TOM'S SPLENDID IDEA.
The Crusoe men, congratulating themselves on their good fortune, and
staggering under their heavy loads of provisions, hurried back to the
schooner, and their appearance relieved the anxiety Tom had begun to
feel at their prolonged absence. He listened in amazement to the
governor's description of the events that had transpired at the store,
and looked at the robbers with curiosity. He could not help telling
himself that he had seen the time that he would have been horrified at
the thought of having such outlaws for shipmates, but now he did not
feel the least tremor, and he regarded the fact as evidence that he was
getting to be a very brave sort of fellow.
"Now, then," said the chief, when the provisions had been stowed away in
the hold. "I s'pose you gentlemen don't care to stay in the village any
longer than you can help, do you? Well, there's a yawl at the end of the
pier, an' you can get into it an' pull out into the bay. Hold straight
across fur the head of the island, an' before you get there we'll
overtake you. We've got a little more business to do before we say
good-by to Newport."
The robbers thought it best to follow Sam's advice. They clambered down
into the yawl, and the Crusoe men took their seats in the skiff, and
were about to shove off from the pier, when Tom, upon putting his hand
into his pocket to assure himself that his incendiary materials were
safe, found, to his dismay, that he had forgotten something.
"O, now, hold on, governor," he drawled. "How am I going to set fire to
that yacht without any matches, I'd like to know!"
"You're a purty feller, aint you?" exclaimed Atkins, who had all along
shown a distaste for the dangers that attended their preparations for
the cruise. "We'll have to give up burnin' the sloop now, an' I am glad
of it. There aint no kind o' sense in it, no how. It's runnin' a big
risk fur nothing."
"O, now, I want you to quit calling me a pretty fellow," whined Tom,
who, if he had possessed the courage, would have been glad to fight
somebody. "I won't give up my splendid idea. There's just as much sense
in it as there is in stealing provisions. I am provoked at myself for
forgetting those matches. Haven't you got some, governor?"
"Nary match," replied Sam. "But I'll tell you what you can do, cap'n.
You can run up to the store an' get some. You'll find plenty there, an'
Harding can't hinder you from takin' as many as you want."
"But it is dark, isn't it? How can I find the matches without a light?"
"Them bugglars left their lantern on the counter. Just turn the slide,
an' you'll have light enough. Hurry up, now, an' we'll wait here fur
you."
Tom, whose thoughts were so completely wrapped up in his grand project
that he did not stop to consider that it might prove to be a very
disagreeable piece of business to go groping about the store in the
dark, sprang out of the skiff and ran up the wharf. "I'll see Johnny
Harding," said he to himself. "The governor said that those burglars
left him tied and gagged, and so I can do what I please with him.
Perhaps I'll give him a punch or two, just to show him that I have not
forgotten how badly he has treated me since I had that yacht built. I
told him that I would get even with him some day."
Tom involuntarily increased his pace when he thought how pleasant a
sight it would be to his eyes to see his tormentor bound hand and foot,
and powerless to reply to his taunts, or to resist him if he concluded
to punish him for what he had done, and when he reached the store he
pushed the door open and entered without hesitation. He came to a
stand-still, however, before he had fairly crossed the threshold, and
his heart seemed to stop beating when his ear caught the sound of a
light foot-step. Tom was almost on the point of turning and running for
his life, but the remembrance of his "splendid idea," which he was on
the very eve of carrying into execution, restrained him. He listened,
but the sound was not repeated, and, calling all his courage to his aid,
he walked boldly across the store. As he passed his hands over the
counter they came in contact with the lantern, which blazed up when he
opened the slide. He turned the bull's eye toward every corner of the
store, almost expecting to see somebody advancing upon him, and he drew
a long breath of relief when he found that he was alone. Having
satisfied himself on this point, he glanced at the safe, emptied the
contents of the match box into his pocket, and then started toward the
office to look at Johnny Harding. As he approached the door, he was
surprised to see that the bed was empty. There lay the rope with which
Johnny had been confined, and the towel that had been used as a gag, but
Johnny himself was nowhere to be seen.
"This is very strange," thought Tom. "I understood the governor to say
that he was tied, hand and foot, to his bed."
