the inspector's direction to give him a hasty sketch of -the events that had led up to the present night. The inspector listened -with interest at first and then with absorption. - -"Give me a description of this man Hawke," he said. - -Harry described the man as well as he could. - -"Jennings," exclaimed the chief inspector, "this Hawke is La Rue, the -head and front with Rawson of the whole gem smuggling gang! I'm sure of -it from the description. You will accompany these young men to their -boat. Take Adams and Prescott with you. Arrest all three of the men. So -far, I know nothing of Malvin or Hansen; I suspect they are mere -understrappers. Bring them here at once. Hurry now." - -"Yes, sir. Come along, young men," said Jennings, preparing briskly to -execute his chief's orders. - -"And Jennings." - -"Yes, sir." - -"You had better be armed. Tell the other men to take weapons, too. La -Rue is a desperate man and the others may give you trouble, also." - -Jennings and the two boys hurried off. Harry Ware and Percy Simmons were -delighted at the turn affairs had taken. The arrest of Hawke,--or to -give him his real name, La Rue,--was at hand. Before long, by their -instrumentality, the gem smugglers would be safely in the hands of the -customs officials. - -Only one doubt assailed them as Jennings hastily summoned his two aides. -Would they be in time? The knowledge that Ralph had been left alone on -the _River Swallow_, without weapons to defend himself, and in the -company of three men who had good reason to fear the worst from the -boys' visit ashore, had a disquieting effect upon them. - -As they hurried through the streets, they wished that Jennings would -make even more haste. - -When they reached the main custom house, where Adams and Prescott, who -were on night duty, were to be picked up, a low, rumbling sound came -from the northern sky. - -Jennings glanced up quickly. To the north the stars had been blotted -out. Heavy clouds had rolled up obscuring them. As the boys followed the -direction of Jennings's gaze, they saw a sudden lambent flash, as yet -far off, flare up and vanish on the cloud bank. - -"Lightning!" exclaimed Harry. - -"Yes, we're in for a storm, I guess," said Jennings. "We get them pretty -bad up this way when they do come, too." - -"Regular hummers, eh?" asked Harry. - -"I guess that's the word for it. The old timers say that they follow the -river. I don't know how that may be, but I do know that I never saw -worse electric storms than we get right along the St. Lawrence." - -Adams and Prescott, who had received directions by telephone from the -inspector's office, were ready and waiting for them when they arrived at -the custom house. They were placed in possession of the facts of the -case by Jennings, as they and the boys hastened to the yacht club dock. - -Both were warm in their praises of the way the boys had handled the -situation, and waxed humorous over their practical arrest as suspects. -Percy and Harry, however, failed to see anything screamingly comical -about it. - -The dock was reached and then and there the party received a big -surprise. - -The lights of the _River Swallow_ were not in sight! - -So far as could be observed, no boat lay at anchor where the boys had -left the speedy craft. - -A search conducted from the motor tender only confirmed their worst -fears. The _River Swallow_ had vanished, and on board her was Ralph, -alone and in the power of the gem smugglers. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - IN THE GRIP OF THE STORM. - - -Ziz-z-z-z-z-z! - -A ragged, flaming bolt of lightning ripped across the black sky. It -showed the broad reach of the St. Lawrence in the vicinity of -Piquetville lashed into a fury of white-capped waves and turbulent -waters. - -Through the furious electric storm the _River Swallow_ was wallowing -along, rolling and plunging terrifically. Owing to her narrow beam, the -craft was far more "cranky" than an ordinary boat, and to anyone not -used to her actions in rough water, the experience would have been an -alarming one. Besides being familiar with the craft he was guiding, -however, Ralph had other things to worry him beside the storm. - -For one thing, La Rue,--or Hawke, as Ralph still knew him,--was standing -beside him, pistol in hand, and from what Ralph knew of the man, there -was little doubt that he would hesitate to use the weapon if the need -arose. The boy had another cause for worry in the fact that he did not -know what his companions, who had gone ashore, would think of the -disappearance of the _River Swallow_. He knew that they would be -worrying over his situation on board her, and the thought of their -anxiety disquieted him to the full as much as his own predicament. - -But, with it all, Ralph had a certain grim satisfaction in one factor of -his problem. Below decks in a bunk, with a badly damaged head, incurred -in his fall down the steps leading from the bridge, lay Malvin. The man -was incapacitated for duty and was, in fact, only half conscious. As he -had fallen from the bridge, it was La Rue who had seized Ralph's arms -before the boy could sound the alarm, and who had ordered Ralph, upon -the pain of being shot down, to steer the _River Swallow_ out of the -harbor. The young skipper had no recourse but to obey, and so the _River -Swallow_ was struggling with the storm, with an inexperienced -man--Hansen--in the engine room and on the bridge a boy who was menaced -with a pistol in the hands of the diamond smuggler. - -With the storm had arisen a wind that screeched and howled like a -witches' carnival about the _River Swallow_. The craft was rather high -out of the water and of light draught, like most of the St. Lawrence -River craft. She pitched and rolled awesomely under the blast. There was -no real danger, as Ralph well knew, but, as has been said, to anyone -unused to her violent motions in a storm, the wild behavior of the -_River Swallow_ was, to say the least, alarming. - -To complicate matters, it was pitchy dark, the frequent flashes of -lightning alone illumining the gloom. The wind was blowing the same way -as the current, and below them lay a labyrinth of rapids, shoals and -islands that required an experienced skipper to thread, even by -daylight. - -"This is a fine fix," thought Ralph to himself, as the wind tore about -him, the waters rolled high and the lightning flashed and zigzagged -across the thunder-ridden sky. "If I ever get the _River Swallow_ -through this without piling her up on a shoal or getting the bottom -ripped out of her in some rapids, I'm entitled to a gold medal." - -"Will this get worse?" asked La Rue. - -The boy noted with glee that there was a note of apprehension in the -fellow's voice. - -"I hope not," Ralph rejoined, shaking his head fearsomely. - -"Why?" La Rue was scared. It was plain enough in his voice, which was -nervous and jerky. "Are--are we in any danger?" he demanded tremblingly. - -"The--the very g-g-g-greatest," exclaimed Ralph, cleverly acting the -part of a seriously alarmed young skipper. - -"You mean that if the storm does not die down we may be wrecked?" - -"The storm will get a lot worse before it gets any better," rejoined -Ralph. "This is one of the worst nights I have ever seen on the river." - -The _River Swallow_ gave a fearful roll, almost burying her lee gunwale -in flying spume. An exclamation that was almost a shriek burst from La -Rue's lips. The man was ashen pale. He was terrified, and, moreover, he -was becoming conscious of another feeling. What this was, we shall see -before long. - -"Gracious! I thought we were gone that time!" cried Ralph, appearing to -be on the verge of panic. - -"Then there is a pup-pup-possibility that the boat may capsize?" - -"I shouldn't wonder," said Ralph gravely. - -A groan escaped La Rue. - -"You really think that, ker-ker-captain?" - -Ralph couldn't help smiling at the title La Rue had conferred on him in -his fawning, miserable fright. - -"Of course I do," replied Ralph. "Why, her timbers are very thin. She -was only built for a racing machine, not for such work as this." - -Bang! Who-o-o-o-f! - -A big sea, which Ralph had purposely met quartering, smote the _River -Swallow_ a terrific buffet on the port bow. The spray and spume flew -high in the air, drenching the occupants of the bridge. - -"A few more of those and we're goners, sure," said Ralph with a grin, -which he had to turn away his face to conceal, as La Rue broke into a -whimper. - -"Isn't there anything you can do, captain?" - -"Nothing, except trust to Providence that we don't go to the bottom -within the next half hour," rejoined Ralph. - -Another huge wave hit the craft. A tremor ran through her but it was -nothing to the anguish that convulsed the terrified La Rue as the sea -struck. - -He was now a ghastly blending of two hues, a pasty yellow, a greenish -white. - -Biff! Bang! Another buffeting blow. Skipper Ralph was actually beginning -to enjoy himself. - -"Oh-h-h-h! Ah-h-h-h!" quivered the frightened wretch at his elbow. - -"Hadn't you better hand me that pistol?" asked Ralph sweetly. "You might -shoot yourself, you know." - -A groan was the only response from La Rue. The man was abject, -disgusting in his cravenness. - -But Ralph had no mercy upon him. - -"It's getting worse," he said positively. - -"Wer-wer-worse!" - -"That's what. I did think for a while that we might weather it. I know -different now. Hawke, we have not much longer to live." - -"Der-der-der-do you mer-mer-mer-mean that we are ger-ger-going to be -d-d-d-drowned?" stuttered La Rue, clasping his hands. - -"Brace up! Don't be a coward! Face drowning like a man, Hawke!" - -And skipper Ralph contrived it so that another big wave came racing and -rolling over the _River Swallow's_ sharp bow. It was the last straw. La -Rue went to pieces utterly. