A STRANGE MISSION
It seemed to the boys as though they could never get enough, and Fred,
as he saw one bluefish after another vanish, reminded the others that
they would want something for breakfast the next morning. But at last
even their ravenous appetites were satisfied, and they lay back on the
sand, blissfully content.
"Easy camping," remarked Teddy lazily. "No dishes to wash, no beds to
make, nothing to do till to-morrow."
"Do you think the storm will be over by that time, Lester?" asked Fred.
"I guess so," answered Lester, as he looked up at the sky where some
stars showed through. "The clouds seem to be breaking away and the wind
has died down a little. The surf doesn't sound so loud on the cliffs
outside, either."
"I suppose your father will be worried when we don't get back to-night,"
remarked Bill.
"I'm afraid he will," assented Lester. "But I've had to stay away
sometimes before when I've been caught in a squall, and he knows the
_Ariel_ is a pretty staunch boat. Still, he can't help feeling
worried, and we'll make sail for home the first thing in the morning."
By this time, their clothes had dried in the warmth of the fire, and the
comfort that this gave, together with the hearty meal they had eaten,
put the youths in a state of supreme content. They were at peace with
themselves and with all the world, and their satisfaction was all the
greater by contrast with their peril of the afternoon.
The stranger had eaten heartily and joined freely in the conversation,
but by tacit consent they had waited till the meal was over before they
discussed his narrow escape. The Rally Hall boys had had time to take
the unknown one's measure, and the general impression was favorable.
He was a clean-cut, well set up youth of about sixteen years. His form
was lithe and muscular, his hair black, and his eyes frank and friendly.
His speech showed education, and his manners were easy and correct.
If there was anything about him that marked him out as peculiar, it was
a certain baffled expression that came and went in his eyes. He looked
like one who was always seeking for something, but never finding it. His
glance had taken in the cove and the surrounding shore, as though to
impress it on his memory, with a view to using the knowledge later on.
Now as the boys lounged around the fire, he seemed to feel that the time
had come to give some account of himself.
"I can't thank you fellows enough for having pulled me out of the
water," he began.
"Here's the fellow to thank," interrupted Lester, clapping his hand on
Fred's shoulder. "He went overboard after you."
"What?" was the surprised reply. "I thought you pulled me in from the
deck. That was an awfully plucky thing for you to do," the stranger
declared, as he grasped Fred's hand warmly, "and I'll never forget it.
With that shark swimming around there, too!"
"Oh, that was nothing," disclaimed Fred. "I had tight hold of a rope,
and it was no trick at all to hold on to you until the other fellows
pulled us in."
"You took your life in your hand just the same," affirmed the other. "I
hope that some day I'll be able to show you how much I appreciate it."
"What was the matter with your motor boat anyway?" asked Fred, who was
always embarrassed by thanks and wanted to change the subject.
"The ignition was bad, and the water that I shipped made things worse. I
was tinkering away at it and had almost got it to working right, when
that big wave came aboard and carried me over the side. I can just
remember its hitting me, and after that everything was blank until I
came to my senses on the deck of the boat."
"I've seen that motor boat of yours cruising up and down the coast a
good deal this last year or so," remarked Lester. "You seem to be pretty
fond of the water."
The stranger shot a swift glance at the last speaker, as if he thought
some hidden meaning might lurk behind the words.
"Yes," he said, "I'm never happier than when I'm out on the open sea.
Some of my ancestors must have been sailors I guess, and I have it in
the blood. But that isn't the only reason I've been cruising along this
coast."
"What is the reason then?" asked Teddy curiously. "That is," he went on
hastily, "if you care to tell us. We don't want to pry into your
affairs."
The other seemed to debate with himself. It was as if a habit of secrecy
were battling with a sudden desire for expression.
"I'll tell you," he burst out. "It's a thing I've never told any one
else. But you fellows have been so white to me, to say nothing of one of
you having risked his life for mine, that I'm going to take a chance.
Perhaps it will be a relief anyway. Brooding over it so long and not
confiding in any one, I've been afraid some time I might go crazy over
it."