Tom advanced one more step, which brought him just inside the door of
the office. He regretted, an instant afterward, that he had taken that
step, for, as he stood bending forward, holding the lantern aloft, and
looking toward the bed to assure himself that Johnny was really not
there, a pair of strong arms were suddenly thrown around his neck, his
heels flew up, and Tom found himself prostrate on the floor.
Although Johnny Harding stood as much in fear of bodily harm as any
body, he determined, in spite of the robbers' threats, that he would not
remain a passive prisoner. Even while the burglar was tying him, and his
companion was holding the revolver to his head, the clerk's brain was
busy with thoughts of escape. He was not foolish enough to imagine that
he could cope with two grown men, even under the most favorable
circumstances, but he hoped that he might find means to free himself, so
that, as soon as the robbers left the store, he could procure
assistance, and begin the pursuit without loss of time. When the
burglars retreated outside the building to await the explosion, Johnny
struggled desperately with his bonds; and if his visitors had thought to
look at him when they returned, they would have discovered that one of
his hands was free. When they took their final departure, Johnny removed
the towel with his liberated hand, and, after ten minutes' hard work, he
arose from the bed and began pulling on his clothes with all possible
haste.
"Those fellows won't get very far away with that money; not if this
clerk knows himself, and he thinks he does," said Johnny to himself.
"I'll raise the town in two minutes. And there's the governor again, as
big as life and as ugly as ever. How did he get back? He is going to
receive a thousand dollars for taking those villains out to sea, is he?
Not much! I'll have something to say about that."
Johnny had by this time got into his trowsers and boots; and catching up
his hat, he ran out of the office just as the side door opened,
admitting Tom Newcombe. Believing that the burglars had returned, the
clerk beat a hasty retreat, and it was the sound of his footsteps that
had alarmed Tom.
Johnny concealed himself behind the door of the office, and awaited the
issue of events with fear and trembling. If the burglar discovered that
he had succeeded in liberating himself, he would, of course, bind him
again; and this time he would do his work so thoroughly that Johnny
would remain a prisoner until he was released. That would be about seven
o'clock in the morning, for that was the hour at which Mr. Henry
generally made his appearance--and by that time the burglars would be
miles away with their booty.
Johnny knew when Tom turned up the light, and emptied the match-box; and
when he heard him approaching the office, his excitement and alarm
increased. When Tom stepped inside the door, a desperate plan for escape
suddenly suggested itself to him. He would rush out of his concealment,
throw the intruder down, and get out of the store before he could
recover his feet. He was by no means certain that he could do this, but
it was his only chance, and it was no sooner conceived than it was
carried into execution. The captain of the Crusoe band was prostrated
with the greatest ease, and Johnny, who had fallen to the floor with
him, would have jumped up and taken to his heels without knowing who his
visitor was, if Tom had only kept quiet. But the latter, astonished at
the suddenness of the attack, and recognizing his assailant, thought it
was all over with him, and drawled out:
"O, now, what are you doing, Harding?"
"Tom Newcombe!" exclaimed the clerk, in great amazement.
"O, now, yes, it's I!" whined Tom.
"Well, I declare!" said Johnny, catching up the rope with which he had
been confined a few minutes before, "wonders will never cease. I thought
you were at the North Pole by this time; but, if I had taken a second
thought, I would have known that you were in some way mixed up in this
business. How much of that money will fall to your share?"
"O, now, what are you doing, I say?" roared Tom; for Johnny, while he
was speaking, had crossed the captain's hands behind his back, and was
passing the rope around them. "Let me up!"
"I can't see it, Tom," was the reply. "You are a dangerous fellow, and I
think it is my duty to secure you. I believe this night's work is the
result of your having an idea."
The captain of the Crusoe band did not waste any more breath in words.
He saw that the tables were likely to be turned on him, and that the boy
he had come there to abuse and maltreat, was in a fair way to put it out
of his power to carry his splendid scheme into execution. He must escape
from him, or the expedition would fall through; and, more than that, he
must make a prisoner of the clerk, or he would give the alarm. Johnny
thought that Tom, although he had thus far kept himself in the back
ground, was the cause of all the troubles that had befallen him that
night--that he was the projector and manager of the robbery. It was
undoubtedly another of his grand ideas. Tom's past history warranted
such a supposition. He had planned many a plundering expedition against
orchards and melon patches; he had twice assisted in stealing a vessel;
he was one of the acknowledged leaders of an organization of rogues; he
had been growing worse and worse every day, for the last year of his
life, and it was reasonable to suppose that he had, by this time, become
bad enough to conceive of a burglary to replenish the treasury of the
Crusoe band. Johnny determined to capture him, and learn all about the
proposed movements of the robbers. He had made up his mind that the
money must be recovered; and every item of information would be of value
to him.