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - LA RUE'S WILD LEAP. - - -"Aren't there any life preservers on board?" he wailed piteously. - -His tones might have stirred a heart of flint. Ralph actually felt sorry -for the fellow, wretch as he knew him to be. But the thought of the -revolver that had been so recently pressed against him, and the threats -with which he had been overwhelmed, steeled him against compassion. - -"Life preservers? I don't believe there are, Hawke," he said. "You see, -the boat was to be equipped with a new type of preserver and the old -ones were all sent ashore some days ago. They have not yet been replaced -by new ones." - -"I'd give a thousand dollars for a life preserver right now!" cried -Hawke. "I am rich. I could reward anyone who would save my life." - -Ralph's strategy had worked. The fellow was in abject fear of his life -by this time. He was firmly convinced that the _River Swallow_ was -doomed to be annihilated. - -Another big wave slapped the craft on the bow, sending a shower of spray -high over her. - -"Oh, Lord!" groaned La Rue. "I thought sure we were gone that time, -Captain Stetson." - -"For shame! Be a man, Hawke. Is there anything you want to save?" - -"Oh, gracious, are we going down?" - -"I don't know. As I said before, I think it very likely." - -"We'll be food for fishes this time to-morrow! Oh-h-h-h-h-h!" - -The _River Swallow_ gave a giddy, sidewise plunge. At the same moment a -flash of lightning illumined the tossing water. It was Ralph's turn to -give a gasp of dismay. The flash had revealed, down the river, a big, -black object that he knew must be an island. - -The wind and the current were carrying them down stream. - -"Wow!" exclaimed Ralph to himself. "There may be more truth than poetry -in Hawke's fears. If we ever hit----" - -He did not dare to complete the sentence even to himself. The thought -was too horrible. In his mind's eye he could see, as clearly as in a -nightmare, the breaking up of the _River Swallow_ on the rocky shore of -an island. - -"You-you asked me if there was anything I wanted to save?" - -It was La Rue's scared, trembling voice again. - -"Yes; get what you can, Hawke. But don't let it be anything bulky. If -you don't want to be dragged down, take only your most valuable -possessions." - -"My most valuable possessions! Oh, gracious!" - -"What's the matter now?" - -"Oh, I feel seasick. I have a fearful attack of _mal-de-mer_." - -"Fight it off," advised Ralph. "This is no time to be seasick. In a -short time you may need all your strength." - -With another hollow groan the unhappy wretch dived below to carry out -Ralph's advice about saving his valuables. It was not long before he -appeared on deck once more, staggering and moaning in a piteous manner -to himself. - -This time a flash of lightning gave Ralph an opportunity to observe that -La Rue carried a slender black leather wallet, which he clasped as if it -were something as precious to him as life itself. In the glare of the -lightning, the man's face was as white as chalk and his eyes blazed with -a weird, unnatural light. - -In spite of his momentary impulse of pity for the man, Ralph felt a wave -of disgust for such a helpless craven sweep over him, as he watched him -stagger up the steps to the bridge. - -"Do you think there is a chance to save my life?" he stuttered out as he -gained Ralph's side. - -"Impossible to say," was the reply. "But see here, Hawke, you appear to -think only of yourself. Haven't you any concern for your companions -below?" - -"Never mind them," cried La Rue, beside himself with fear by this time, -for the storm had reached the height of its fury; "they are only -understrappers, both of them. Do you see this case?" he continued -wildly. - -The man's actions and speech were such that Ralph thought that fright -must have turned the fellow's head. - -"Yes, what of it?" demanded Ralph, as he eyed the wallet the man was -flourishing under his nose. - -"Look!" - -He opened the case. In the light of another vivid flash, Ralph saw -within the case a transparent pane of talc. Under this thin covering -gleamed something that made Ralph's head swim as he gazed. - -The flash had revealed to his astounded gaze a fortune in gems. White, -red and green, they mirrored back the lightning with blinding radiance. - -"Gems!" gasped the boy. - -"Yes, gems," rejoined Hawke, his face livid as another brilliant flash -revealed every line of his features and his wild, staring, frightened -eyes; "gems worth two hundred thousand dollars. If you save my life, I -will see that you are well rewarded." - -In the now almost incessant glare of the lightning, Ralph's eyelids -flickered. But it was the brilliance of the gems held out almost under -his nose by his terrified passenger that made him wink, far more than -the electrical display. - -"Goodness! They're enough to blind a fellow," he exclaimed to himself as -he eyed the heap of precious stones. - -"But what good are those gems to you in comparison with your life, -Hawke?" demanded Ralph. - -"None! none!" wailed the wretch abjectly. "I'd give 'em all to you, -Captain Stetson, if you'd save my life. But they are not mine to give. I -am simply an agent for others." - -"A gem smuggler, in fact?" demanded Ralph sternly. - -"Yes; that's what you might call it. Oh, captain, I have led a bad life! -I'd like to repent before I die." - -"You are in the employ of several men engaged in the business of evading -duties on precious stones?" remorselessly pursued Ralph. - -"Yes, sir. Oh! but I repent all my wickedness now. I'd give all these -gems for even ten minutes of life. I----" - -He broke off. An appalling flash of lightning pierced the sky, followed -by a peal of thunder that rent the heavens. Even Ralph quailed before -such a terrific upheaval of the elements. As for La Rue, he sank to his -knees on the bridge. - -"The gems! the gems for my life!" he implored, his eyes raised skyward. - -He was still in the midst of a half-insane tirade, when the _River -Swallow_ struck with a quivering shock. - -"It is the end!" screamed out La Rue, his voice ringing above the uproar -of the storm. - -Before Ralph could stop him, he had rushed to the side of the bridge; -and then, with a wild cry, he plunged straight overboard into the -boiling, angry waters that swept alongside. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - LOOKING FOR THEIR CHUM. - - -We left Harry Ware, Percy Simmons and the three customs inspectors sadly -baffled on the dock of the Piquetville Yacht Club. Their search for the -_River Swallow_, it will be recalled, had revealed nothing of the craft. -Several inquiries made in the vicinity had met with the same -disheartening results. - -Sick at heart and worried more than they cared to confess, Harry and -Percy listened to the consultation going on between the three -experienced servants of Uncle Sam's revenue service. - -"If that fellow La Rue is on board, there is no telling what may have -happened," said Jennings. "He is a desperate man, as we have good cause -to know." - -"But he is a coward at heart," struck in Adams. "Remember how he showed -the white feather in that affair of the Chinese smuggling three years -ago?" - -"Yes, he secured immunity from punishment by turning state's evidence on -his accomplices," rejoined Jennings. "It was too bad he was allowed to -go. There'll always be plenty of work for us as long as he is at large." - -"It's odd, the way he's managed to slip through the toils so many -times," commented Prescott, the third customs man. "Why, the government -has had its hands upon him half a dozen times, and yet he has always -managed to get away in some mysterious manner." - -"There's one member of the bunch, though, that I'd rather get than all -the rest," declared Jennings. - -"Who is that?" - -"Rawson." - -"The captain of that night-running motor boat?" inquired Prescott, who -had been but recently transferred to the northern border after -commendable work in the southwest. - -"That's the fellow. I see you've heard of that boat." - -"Who hasn't? Even these young men encountered her on several occasions. -She has been seen in the vicinity of Dexter Island. I assume that -Malvin, who was in the employ of Mr. Stetson, received consignments of -gems to be smuggled later." - -"That appears certain. But did you say Stetson was the name of the owner -of the island?" inquired Prescott. - -"Yes, Stetson, the big railroad man. It's his son Ralph that is on board -the _River Swallow_ in the power of those men." - -"The same Ralph Stetson that was mixed up in that affair of the arms and -ammunition, smuggled across the Mexican border by the underground -river?" - -"The same fellow," broke in Harry. - -"Then depend upon it, young men, that your chum will be able to take -care of himself," assured Prescott. "I heard full details of that -affair, and the way in which he and his friend Jack Merrill acquitted -themselves, showed that they were made of no ordinary stuff. I'd back -that boy against a dozen La Rues any time." - -"The way in which they have all handled this affair so far proves that -they are a bunch of uncommonly smart lads," said Jennings. "If it hadn't -been for a slip-up, we might have had La Rue in our hands by this time." - -Agitated though they were, Harry and Percy could hardly conceal a smile -at this ingenious way of putting the case. Had it not been for Jennings' -stupidity in arresting them--for that is practically what he had -done--the customs authorities might have reached the _River Swallow_ in -plenty of time to apprehend the rascals on board and save Ralph from -being carried off. For that he had gone of his own free will never -entered the chums' heads for an instant. They knew Ralph too well to -think that he would desert them in such a way, unless he had been -literally abducted. - -It was this fact that worried them. It pointed inevitably to one -conclusion: Ralph had been overpowered by the men on board the craft, -and either injured or made captive, while they worked out whatever -schemes they had in mind. - -"Oh! if only one of us had stayed on board, it would have made the odds -less against good old Ralph," sighed Harry. - -But it was too late to indulge in regrets. The harm was done now. -Somewhere on the river the _River Swallow_ was speeding along with their -chum on board her. They wondered when, and under what circumstances, -they would hear from him again, for that they would join him before long -they had no doubt. - -Great drops of rain began to fall. A puff of warm wind blew from off the -river into their faces. - -"Here she comes," declared Jennings, as a flash split the sky. "Boys, -we'd better get to shelter." - -"Can't we do anything more to-night?" asked Harry anxiously. - -"I'm afraid not, my boy. I know just how you feel about your chum, but -it would be worse than looking for a needle in a haystack to go chasing -after that boat to-night." - -"What