The boys were startled, but they gave no sign and the speaker went on:
"My name is Ross Montgomery. I'm looking for a chest of gold."
The effect was electric. The thrilling phrase appealed to all that was
most romantic in the listeners. Visions floated before their eyes of
hidden treasures, of pirate hoards, of sunken galleons with their
doubloons and "pieces of eight." These things had seemed to belong to
the misty past, to distant seas. Yet here in the prosaic twentieth
century, in a civilized country, on a quiet beach along the coast of
Maine, this boy of their own age was talking of a quest that might well
stir the most sluggish blood.
"A chest of gold!" repeated Fred, as though he could not believe his
ears.
"Where do you think it's hidden?" questioned Teddy eagerly.
"How much money is in the chest?" asked Bill.
"Perhaps it isn't money," corrected Lester. "It may be gold dust, or it
may be in bars. Have you any clue?" he asked, turning to Ross.
"What makes you think it's on this coast?" put in Fred.
Ross raised his hand good-naturedly, as though to ward off the rain of
questions.
"Easy there," he smiled, "and I'll tell you the whole thing from the
beginning. Perhaps you'll think I'm crazy. Perhaps you'll say I have as
good a chance of finding it as the fellow who looks for the pot of gold
at the end of the rainbow. And you may be right. Anyway, I'll give you
what facts I know, and you can figure out for yourselves whether I have
a chance or not."
Ross waited a moment to collect his thoughts, and the other boys
disposed themselves to listen. Their blood was bounding and their eyes
shining. The situation was romantic in itself. The firelight played over
their eager faces, the waters of the cove lay shimmering before them,
while, at the outlet, the surf thundered against the rocks. The boys
might have been castaways on some desert island in the tropics. The
great world outside seemed very far away.
"My father was in business in Boston about fifteen years ago," Ross
began. "I was just a baby then, and, of course, I don't know anything
about those days except what I've been told since by my mother.
"Father was a good business man and he had built up a fairly large
trade. We had a home in a suburb near Boston and all the money we
needed. The business had been expanding, and father had put into it not
only all his own ready money, but a lot that he had borrowed from his
friends. Then hard times came. Of course he had to retrench in every way
he could. He took in his sails and worked hard to weather the storm.
He'd have succeeded, too, but just as things were looking brighter, a
big bank failure knocked him out completely."
There was a murmur of sympathy from the boys.
"As if that wasn't enough, he came down with brain fever," went on Ross.
"I suppose it was brought on by worry and overwork. Anyway, when he got
on his feet again, everything had gone to smash and he didn't have a
cent left. Worse than that, he was in debt for a good many thousand
dollars.
"Father was honest though," and there was a touch of pride in the boy's
voice. "Everybody that knew him at all knew that. If his health had been
good, he could have started in all over again, and even some of the men
to whom he owed money would have lent him more to get him on his feet.
But the doctor told him it would be simply suicide for him to go on
under the circumstances, and that he'd have to go away somewhere and
take a long rest.
"All of his property had gone to his creditors, but mother owned a small
place up in Canada on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. She had inherited it
from her father, and as it was free and clear, the whole family packed
up and went out there.
"It was a complete change from the life we had lived before and my
father's health began to mend right away. There was a good deal of
valuable lumber on the place and as there was a good demand for this, he
sold it at a profit. Then, too, he traded a good deal with the trappers
who came out of the forests every spring with their skins and furs.
"Money began to pile up and father was feeling fine. It wasn't so much
because _he_ was getting the money, though of course that was a
great thing, but he was fairly crazy to pay off every cent of the money
he owed when he went into bankruptcy. He was a very proud man and
couldn't bear to be in any one's debt. I've often heard him say to
mother that the day he stood clear with the world again would be the
happiest day of his life.
"He had kept a careful record of every cent he owed in a little
memorandum book. Here it is now."
Ross reached into his pocket and drew out a small morocco-covered book
that gleamed red in the light of the fire.