This was the second fight Tom had that night, and it was a lively one.
During its progress, he gained a good idea of Johnny's power of muscle,
and Johnny thought Tom was a remarkably strong and active boy to be the
coward he was. Long wind, and the consciousness of being in the right,
brought the clerk off with flying colors; and, after a five minutes'
struggle, the captain of the Crusoe band lay helpless on the bed, and
Johnny, with his hands in his pockets, stood looking at him. Tom was
almost beside himself with rage and alarm, but the victor was as cool as
a cucumber.
"Tom," said he, as soon as he had recovered his breath, "did it never
occur to you that you are getting low down in the world? What will your
father say when he hears that you are running around with a lot of
burglars? By gracious, old fellow, you're done for--you're gone up!
Where's that money?"
"O, now, it's half way to the island," whined Tom. "You'll let me go,
won't you, Johnny? I'll never do it again."
"Who's got the money?" demanded the clerk.
"Those two robbers. They got into a yawl and started off. The governor
told them to wait for us at the head of the island. Say, Johnny, are you
going to release me?"
"Where did you leave the governor and his crew?"
"In a skiff, at the end of the pier. Let me go, Johnny, won't you? I'll
never do it again, as long as I live."
"How were you going to sea?"
"In the Sweepstakes. We captured her, and she is ready and waiting now.
Say, Johnny, why don't you answer my question?"
"Where have you been during the last two weeks?"
"On Block Island. We've got a harboring place there, near the shoals. O,
now, Johnny, come back here and release me."
But the clerk was gone before the words were fairly out of Tom's mouth.
He had heard enough to satisfy him, and he believed that prompt action
on his part was all that was needed to insure the capture of the
robbers.
"I'll run down to the vessels, in front of the elevator, and alarm the
watch," soliloquized the clerk. "I'll ask one of the captains to send a
boat's crew after the governor and his crowd, and then I'll raise men
enough to handle the Sweepstakes. I'll start for the island in her, and
the robbers, thinking it's all right, will come on board, and the first
thing they know they'll be prisoners, and I'll have possession of the
seven thousand dollars. That's the way to work it."
Fully occupied with such thoughts as these, Johnny pulled open the door
and sprang out into the passage-way, where he came in violent contact
with somebody. It was the governor, who, impatient at Tom's delay, had
come up to see what was the matter with him.
"Hello, here, cap'n!" he growled. "Haint you got eyes that you can't see
nothing? If you're all ready now, let's be off."
The clerk, recognizing the voice, turned instantly and ran into the
store, banging the door after him. He might have escaped by going out at
the other end of the passage; but his first thought was of his prisoner.
If he left the store, the governor would, of course, go in and release
Tom; and that was something Johnny did not intend he should do. "A bird
in the hand is worth a dozen in the bush," thought he. "It is my
business to look out for Tom, now that I have got him. The other robbers
can be attended to at any time."
Sam Barton was utterly confounded. He stood for a moment gazing stupidly
at the door, and then turned toward his men, who had followed close at
his heels, as if expecting some of them to suggest a way out of this new
trouble.
"What's the row now, governor?" whispered Xury "What's the cap'n gone
back fur?"
"That wasn't the cap'n," replied Sam. "It was Harding; an' I'll bet a
million dollars that he's got Tommy a prisoner in there."
"I just know he has," snarled Will Atkins. "That's the kind of luck
we're havin' to-night. Let's go away an' leave him. We can't do any
thing fur him."
"We can, too," replied the chief, angrily. "Now, Atkins, I don't want to
hear any more out of you about desertin' a comrade in distress, fur I
haint forgot that you are a mutineer. You're always growlin', an' I'm
gettin' teetotally tired of listenin' to it. If you had any sense at
all, you would know that we must get into this store fur two reasons.