do you recommend doing, then?" asked Harry. - -"I would suggest that you find quarters in a good hotel. Have a sound -sleep, and early in the morning we will join you and the hunt will begin -in earnest. One other thing," as he noticed their troubled faces, "don't -worry about that fellow La Rue. He is a big bluff, an arrant coward. His -bark is a lot worse than his bite. He wouldn't dare try any violence. -He's a mixture of knave and craven, with the former predominating." - -How true this description of La Rue was we know from his behavior during -the storm, which shortly broke in all its fury. While Ralph was battling -with the elements, his chums were snugly in bed at the Piquetville -House. Despite their anxieties, they were too worn out not to fall into -a sound sleep, which endured till a loud knocking at their door, almost -as soon as it was light, informed them that the customs men were below. - -They lost no time in dressing, and soon joined the others. They all ate -a hearty breakfast together, and then set out for the dock. It was a -glorious morning. All trace of the storm had vanished, leaving the air -clear and cool. - -At the Yacht Club dock lay the _River Swallow's_ tender. A few minutes' -delay occurred while the little craft was stocked up with extra -gasoline, for they knew that they might be off on a long chase. But at -last everything was ready. Harry took the wheel. Percy Simmons looked -after the engine. The three customs men sat at their ease in the stern -seat. - -"Which way?" asked Harry, as they chugged out into the stream. - -"Down the river," was the reply of Jennings. "We'll comb the islands -first." - -"Let her out," ordered Harry to Percy Simmons, as they got clear of the -dock. - -The engine gave a sputter and a roar, and the chase after their missing -chum was on. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVII. - A DAZZLING DISCOVERY. - - -With La Rue's cry still ringing in his ears, Ralph rushed to the edge of -the bridge and peered over. Alongside nothing could be seen but -swirling, rushing foam. - -But suddenly a flash revealed to Ralph the fact that they had run -aground on the point of either an island or the mainland, he could not, -for the time being, determine which. Trees and rocks could be made out -by the frequent flashes, which showed, also, that the _River Swallow_ -had grounded bow on, and was now swinging outward with the current. - -Ralph was recalled from his observations by a voice behind him. It was -Hansen, the Norwegian. The man had stopped his engines, being seaman -enough to know what had occurred as soon as he felt the grinding shock -of the landing. - -"We bane gone ashore, sare?" he asked. - -"Yes, we've grounded, Hansen, and I must tell you that your wretch of a -master Hawke, while crazed with fright, threw himself overboard. I fear -he is lost forever." - -The Norwegian appeared dazed. His fishy blue eyes rolled wildly. - -"La Rue bane dade?" he muttered. - -"I don't know anything about La Rue," said Ralph, thinking the man had -not rightly understood him, "I said Hawke had gone. He jumped overboard -when we struck. Crazy from fright, I guess." - -"He bane all de same," said the Norwegian calmly. "Hawke bane La Rue, La -Rue bane Hawke. I bane glad he gone." - -"Glad, why?" exclaimed Ralph, horrified at the man's callousness. - -"He bane bad man. He say if I don't do as he say he lose me mine yob. By -yiminy, I got wife and childrens by mine home in Norvay. I no vant lose -yob. So I do as he say." - -"What did he make you do?" asked Ralph, too interested for the minute to -remember anything but what the man was saying. - -"He bane make me take package off motor boat what come by Daxter Island -by night. I have to give package to Malvin. Dey say dey bane smoggler -and kill me if I talk." - -He sank his voice low. - -"Dey bane make me halp Hawke while he put sand by carburetors." - -"So it was Hawke, or La Rue, that played that rascally trick!" cried -Ralph. - -"Sure. He bane hidden forvard. Dey hear you mean tell police about dem. -Den dey cook up plan so you no get avay." - -"The precious scamp!--but, well, he's gone now. Hansen, you must come -below and help me get Malvin on deck. Is he conscious, do you know?" - -"He bane sit up when I come trou' cabin from angine room," said the man. - -"Very well, then. We must get him up here. The boat is hard aground and -may be going to break up. We must get ashore." - -"How we do dat?" - -"We must swim for it. I'll try the water and see how deep it is." - -The lead line showed, to Ralph's great joy, that the water alongside was -not beyond his depth. Both Hansen and Malvin were tall men. With good -luck, it might be possible to wade ashore. It was while he was heaving -up the lead that he noticed a dark object lying on the bridge, right -where La Rue had taken his crazed leap. - -He picked it up. It was La Rue's coat. He had cast it off when he took -his mad plunge. - -As he handled the garment, Ralph suddenly felt a hard, oblong object in -one of the pockets. It felt like a case. He plunged his hand into the -pocket and drew out--the leather wallet that contained the priceless -collection of gems! - -What a find! - -The boy's head swam. La Rue, in the desperation of terror, had entirely -forgotten the fortune in precious stones. Hastily Ralph thrust the -wallet into his pocket. - -"You bane find something," came a voice behind him. Hansen's voice. Had -the Norwegian seen anything? Ralph by no means trusted the man, and he -didn't like the idea of his knowing of the great find. - -"It was La Rue's watch," he said; "he left it in his coat. Now let us go -below and get Malvin on deck." - -"I'll spare you that trouble," came a voice behind them both. - -They turned and faced Malvin himself. His head was bandaged. His face -chalky white. - -"Well, you got the upper hand of me," he said, addressing Ralph, "but I -bear no malice. Are we all going to the bottom?" - -The man's cool, calm demeanor offered an odd contrast to the cowardly -behavior of La Rue. He appeared to have resigned himself to whatever -fate was to be his. - -"Better a grave in the river than a long sentence in a Federal -penitentiary," he muttered. - -Ralph did not hear this. His mind was concerned with saving their lives. -But, like a true boat captain, he still had a feeling that he owed a -strong duty to the _River Swallow_. - -"Before we go we must get out stern lines and fasten to them the spare -anchors," he declared. "The boat is riding easily now. If we can keep -her stern swung out we may still be able to get her off when the storm -dies down." - -Malvin flashed a glance at him. The boy's voice had rung cool and -determined. Malvin was no fool. He recognized in those accents the voice -of authority. Moreover, although he had not the slightest intention of -using it as a means of persuasion, Ralph had possessed himself of the -revolver that La Rue had cast aside when he made his wild leap. The boy -contrived that a glint of it should show as he spoke. He didn't see any -harm in providing that his orders should be backed up by a display of -force if necessary. - -As for Hansen, he was an old hand on the waters. The present situation -did not alarm him particularly. He obeyed Ralph's orders with alacrity. -It was the force of habit acting on a man who had so long been -accustomed to taking orders that obeying them was second nature. - -It did not take long to cast the two spare anchors out astern and swing -the _River Swallow_ so that only her prow rested upon the rocks. As -mentioned before, she was a very light draft boat and four feet of water -was ample to float her. - -"She'll lie snug enough now," declared Ralph, when his orders had been -carried out; "and now let's see about getting ashore and finding out -what sort of a place this is that we have struck." - -The _River Swallow's_ emergency rope steps were found to be capable of -reaching the water's edge. The lead had already told them that the depth -was shallow. Hansen went first with Malvin, displaying no hesitation in -following him. Ralph, true to the traditions of the captain's office, -came last. He found Malvin and Hansen half-way to shore, wading -painstakingly and not without difficulty, through the swift rushing -waters. - -The two gained the beach ahead of Ralph. He had supposed that they would -be waiting for him. But when he reached the shore he could see nothing -of them, and, although he shouted, he gained no response to his cries. - -It was then that a disquieting thought occurred to him. - -Hansen had seen him transfer a package from La Rue's coat to his own -pocket. - -Was it not possible that the man had guessed, through some previous -knowledge, that the package he had abstracted was the wallet containing -the precious stones destined for transfer across the border? In such a -case it behooved him to be on the keen lookout for a surprise of some -sort. From what he knew of him, Malvin was not the sort of man to allow -a fortune in gems to get into the hands of the enemy. - -Ralph felt his breast pocket as, wet through to the skin and half -exhausted from his struggle against the rapidly running water, he stood -on the shore. A satisfying feeling rewarded his touch. So far he held a -prince's ransom in gems secure. - -How long could he do so? Ralph realized that the instant he had become -possessed of the wallet of gems he had incurred a responsibility which -it might tax his keenest abilities to carry out. - - - - - CHAPTER XXVIII. - CHECKMATED. - - -"Hull-o-o-o-h!" - -Ralph sent the cry shrilly echoing among the trees and brush that topped -the rocky rise edging the beach upon which they had struck. - -There was no answer. Again and again he sent the cry forth, while the -storm whipped it out from his lips and scattered it broadcast. But to -his far-flung appeals there came no rejoinder. - -"Deserted!" muttered Ralph. "That shows how much those fellows really -amount to. When they thought they were going to the bottom they were -glad enough to depend upon me. Now that their feet have struck the hard -shore they're off again. Within a week they will be up to new schemes of -villainy." - -Thoroughly decided in his mind that Hansen and Malvin, once having -gained the shore, had left him to shift for himself, Ralph hesitated -about his next move. - -The storm had abated, but muttering peals of thunder and spasmodic -flashes of lightning showed that it was still hovering about the -vicinity. The rain fell in torrents, but Ralph was already so thoroughly -soaked that this caused him but small inconvenience. His thoughts were -centered on the treachery of the other survivors. The least they might -have done, he mused, would have been to await his coming on shore. Then -they could have taken counsel together and decided upon their next move. - -The strain of the night had told upon the boy. He felt nervous, -irritable and chilled. Even La Rue's fate, much as it had bothered him -at first (rascal though the man was), now held little of interest for -him. His sole idea was to find some place of shelter, and then he would -sleep--and sleep, till nature was recuperated. - -It was no light task that the boy had performed. Few persons but those -who knew the river could have imagined the tireless skill and vigilance -necessary, if a craft, once caught in the vortex of a St. Lawrence -storm, was to be kept from disaster. - -The trust imposed in him Ralph had loyally carried out while opportunity -served. It was through no fault of his that, caught in a swirling eddy -with an inexperienced engineer to answer his signals, the _River -Swallow_ lay helpless. - -And yet Ralph was not weak enough to blame anybody but himself. He saw -now, and all too clearly, that it had been an error of judgment for him -to send both Harry Ware and Percy Simmons ashore at Piquetville. With -even one of them to aid him, he might have been able to stand off the -rascals who wanted to gain possession of the _River Swallow_ till aid of -some sort arrived. - -All these thoughts, and many others, surged through his mind as, -brain-sick, footsore and wet to the skin, he stood on the beach and -looked at the dark hulk on the waters which he knew was the _River -Swallow_. Ralph had never, in all his adventurous times, felt so much -like quitting as he did right then and there. - -He ran over in memory other predicaments in which he had been placed: -The ruined mission from which he had had to escape by a swaying rope -from a tower that rose a hundred feet above the solid ground; the -terrible trap into which the boys had fallen in the Northwest, and from -which they had escaped only by a desperate leap across a boiling, -swirling river, ultimately to seek refuge on a drifting log. Once more -he recollected their experiences in the Canadian Rockies; the dread -moment when the bear almost had them in his grasp at the entrance to the -subterranean cavern. - -But all these paled into insignificance in his mind beside the present -situation. - -In all the predicaments which his excited mind had hastily recalled it -was either his life or his companion's that was at stake. Now, however, -in addition to the personal equation, the salvation of a fine craft--the -_River Swallow_--depended upon his grit and enterprise. - -"Well, there's no use standing here," he said to himself, as he listened -to the rumbling of the storm dying away in the distance. - -Before the tempest broke the weather had been hot, oppressive, in fact. -Now the air had become almost chilly in contrast. Ralph, in his wet -clothes, shuddered. The night breeze that crept along in the wake of the -storm made him feel that a warm fire would be welcome. - -"No use standing still here," he mused; "there's nothing to be done till -morning, at any rate. If this is the mainland, there should be some -farmer's house in sight. In the event that we have struck an island, it -seems almost equally positive that some one is living upon it." - -He sat down in the lee of a rock, sheltered from the driving rain and -the wind, and considered his position. On second thoughts, it did not -seem so serious. He had checkmated a gang of ruffians, and as he thought -of this he gave his chest a thump. - -The wallet with the fortune within its transparent inside cover was -still there. He controlled the situation. The next morning he resolved -that, no matter what happened, he would deliver the entire collection to -the authorities. - -"Thank goodness, Hansen did not guess what I had taken," he said to -himself. "In fact, I doubt if either Malvin or Hawke would have made -enough of a confidant of him to let him know that they had such a sum in -precious stones to sneak across the border. So far as I can see, this -Hansen was a sort of weak-kneed go-between. He was entirely in their -power. Their tool, in fact." - -Musing in this way, Ralph arose to his feet. The rain still beat down, -but it was not as violent as before. - -Far off, intermittent flashes could be seen on the horizon. The storm -had plainly passed. - -Ralph patted the pocket wherein reposed the gems. - -"Checkmated," he chuckled, "checkmated, by all that's wonderful! Now for -some sleep and then--to-morrow." - - - - - CHAPTER XXIX. - A HERMIT OF THE ST. LAWRENCE. - - -For some time Ralph floundered and stumbled along the beach in the -direction which he had elected to follow. At length, as he rounded a -point, he caught sudden sight of a light, burning amid a clump of -stunted, dwarfed cedar trees. - -"Good!" he exclaimed. "Where there's a light there's a promise, anyhow, -of a fire and something to eat. Eat! I've almost forgotten what the word -means, and as for sleep----" - -Ralph's lips parted in an expansive yawn. - -"Oh, for a bed! I could sleep the clock round, I do declare," he -confessed to himself. - -With the light as an inspiring goal, he pushed forward vigorously along -the beach, wondering to himself, meanwhile, if Hansen and Malvin had -reached a place of refuge. - -"At any rate, they don't deserve one," he thought. "Their desertion of -me was a base bit of business. If they have to stay out to-night with -the stars for a counterpane and the earth for a cot, I, for one, have no -great sympathy for them." - -In due time he reached the place from which he had perceived the light -shining through the night. So far as he could see, it was a -rough-looking shanty, built of driftwood and old timbers nailed or -fastened together in haphazard fashion. The light was proceeding from a -small window and, peering in through this, Ralph was able to see a very -old man seated at a rough table, apparently repairing a fish net. - -"I've heard strange stories about some of these squatters along the St. -Lawrence," said the boy to himself, as he hesitated outside the door. "I -hardly know if I ought to knock or not. Suppose this is some maliciously -disposed old hermit, like that one we met down in Texas?" - -He hesitated thus for several minutes; but at last he mustered up the -resolution to knock on the door. - -He struck a good thundering tattoo with his knuckles, and was -immediately rewarded by hearing a voice from within. It was querulous, -old and cracked. Plainly, it belonged to just such an old man as he had -seen seated at the table when he looked through the window. He was an -old, bald-headed, patriarchal-looking man. - -Despite the apparent age of the occupant of the lone hut on the St. -Lawrence, he looked hale and hearty. Ralph's first view had established -this. The old man's skin was pink and clear, his blue eyes bright, and -although he stooped, he showed traces of having been a well-built, -powerful man in his youth. - -"Rap! rap! rap!" went Ralph's knuckles again. - -Then from within: "Wa'al, what cher want?" - -"To see whoever lives here," spoke up Ralph. - -"Who are you?" - -"A boy that was cast up here to-night on a motor boat that went -aground." - -"Wa'al, speak up, can't cher? What cher want?" - -"To sleep here to-night and a chance to dry my clothes," replied Ralph, -greatly puzzled over the brusqueness of his reception. - -"You ain't one of the La Rue gang?" - -Ralph's heart gave a leap. What could this venerable old solitary know -of the La Rue gang? - -"No, of course I'm not one of the La Rue gang," declared Ralph, in an -indignant tone. "If I was I guess I might have better quarters. Open up -now, will you?" - -"I'm a-comin'! I'm a-comin'. Gosh all fish hooks, but yer in a tearin' -hurry, young fellow." - -"So'd you be if you'd gone through a quarter of what I have in the last -few hours," replied Ralph. - -The door was flung open and a lamp held high above the head of the -shack's occupant. Seemingly he wanted to make sure of Ralph before he -admitted him. - -"City, be'ant you?" he asked. - -"Well, I've been around in cities a bit," confessed Ralph. - -"Oh, well, none the worse for that, I dessay. Come in. You don't look as -if you'd bite." - -Ralph caught himself recalling some recent moving pictures on board the -_River Swallow_. - -"Oh, I don't know," rejoined the boy, with a smile he could not control, -"just give me something to bite on and I'll see what I can do with it." - -The old man set out baked beans and bacon, cold potatoes, cold corn and -a piece of soggy pie. - -"Fire's done plum give out, er I'd give yer coffee," he said -apologetically. - -"Never mind," said Ralph. "I'd rather have water. You get fine water -here on the----" - -He paused an instant to give the old man a chance to speak. - -"Island," croaked the veteran, "Castle Island, we calls it on 'count the -odd-shaped rocks and stuff." - -In this simple manner Ralph ascertained without more ado that he was on -an island. This, at least, was a valuable bit of information. It gave -him something to go on. - -His host at this point appeared to wake up to the fact that, while he -had been talking pretty freely with his guest, Ralph had not yet -unbosomed himself of any of his affairs. The old man's inquiries were -minute. - -Ralph told him all of the truth that he thought advisable. Of course he -made no mention of the gems or of the smuggling episodes. To old man -Whey, as the old chap said he was to be called, he accounted for his -presence on the island by saying that his motor boat had run aground. - -The old man inquired where the accident had taken place, and Ralph -quickly placed him in possession of all the details. - -"That's nuffin'," declared old man Whey; "we'll have her off there in -mighty quick time. Lucky thing you landed in Deer Bay; otherwise you'd -have got in bad waters. If you are lying where I think you are, you can -come pretty nigh gettin' off under your own power." - -It had already become clear that old man Whey knew the river like a -book. To Ralph it appeared that here was a good