We're bound to capture Harding ag'in, fur, if we don't, he'll come out
the minute we are gone, an' raise a yell; an' we'll have the whole town
after us in no time. An' we must get the cap'n out of there, 'cause we
can't get along without him. Is there any body else in the band who
knows enough to take command of the vessel? Do you, Atkins?"
"Of course not. I never was to sea in my life."
"Well, then, what are you grumblin' about? None of us haint been to sea,
except Tommy. He's been miles an' miles out of sight of land; he is the
only one among us who understands the winds an' currents, an' we must
release him, or give up the expedition."
As the governor said this he tried the door, but found it fastened. He
stooped down and looked through the hole the burglars had cut over the
lock, and by the light of the lantern, which was standing on the table
in the office, he could see Johnny with an uplifted poker, ready to
strike the first hand that was put in to raise the hasp. The chief
explained the state of affairs to his men, adding, that they must
determine upon some plan to attack Johnny in the rear, or to get him
away from the door long enough for them to open it.
"Hold on a minute, governor!" exclaimed Xury, suddenly; "I'll fix that.
Lend a hand here, Friday."
The mate ran off, followed by Friday, and in a few minutes they
returned, bringing a ladder which they had found behind the elevator,
and which they began to raise against the side of the store.
"Do you see that winder up there?" asked Xury. "Well, give me one man
an' we will go in there, an' come down the stairs. If Harding pitches
into us, you can open the door an' come in; an' if he stands by to
defend the door, me an' my man will soon fix him."
"That's a good idea," said the chief. "Friday, you go with Xury. Jack
Spaniard, run down to the skiff an' bring up the oars. Harding has got
an iron poker, you know, an' you will need something to make you even
with him. But mebbe the winder is fastened, Xury."
"I know it is, 'cause I've looked at it a hundred times before to-night.
It is fastened with a stick; but the glass is broke, an' I can soon
throw the stick down."
The two Crusoe men mounted the ladder, and by the time the window was
raised Jack Spaniard returned with the oars, which Sam passed up to the
mate, saying:
"Don't be no ways backward about usin' 'em if you get a chance. Punch
him hard, fur he is a spunky feller."
Xury and his companion disappeared, and the governor waited impatiently
for them to begin the attack. All these movements had been accomplished
so quietly that Johnny, wholly intent upon watching the door, had no
suspicions of what was going on until he heard the Crusoe men coming
down the stairs behind him. Before he could think of flight they rushed
upon him, and, although he resisted manfully, he was speedily brought to
terms by a savage thrust in the ribs from Friday's oar, which made him
double up like a jackknife; and, at the same moment, the governor and
the rest of his men entered through the side door. In less time than it
takes to tell it, Tom and Johnny changed places, and the former, boiling
over with rage, would have been mean enough to revenge himself upon the
helpless clerk if he had not been restrained by the chief.
"Hold on, cap'n," cried Sam, catching Tom's hand as it was about to
descend, with savage force, upon the prisoner's face; "it aint fair to
strike a man when he's down, an' we haint got no time to waste in
nonsense, neither. Now, Harding, I reckon you'll stay there fur awhile.
Come on, fellers."
The Crusoe men hurried back to their skiff, and in a few minutes more
were pulling up the harbor as if nothing had happened. Friday sat in the
bow with his boat-hook; Will Atkins and Jack Spaniard handled the oars;
Sam managed the helm; and Tom thought over the events of the night, and
enjoyed his anticipated triumph over the students. None of the band had
any thing to say about his adventure with Johnny Harding; in fact, they
soon forgot it, and thought only of the dangers attending the work they
had yet to perform. The governor glanced at Tom's face a good many times
while they were moving up the harbor, and was surprised that he did not
discover some signs of fear. But that sentiment had no place in Tom's
mind just then. He grew bolder and more reckless the nearer they
approached to the Storm King. He did not even tremble; his nerves were
as firm as a rock, and his determination to attempt the destruction of
the yacht was stronger than it had ever been before.
"Didn't I tell Harry Green, when he had me locked up in that state-room,
that if he did not release me at once I would square yards with him some
day?" said Tom to himself. "I suppose he thinks I have forgotten all
about it, but I'll show him that I never forget. The sight of that yacht
in flames will amply repay me for all the misery she has caused me."