man to tie to. - -"If you'll help me get my boat off in the morning, and we succeed in -floating her, I'll give you whatever you choose to take for your -services." - -The old man exploded. - -"Sho, boy! Kain't I do a good turn ter my neebor?" he asked. "Pay me, -indeed! My fishing and the work I do for the cottagers once in a while -gives me all I want. Pay me, indeed! Git right into that bunk now. Sleep -your head off. I'll call you when I'm ready in the morning." - -Ralph was nothing loath to turn in on the rough sleeping shelf assigned -to him. But before closing his eyes he thrust the wallet containing the -gems under his pillow. - -"It'll be safe there," he muttered drowsily to himself. - -But in the morning when he awakened the wallet with its fortune in gems -was gone. - -And also among the missing was old man Whey. - - - - - CHAPTER XXX. - THE STOLEN SKIFF. - - -The sun streamed into the miserable old shanty. It had looked -unattractive enough by night. Seen by day it was ten times more shabby -and ramshackle. Old fish nets, ragged, frayed lines, all the -paraphernalia of a river fisherman lay scattered about. - -On the crude table stood some unwashed tin dishes, great shad-flies and -eel bugs buzzing about them with a whirring sound. Against the wall hung -some of old Whey's clothes, queer, homemade garments, half patches and -half the original material; it was hard to tell where one began and the -other ended. The sunlight that streamed into the squalid place, which -had an untidy, dirt floor, came from the same window through which Ralph -had observed the light the night before. - -The place was the typical home of a St. Lawrence River fisherman. In one -corner stood the old man's most cherished possessions, his sturgeon -spears and a big jack lantern for night fishing. A crude attempt at -taxidermy, too, was above an open fireplace at one end of the hut--a -stuffed "butter-ball" duck. It stood wobbling on one leg, the seams of -its sewn-up skin bursting through with the cotton that stuffed it. - -In the opposite corner was a rusty stove with three legs, the place of a -fourth support being supplied by a log. A few tin plates, clumsy knives -and forks, bags of flour, potatoes, onions and other staples about -completed the furnishings of the hut. The roof was leaky, as some muddy -pools on the floor and the sunlight streaming through sundry holes into -the room, amply testified. - -Ralph's eye took in all this in a few seconds. Then his mind reverted to -his loss. Beyond a doubt, old man Whey was the thief. The old rascal -must have decided to search his guest in the night and abstract whatever -of value he found. The boy could not help an indignant exclamation as he -thought of the almost priceless collection of gems the old man's -rapacious fingers had gathered in. - -"Just to think," exclaimed Ralph indignantly, "that an old, half-senile -man should have robbed me of precious stones that I thought nobody could -take from me!" - -Angry at his lack of caution in not having hidden them before he entered -the hut, Ralph went to the door. It was ajar, and a touch threw it open. -Outside, the morning sparkled brightly. The hut was on the river's edge. -On the shore was drawn up a St. Lawrence skiff, a narrow, double-ended -craft of a type peculiar to the great river. - -Its oars lay on their fixed thole pins and the line that lay up on the -beach was bone dry. Plainly, if this was the old man's only boat, which, -considering his poverty-stricken state, was likely, old Whey had not -been out that morning. - -This rather puzzled Ralph. He had made up his mind that the old man had -risen as soon as the storm died out--or perhaps he had not gone to bed -at all--and had looted his garments and bed and then made off with their -valuable contents. If the venerable thief had decamped, however, it was -plain he had not gone in his own boat; that is, unless he was possessed -of more than one, which, for the reasons mentioned, was highly -improbable. - -Some bacon was in a frying-pan on the rusty stove in which a fire was -smoldering. A pot of coffee, also, stood there; and with some bread from -one of the corner cupboards Ralph managed to make a rough breakfast. -Then, refreshed and invigorated, he set out for the scene of the wreck. -Naturally, the desire to see how badly the _River Swallow_ was damaged -was uppermost in his mind. It outweighed even his worry over the losing, -or, rather, the theft, of the leather wallet. - -He had not proceeded very far when his steps were arrested by a low cry -from a clump of brush back from the beach. - -"Don't strike me again! Don't!" came in a trembling voice from whoever -was concealed there. - -"Somebody hurt," said Ralph to himself, and began to hasten up the beach -toward the clump of bushes. - -As his footsteps crunched on the gravel the voice broke out afresh: - -"It's the boy's wallet, I tell you. You mustn't steal it! Give it back! -Give it back!" - -Much mystified at this mention of the wallet, Ralph parted the bushes. -He had hardly done so, when he started back with an exclamation. Old man -Whey lay there in a crumpled heap. Apparently he was injured. But Ralph -soon discovered that although the old man's face had been bruised by a -brutal blow he was not badly hurt. - -[Illustration: Old man Whey lay there in a crumpled heap.] - -"What's the matter, Mr. Whey?" asked the boy, blaming himself for his -suspicions of the old man. "What has happened?" - -"Oh, is it you, my boy?" asked the old man, opening his eyes. "Three men -came to the hut while you were asleep. I had dozed off and opened my -eyes in time to see them taking something from under your pillow." - -"Those men!" cried Ralph, guessing the truth. "Were there _three_ of -them?" - -"Yes. I saw them take your wallet. I chased them and told them to give -it back, but they laughed at me and then struck my face as you see, and -threw me into these bushes. I'm not much hurt, but I'm half dead from -fright." - -Ralph's mind was busy reconstructing things. There were three men. That, -then, made it plain that La Rue had not perished, but had managed to get -ashore through the shallow water. He must have met Malvin and the -Norwegian sailor when they landed, which accounted for the prompt -disappearance of the latter two. - -Apparently, then, they had watched him (Ralph) come ashore, and had -tracked him to the hut of old man Whey. Having done this, they had -awaited an opportunity to recover the gems, which Hansen had evidently -seen Ralph transfer from the coat pocket of La Rue's discarded garment -to his own. It may be said here, that this is precisely what had -happened and Ralph's guesses were not a whit short of the whole truth of -the matter. - -Despite his anxiety to reach the scene of the wreck, the boy felt that -his first duty lay to old man Whey, who was in a pitiable condition of -shakiness over his fright. But when Ralph had helped him to his feet, he -rallied and began to grow quite angry. - -"Ah! If I'd been young and strong like I was once this wouldn't have -happened," he quavered. "I'd have given them something to think over. -Yes, I would. But I'm old and all alone since Jimmie left me." - -"Who was Jimmie?" asked Ralph, more to keep the old man's mind off his -brutal treatment than anything else, as the two advanced toward the hut. - -"Jimmie! Why, he was my grandson. He was a fine little lad, Jimmie was, -but he was lost in his boat two years ago, and I've never got a trace of -him since." - -"Lost? You mean that he was lost in a storm?" - -"Yes. Jimmie was out fishing when one of those storms we call a twister -came up. The last I saw of him he was being blown round that point -yonder. I've never seen him since. He'd be about twelve years old now, -Jimmie would. He was a fine boy," garrulously went on the old man, "and -after his father, my last living son, died, Jimmie meant a lot to me." - -His voice broke and his dim old eyes grew dimmer. - -"You don't think it possible that he may have been saved?" inquired -Ralph, with a vague hope of comforting the old man. - -Old Whey shook his head mournfully. - -"No, sir. Jimmie's dead and gone, he is, and the old man is left alone. -All alone." - -After he had had some strong coffee and breakfast, however, the old man -rallied. He said he would accompany Ralph to the scene of the wreck. He -suggested taking the row boat, as it would be easier than walking. Just -as a westerner catches up a pony rather than walk a quarter of a mile, -so a denizen of the St. Lawrence always travels in a skiff or a punt or -a "put-put" (St. Lawrence for motor boat), if he is lucky enough to -possess one. - -But when they came out of the hut, imagine the surprise of the old man -and the boy when they saw that the boat had gone! - -There was no question about it, the skiff had vanished utterly without -leaving a trace. - -They hurried to the beach, the old man almost tearful over this new -calamity. Ralph bent and examined the ground in the vicinity of the -place where the boat had lain. Then he straightened up with an angry -exclamation. - -"La Rue's work again!" he cried. "Three men have been here and, beyond -the shadow of a doubt, it was La Rue and his companions. They have -escaped from the island with the gems in your stolen boat." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXI. - AFLOAT AGAIN! - - -The old man was more than angry. He was furious. He wept and wailed and -tore his hair. The loss of the boat affected him like some great -disaster, which, in fact, it was to him. But Ralph succeeded in allaying -somewhat his fury and grief by promising him a new skiff as soon as he -should be able to procure one. - -"I feel that I am partly responsible for the loss of your skiff," said -the boy, "as, if it had not been for me, those three men would not have -come near your hut. So I'll see to it that you get another one." - -"A Guerin skiff?" quavered the old man. "That one they took was built by -him. He is dead and gone now, but nobody on the St. Lawrence ever built -skiffs like Amie Guerin. That one of mine was thirty years old and -better than when she was new." - -After Ralph had promised that if possible one of the skiffs from the -workshop of the redoubtable Guerin should replace the missing one, the -old man grew calmer. - -"I am selfish," he said. "After all, perhaps your beautiful motor craft -is ruined, and what is one poor skiff to the loss of a fine craft like -that?" - -"Let us go and see how badly she is damaged," said Ralph; and together -the old man and the boy set off for the point upon which the luckless -_River Swallow_ had driven her bow. In a short time they reached it. - -The _River Swallow_ lay on the placid river, apparently unharmed. The -stern lines that Ralph had had the foresight to order out had held, and -her after part was swinging clear of the sand-spit on which she had -rammed her bow. - -Ralph waded out to the craft and examined her as well as he could. To -his joyous amazement, so far as he could make out, she had suffered no -great damage. One or two of her rivets might be strained, he thought, -but beyond that the _River Swallow_ appeared to be in good order. - -The boy could not resist the temptation to see if he could get her off -the sand-bar. This was not as difficult as it sounds. The wind of the -night before had held the craft on the sand-spit. But now she appeared -to be about to glide off into deeper water of her own volition. Almost -her entire hull was afloat, the exception being the foot or two of bow -that was embedded in the sand. - -"I believe I could do it," mused Ralph, as he sized up the situation -critically. "Wouldn't it be fine to come cruising along into Piquetville -under my own power with old man Whey for a crew!" - -He turned to the old man. - -"Mr. Whey, can you steer a boat?" - -"What kind of a boat?" croaked the old man, who had been lost in -admiration of the shapely lines and finish of the _River Swallow_. - -"Why, this boat. The _River Swallow_. Do you know anything about -handling a wheel?" - -"He! he! he! What a question!" chuckled the old man. "Why, Enos Whey was -skipper of a Montreal packet afore rheumatiz crippled him up. D'ye want -me to help you get her off the shoal?" - -"That's just what I do. If you will ship as wheelman and run her to -Piquetville I'll pay you well for it." - -"I'll do it! By gum, I'll do it!" cried the old man. "I haven't had a -wheel in my hands for fifteen years, but a man never forgets how to -steer. Help me aboard, lad, and I'll show you what I can do." - -Ralph clambered on board the _River Swallow_ and then proceeded to help -the old man up the rope ladder, sometimes used by the boys in debarking -in a rough sea. With many grunts and groans, old Whey was at last safely -on deck. - -"What now, lad?" he asked. - -"I'll get the engines started and then we can cast off the stern lines. -Then you'll take the wheel and I'll throw my clutch into the reverse and -give her full power. I _think_, that with both propellers tugging at her -the _River Swallow_ will back off into deep water just as nicely as -anything." - -"She ought to," agreed the old man, "that sand is soft and she is not up -on it very far. You go below, lad, and tell me when you are ready." - -Ralph hastened to his cabin, jumped into overalls and descended to the -motor room. Everything was in apple-pie order, except that Hansen had -left tools untidily lying about. Leaving the cleaning-up process till -some future time, Ralph turned on the gasoline, set the sparks on both -motors and then pulled the lever that started the compressed air -apparatus that spun the engines till they picked up their power. - -There was a whirr and a buzz and then a volley of explosions. - -"Fine!" exclaimed Ralph, as the big motors began to revolve. He adjusted -the mixture and then the powerful machines settled down to a rhythmic -hum. The clutch was not in and they were running free--that is, the -propellers were not yet revolving. - -"All right!" cried Ralph, hastening on deck. "All ready when you are!" - -The old man and the boy cast off the stem lines, and then Ralph, without -loss of time, for there was danger of the freed hull swinging with the -current, hastened below once more. Old man Whey took up his position on -the bridge. A flash of fire came into his aged eyes as he felt the -spokes of a steering wheel in his grip once more. - -He seized the engine-room signal lever with a hand that shook but was -still determined. - -"Full speed astern!" flashed up on the indicator below, on which Ralph's -eyes had been glued. - -"The old man sure does understand his business," murmured the boy, as he -grasped the reverse lever. - -There came a rattling, grinding whirr as the cogs of the gears engaged. -Then a tremor and a convulsion of the hull. - -"Is she moving?" wondered Ralph excitedly. - -He speeded up the engines to their full capacity. The sharp pitched -propellers "bit" the water, exercising a tremendous backward drag on the -_River Swallow_. - -Unable to restrain himself, Ralph rushed up on deck. What he saw caused -him to utter a shrill whoop of joy, which was echoed in a feeble croak -by old man Whey. - -"We're off!" shouted the boy. - -"See here, you get below and mind your engines," chuckled old man Whey. -"I'm the temporary skipper of this craft." - - - - - CHAPTER XXXII. - A JOYOUS MEETING. - - -It was some two hours after the floating of the _River Swallow_, which -proved as staunch as ever, that a group of persons on board a speedy, -trim little motor tender spied the craft coming toward Piquetville with -a "bone in her teeth." - -Joy that verged on the delirious ran riot on the tender, which was the -_River Swallow's_ own boat, when, from the side of the fast motor craft, -came a puff of white smoke, a loud report and then the stars and stripes -fluttered out in all their glory on the after flagstaff. - -"Whoop-ee! Zing! zang! zabella!" cried Harry Ware exultingly. "It's good -old Ralph! The old bull-dog has won out!" - -"I knew he would. I'll bet he's got that gang imprisoned on board there -right now!" cried Percy Simmons. - -"Look! There he is on the bridge!" cried Jennings, indicating a figure -at the wheel. - -"Is that Ralph?" questioned Percy hesitatingly. - -"Yes--no, by hookey! It's an old man with a white beard!" - -"Well, what under the sun!" burst from Harry Ware. - -"I rather fancy, young men, that your comrade will have an odd story to -tell when we meet him," struck in Prescott. "By Jove, he appears to be -as efficient on the St. Lawrence as he and his chums proved to be on the -Mexican border." - -"You bet Ralph's on the job wherever he is!" said Percy Simmons -fervently. - -"I'm anxious to hear his story," said Adams, the third customs man. -"It's few men, let alone boys, that could bull-doze La Rue and two other -men as bad, and come back home with flying colors and an old Santa Claus -for helmsman." - -"The man at the wheel looks like old Father Time," laughed Harry. - -"He's right on time, anyhow," declared Percy Simmons. - -Not long after an interested group, gathered in the inspector's office -at Piquetville, heard Ralph's story. The official was visibly chagrined -over the loss of the gems, but he concealed this as well as he could and -complimented Ralph on his excellent work. - -"If you would accept a position I'd like to have you in this service," -he said; "but you can at least do us one favor. Lend the government of -the United States your _River Swallow_ for to-night." - -"I'll do a lot more than that," said Ralph quickly. "But, if I may ask, -what is the plan, Inspector?" - -"Just this. I think that La Rue and his companions, after they stole the -old man's boat, made for some rendezvous of the gang. They are there -now, according to my best judgment." - -"Yes; that's about right," agreed Jennings. "But they'll make a break as -soon as possible." - -"Just my idea, Jennings," rejoined his chief; "and that 'break' will be -made on that fly-by-night boat of theirs. They'll try and dispose of the -gems, smuggle them across the line, that is, in some other point along -the river; or they may even try to get to the Great Lakes. It's our job -to head them off." - -"A man's-size job," muttered Adams. - -"All of that," said the inspector; "that is the reason why I asked this -young man for the loan of his boat. My idea is, first to descend on -Windmill Island, which, from Master Stetson's story, I believe to be the -hiding place of the gang. The old island would make an ideal hang-out -for them. It is full of passages and galleries and then, too, that old -windmill tower would make a fine meeting place for such scamps. Folks -around here believe it is haunted and wouldn't be likely to bother them. -Young men, we will start for Windmill Island at dusk." - -"You want us along?" asked Ralph delightedly. - -"Why, of course," was the astonished reply. "You didn't think we could -get along without you, did you?" - -"Well, I must say that I'd like to be in at the finish," rejoined Ralph. - -"Same here," put in Harry Ware. - -"Me for that cruise, if I never take another," grinned Percy Simmons -delightedly. - -"And if I kin come, I'd like ter take a good swat at ther feller what -stole my skiff, by gum!" chortled old man Whey, at which they all -laughed; and the inspector promised the old fellow that he should be a -member of the party that hoped to tout the gem smugglers out of their -last stronghold and bring them to book for their misdeeds. - -It was just at the conclusion of this arrangement that a messenger boy -broke into the room. - -"'Sage fer Ralph Fetson!" he burst out. - -"No such----" began the inspector. - -"I guess he means me," said Ralph, taking the message. - -Sure enough, the dispatch was for him. He tore it open and scanned it -eagerly. It was from his father. - - "Arrest, annoying mistake. Trip here useless. Made on a forged - message. Tell all about it on my return. - - Dad." - -"Well," said Ralph, after he had communicated the news, "I guess we know -almost as much about that as dad. He can't get here before to-morrow -morning, and by that time----" - -"We'll be able to confront him with the men responsible for his -unpleasant experience," promised the inspector confidently. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIII. - OFF ON THE CHASE. - - -"Well, Harry, this is going to be some cruise!" - -"Humph! I've a notion it will be all of that and then some," replied -Harry Ware, as he and Ralph Stetson stood side by side on the bridge of -the _River Swallow_. The dusk was deepening into night and the _River -Swallow_ lay at the Piquetville dock tugging at her hawsers, as if -anxious to be off on what was to prove the most memorable trip of her -career. - -"We're going to try conclusions with that _Artful Dodger_ at last, and -tie her up hard and fast, and certain members of her crew as well." - -"All well and good," said Harry, "but just the same my advice would be -to stay far away from that craft. She's a bad one. I don't like the idea -of coming up with her." - -"More ghost shivers, eh?" laughed Ralph. "Stay ashore if you like, -Harry." - -The Ware boy flushed crimson. - -"What are you talking about? I'm not scared. Don't you dare say I am, -Ralph Stetson." - -"That's all right, Harry," soothed Ralph, with a laugh. "I know that -when we catch the _Artful Dodger_ you'll be just as courageous as any -one else. But till then----" - -"You'll please quit teasing me about that craft." - -"All right, if that's the way you feel about it." - -"What if they threw a bomb or something at us while we were chasing -them?" - -"No danger of that. I shouldn't wonder, in fact, if we miss the craft -altogether. Of one thing I'm glad, though, we are going to explore the -mysteries of Windmill Island." - -"Umph! That's a nice, cheerful job. We saw one explosion there. How do -we know that there won't be another? That fellow Rawson was thinking of -making a mine with that dynamite that blew up when the hut caught fire. -How do we know he mayn't have some such cheerful little contrivance -planted off the island that may blow us sky-high?" - -Ralph lost all patience. - -"Say, if you don't stop croaking, I'll ask the inspector to have you put -ashore. Why, old man Whey is far more courageous than you are." - -Harry walked off with his hands in his pockets. He was indignant, but -Ralph only smiled. - -"He'll be back in a while," he said to himself, "and when he does come -he'll be ashamed of himself." - -He was right. Shortly after the customs inspectors boarded the boat and -found the boys and old man Whey all ready for them, Harry stole up to -Ralph. - -"I hope we don't sight that _Artful Dodger_," said he, "but if we do, -nothing will suit me but to bring her back with a double half-hitch in -her nose." - -"I knew that was the way you'd feel about it, Harry," said Ralph, and -then turned to greet the customs inspectors. - -All was in readiness. Nothing was to be gained by waiting, and the word -to cast off soon came. Through the fast falling gloom the _River -Swallow_ slipped out into the St. Lawrence, while a thrill ran through -all of those on board as they thought of the night's work that depended -upon them. - -"Want the search-light?" asked Harry, as they moved along. - -Old man Whey, who acted as pilot, from his thorough knowledge of the -river, had just told them they were not far from Windmill Island. - -"Not on your life," snapped the chief inspector; "we don't want to -herald the fact that we are coming. I would suggest, captain, that you -extinguish even your side-lights." - -"Taking a chance," said Ralph, scanning the compass card. - -"Never mind. We'll have to risk it." - -The next instant a sharp click showed that the lights were out. - -Stealthily as a shadow the _River Swallow_ crept over the dark water, -not a light showing on board her. With her under-water exhaust, too, her -engines were perfectly silent. Like a ghost ship she crept along, with -old man Whey guiding Ralph's steering. - -After a while the old man signaled to the chief inspector. - -"Better take to the small boat here," he advised, "and anchor the _River -Swallow_. I'm not sure of the rocks and shoals, and Windmill Island lies -right off there." - -"Very well," said the inspector, "anchor as noiselessly as possible." - -The anchor chain was slipped out slowly with hardly any of its customary -whirring and rattling. The engines ceased to revolve. The _River -Swallow_ swung noiselessly at her moorings. Then came the command to -lower the launch tender. - -When this was done, they all descended into it and, using the oars--for -they did not want to announce their coming by the popping of the -engine--they set off through the darkness for the shore. - -Presently, like a tall ghost, the white finger of the windmill tower -upreared itself through the surrounding gloom. - -Ralph, who sat next Harry, felt the lad give a shiver. - -"Goose flesh?" he laughed, nudging the boy. - -"Goose flesh nothing!" exclaimed Harry indignantly. "It's fighting -flesh." - -The bow of the tender grated on the beach. It was after ten o'clock. No -light or other evidence of human habitation was visible. - -"Maybe our birds have skipped," said the chief inspector, in -disappointed tones. - -"Hold on a minute!" whispered Ralph, in a low, tense voice. "What's that -coming?" - -"It's a motor boat," cried Harry. - -"Heading this way, too," declared the inspector. - -"Lie low, everybody," cautioned Jennings the next instant. "It's the -_Artful Dodger_, for a thousand dollars!" - - - - - CHAPTER XXXIV. - THE TUNNEL ENTRANCE. - - -The tender was a light one. It was no very hard task for the party to -draw the little craft up the beach and into the concealment of a clump -of bushes. - -Hardly had this been done, when around the point behind which they had -landed, came the craft they had heard. The night was starlit, and in the -dim radiance they could see her dark outlines coming on at a good speed. - -Beyond the little cove into which they had drawn the tender was a fairly -high cliff, rocky and threatening. The motor boat crossed the little -cove and kept straight on. No lights burned on her. Plainly her errand -was not one which those on board cared to advertise. - -"Great Scott! what is she going to do?" exclaimed the inspector, in a -low whisper, as the motor boat kept right on across the little cove -without altering her course in the least. Not one degree did she swerve -from the route she was steering. - -"What on earth do they mean to do?" breathed Ralph. "Run the boat smack -into that cliff?" - -"Looks as if they are bent on suicide," commented Jennings uneasily. - -"I told you it wasn't any ordinary kind of boat," said Harry Ware. "It -wouldn't surprise me if----" - -"Jumping Jupiter!" burst from the inspector. - -The rest of the party could only gasp their amazement. At the moment -articulate speech was impossible. - -The motor boat had reached the cliff--and vanished without sound or -sign. - -"She's gone down!" cried Ralph, the first to recover from his -astonishment. - -"Gone down, nothing!" retorted Harry scornfully. "She's just melted into -air, that's what." - -"Don't be so foolish," chided Inspector Jennings. "Depend upon it, that -is another of their tricks, like the ones they played on you, boys." - -"We'll start for that cliff and examine it," declared the chief -inspector. "There's some clever sleight of hand in all this mummery." - -"We're going to that cliff!" gasped Harry, in affrighted tones. -Nevertheless he set off with the others, but he might have been observed -to hang some distance behind them. The boy was now more firmly convinced -than ever that there was something supernatural about the mysterious -craft. - -"The Fenians had all sorts of secret ways of landing upon and leaving -this island," said the chief inspector; "and I'll wager that the motor -boat just used one of those to work the trick we've just seen." - -The night was warm and there were occasional flashes of summer -lightning. To Harry's thinking, this made the strange quest they were -engaged on all the more uncanny. - -At last they reached the cliff. - -"I wish another flash would come," said Ralph, "we daren't light -matches. But I brought along an electric torch." - -"A good idea. We may need it later," said the inspector. "Hullo! Look -there! I guess that explains the mystery of the motor boat's vanishing." - -Another flash had revealed a tunnel-like hole in the cliff which could -hardly be observed from the water side, on account of several thick -bushes which grew, either by accident or design, about its mouth. - -"There's a path," said Ralph presently, as another flicker of lightning -revealed a rough trail leading up the cliff face. - -"We'll follow it. Easy, now, boys, we don't want to give the alarm," -warned the chief inspector. - -Through the darkness the intruders on the gem smugglers' realm crept up -the slippery track. At last they gained the top. Below them, as the -flickering flashes showed, was a big pool of water, either natural or -artificial. Doubtless the tunnel through the cliff led into it, for -moored to one side of the pool could be seen the mysterious motor boat. - -There were no lights on board her. Apparently those who had arrived at -the island had made their way up the hill to the windmill tower, for a -light could now be seen gleaming, like an angry eye, half-way up the -structure. - -"They're all up there. Collecting their effects preparatory to leaving -the island forever, I imagine," whispered the inspector. "Let's have a -look at their boat." - -It was a rather risky business, but still they were a strong party and -the government officers were well armed. The descent to the side of the -pool was made by a rocky path very like the one by which they had -ascended the cliff. - -Harry hung back while the others inspected the boat. But Ralph rallied -him after a short time. - -"She's all solid, Harry," he declared; "come on and see for yourself. -Nothing ghostly about this fellow, unless a sixty horse-power motor of -the best and speediest design appeals to you as being spookish." - -Harry came forward and soon satisfied himself that it was all as Ralph -had said. Inside the boat they found tubs of phosphorus, for producing -the ghostly effect that had so scared Harry, plenty of spare lanterns to -work the stern-light trick and a stern search-light of great power, -evidently intended to be thrown full in the eyes of the helmsman of any -pursuing craft and dazzle his vision. - -In a locker, too, were sheets with holes for heads and a number of masks -painted to resemble grinning skulls. - -"Quite a paraphernalia," grinned the chief inspector. "All this would -make a regular eight-hour-union ghost turn green with envy." - -In a small shanty which stood close by they found more evidence to show -how the operators of the _Artful Dodger_ had been practicing on the -credulity of the islanders. All sorts of rigs and canvas frames by which -the outlines of the motor boat might be altered at will were discovered. -For instance, one frame was found which could be hooped on to the boat's -stern, changing her whole appearance. A false cabin top was also found, -by means of which the _Artful Dodger_ could be speedily converted to a -cabin cruiser, in case any one was looking for a motor boat of another -type. - -"Well, this is the most complete layout we have uncovered for some -time," spoke the chief inspector. "I think----" - -But Ralph interrupted him. - - - - - CHAPTER XXXV. - HANDS UP! - - -"Somebody with a lantern is coming this way!" exclaimed the boy. - -Advancing through the darkness was a single bright disc of light. It was -swinging violently, as if whoever was carrying it was walking fast. - -"Quick, get in here behind this hut," ordered the chief inspector. - -"Why not arrest them now?" asked Ralph. - -"'Twould never do. We want to get the diamonds and other stones. You can -depend upon it, that if we were premature they would find some way to -destroy that evidence." - -From their place of hiding the party watched the approach of the men -with the lantern. - -There were four of them. Two were recognized as Malvin and La Rue. -Another, a big, beefy man with a flaring red face and a pair of huge -black moustaches, was identified by the inspectors as Rawson; and the -fourth was a slight, delicate-looking little fellow, undersized and -narrow-chested. - -"Slim Shiner," whispered the chief inspector, "the cleverest gem -smuggler at large! It was he who secured the gems in Europe and saw to -it that they reached the gang over here safely. Then Malvin and the rest -disposed of them across the line. Malvin was of invaluable use to the -gang, for he worked from your father's boat, which, of course, was not -once suspected till we learned of the _Artful Dodger_ being seen off -Dexter Island." - -"Well, everything's cleaned out," La Rue was saying, "and now for a -clear getaway. A lucky thing that the water was shallow when I jumped -from that blamed _River Swallow_, or I wouldn't have been along -to-night." - -"No, nor the gems, neither," growled Rawson. "We think a heap more of -them than we do of your bones, La Rue." - -"That's right," chuckled Slim. "A good thing for you you managed to get -them away from that kid while he was asleep, La Rue, or you wouldn't -have dared face the gang again." - -"Well, I guess not," laughed Malvin. "But our troubles are over now, -boys. We'll move on to the Great Lakes and try our luck there. That gang -of young whelps on the _River Swallow_ broke up our game here, all -right, bad luck to them." - -"We'll take care of them later on, never fear," snarled La Rue. "I've a -score to settle myself with that Stetson brat. Ha! ha! that was a good -joke, though, having his old man clapped in jail in Montreal. That was -your trick, Slim." - -"Oh, these Canadian officials are such softies they'll believe anything -you tell 'em," modestly declared Slim. "A telegram to the chief at -Montreal was enough to turn the deal." - -"It was a good one, all right," snorted Rawson. - -"Well, let's get aboard. We've got lots of gasoline. What's our first -stop, Rawson?" asked La Rue. - -"Buffalo," was the gruff rejoinder; "and you fellows want to lie low, -too. I'll bet there's a hue and cry out after us right now." - -"You bet there is, and closer than you think," exclaimed Ralph to -himself. - -The men climbed aboard. Rawson bent over the engine, and the next -instant the craft began to move across the placid pool. - -"Run hard now and cut 'em off," cried the inspector. "Run as you never -ran before for the small boat." - -At top speed they raced over the cliff path and launched the tender just -as the _Artful Dodger_, a mystery no longer, emerged from the cliff -face. - -"Start the engine at top speed," ordered Inspector Jennings. "No use for -concealment now." - -Percy Simmons spun the wheel. The tender shot forward, headed so as to -intercept the _Artful Dodger_ as she came out of the cove. - -At that instant those on board the smugglers' craft saw the swift little -tender cutting across to head her off. They dashed ahead at full speed. - -"What's their game now?" demanded Ralph excitedly. - -"Heading for the Canadian line," was the chief inspector's brief -response. "Give her more speed, boy, she mustn't slip through our -fingers now." - -"I'll burn up the engines," declared Percy. - -"Never mind that," shot out Ralph; "burn up the boat, but we've got to -get them!" - -The fever of the chase was in his veins. He felt as if his life depended -on catching the other craft. The tender was now on a course which must -bring her across the craft's bows. As they drew near, the chief -inspector stood up. - -A revolver was in his hand. His two aides drew close to him with grim, -determined looks. - -"Stop that boat!" hailed the chief inspector, in round, ringing tones. - -There was no reply. - -"Heave to, or I'll send a shot into you!" he cried threateningly. - -"Who in blazes are you?" came back a shout from the other craft. - -"Inspectors of the United States Customs Service!" came the sharp -response. "Heave to!" - -"Go to the dickens! You can't bluff us! We're for the Canadian line!" -came back a taunting shout. - -Bang! A shot whizzed across the bows of the fleeing motor boat. - -"The next will come closer," warned the inspector. - -There was a hurried consultation on board the other craft. Angry voices -arose. It was plain that some were counseling surrender, others flight. -In the midst of it all came Malvin's voice. - -"All right. We give up and be hanged to you." - -The tender ranged alongside the other craft. The engines of the latter -had been stopped; she lay motionless on the water. But the inspectors -were alert for a trap. Perhaps the men on the _Artful Dodger_ had one -ready, but the sight of the armed officials caused them to undergo a -change of mind. - -Just as they ranged alongside, there came a snarl of rage from Malvin as -his eyes lighted on Ralph. Beside himself with fury, he sprang at the -lad with the ferocity of a tiger. - -"Confound you!" he roared. "You are to blame for all this!" - -Ralph caught the fellow by the wrist as Malvin aimed a vicious blow at -him with an oar. The next instant there was a splash and Malvin was -overboard. There was not much fight left in him when they fished him -out. - -In the meantime La Rue had been detected in the act of attempting to -conceal a leather wallet. The chief inspector wrenched it from him, and -it was found to contain the gems all intact. - -Rawson submitted to arrest more quietly than had been expected, as did -the redoubtable Slim. On the way to the _River Swallow_, with the -_Artful Dodger_ in tow, Malvin admitted having stolen the old man's boat -while he and Ralph were at breakfast, and said that it could be found on -Windmill Island. - -"Now, if I only had my boy back, I should be happy," sighed the old man, -as he heard of the safety of his beloved skiff. - -"You'd better tell him, La Rue," said Malvin, to his sullen comrade. - -"Well, if you want to know," said La Rue, after a pause, "your precious -grandson is in the Mercy Hospital in Cardinal." - -"In the hospital?" gasped the old man. "Jimmie?" - -"Yes. Those brats on their _River Swallow_ can tell you how he came -there. As for me, all I know about the little whelp is that he was blown -ashore on the island one night in a storm. He sought shelter in the -windmill tower and overheard us while we were discussing our plans. It -did not suit our policy to let him go and blab all he knew to the -outside world, so we kept him there until that explosion resulted in -Stetson and the other pups taking him away." - -"Oh, thank heaven, Jimmie is found!" exclaimed the old man. - -"I guess you won't enjoy each other's company long," sneered Rawson. -"The kid's going to die." - -But Jimmie didn't die. In fact he soon recovered, and is now in the -employ of Mr. Stetson. The railroad king arrived home from Montreal in -time to see the rascals who had placed him in such an embarrassing -dilemma in Montreal, arraigned in the police court at Piquetville and -held for the United States authorities. All received terms in the -Federal prison and took their sentences according to their dispositions. -Hansen was never heard of again, and as he was only a pawn in the great -gem smuggling game, he was not sought after. - -Mr. Stetson received a handsome apology from the Canadian government for -its embarrassing mistake. He has had it framed, and it hangs in his -library, where he shows it to visitors as a great joke. Naturally, this -leads to a recital of the part that Ralph and his chums played in -breaking up the gem smuggling gang on the Canadian line. - -Old man Whey is happy on his island, and Mr. Stetson has seen to it that -he has everything he desires. Windmill Island was purchased by a wealthy -New Yorker not long after the events we have described, and turned into -a handsome summer home. The old tower, the scene of so many lawless -scenes, is now a lighthouse, and thus good has come out of evil. - -The Border Boys have once more proved their right to the title by the -stirring times in which they participated along the Canadian frontier. -It is not likely that they will ever forget a single detail of their -experiences on the mighty St. Lawrence. Harry no longer believes in the -supernatural. That night when the gang met its fate laid the "ghost" of -superstition for once and all in his mind. - -And now, having brought our tale to a conclusion, we will bid God-speed -to the Border Boys. Wishing them well in all they may undertake in the -future, and a happy issue to all the adventures which such enterprising -young spirits are likely to encounter, we will bring this latest volume -of their experiences to a close. - - - THE END. - - - - - Transcriber's Notes - - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original--this e-text is public - domain in the country of publication. - ---Silently corrected palpable typos; left non-standard spellings and - dialect unchanged. - ---Modified the Table of Contents to match the actual pagination. - ---In the text versions, delimited italics text in _underscores_ (the - HTML version reproduces the font form of the printed book.) - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Border Boys Along the St. Lawrence, by -Fremont B. Deering - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BORDER BOYS ALONG ST. 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