In ten minutes after leaving the pier the Crusoe men had arrived within
sight of the Storm King. The governor raised his hand, and Atkins and
Jack Spaniard became more cautious in their movements. They handled the
oars so carefully, and sent the skiff along so quietly, that not a
ripple was heard in the water. Nearer and nearer the pirate crew
approached the devoted vessel, holding themselves in readiness to seek
safety in instant flight, should occasion require it, and presently
Friday fastened into the fore-chains with his boat-hook, and Tom drew
himself up and looked over the rail. He heard a few words of the story
which one of the anchor-watch was relating to his companion, and could
just discern the forms of the quartermaster and officer on watch, who
paced the deck in blissful ignorance of the danger that menaced their
vessel. Tom drew his breath more rapidly than usual, as he crawled
noiselessly over the rail and across the deck, and when he crouched at
the head of the ladder and listened to that conversation between the
anchor-watch, which we have already recorded, his heart thumped against
his ribs with a noise that frightened him. But, fortunately for the
captain of the Crusoe band, the students believed him to be miles away
at that moment, and, thinking that the noise that had attracted his
attention was only imaginary, the young tar resumed his story, his
companion settled into a comfortable position to listen, and Tom slipped
down into the galley.
He was now in a dangerous situation. The ladder ran down between the
galley and the forecastle, where slept half a dozen students, and if one
of them should chance to awake while he was there his capture was
certain. Tom thought of this, but if there had been no one within a
hundred miles of him, he could not have gone about his work with more
deliberation. He first looked for the kindling, which he had told Sam he
should find under the stove. It was there, and the wood-box was filled
also. He moved the wood-box under the shelves that supported the dishes,
piled the kindling-wood around it, and then, pulling out his bottle,
threw the coal-oil upon it and upon the shelves and bulkhead. It was
but the work of a moment more to light a match and apply it to the
kindling, and in an instant the wood was in a blaze.
"I think these fellows will find out what sort of a boy I am now,"
chuckled the captain of the Crusoe band, as he made his way up the
ladder. "This is the grandest idea I ever had, and I have carried it
out, too. There'll be nothing left of the Storm King in fifteen
minutes."
"Hallo! Boat--ship--I mean, man ahoy!" came the hail, breaking in upon
his reverie, and scattering all his courage to the winds in an instant.
It was well for Tom that he was close to the rail, for, had he been
discovered a few seconds sooner, his retreat would have been cut off,
and he would have fallen into the hands of the students, who, in their
rage, might have treated him very roughly. Hearing the footsteps of the
watch close behind him, he threw himself headlong over the rail and
landed on his hands and knees in the skiff, which, in a moment more, was
flying down the harbor with the speed of the wind. He heard the
anchor-watch pronounce his name. He knew when the officer of the deck
came forward, and he would have been willing to give any thing he
possessed could he have been in a position to see the lieutenant's face
and hear what he had to say about it. He knew when the order was given
to lower the jolly-boat, and distinctly heard the rattle calling the
crew to quarters. On the whole, he was well satisfied with what he had
done. He had caused a great commotion among the students and thoroughly
alarmed them, even if the fire he had kindled in the galley failed to
destroy the yacht.
"You had better hurry up, governor," said Tom, with a calmness that
astonished his companions. "That jolly-boat will be after us almost
immediately."
"Give way, strong," commanded the chief. "Cap'n, there's my hand. I have
put you down fur a coward more 'n once since I made your acquaintance,
but I confess that I didn't know any thing about you."
Tom accepted the governor's hand, and proudly listened to the
congratulations of the Crusoe men. He laughed when he thought how nicely
and easily he had accomplished his work, snapped his fingers in the air,
and acted altogether like one demented. He listened for the sounds of
pursuit, and presently heard the measured dip of oars behind.
"The jolly-boat is coming, Sam," said he. "And there goes the
fire-alarm," he added, as the yacht's bell began tolling rapidly. "They
can't save her, for there's too much coal-oil in the galley. Now, men,
listen to me. When we reach the vessel Xury will go to the wheel; Jack
Spaniard will make the skiff fast to the stern; Friday will cast off the
line; and Atkins and the governor will shove off. Be lively, now, for
the sooner we get out of Newport the better it will be for us."
The Crusoe men were well aware of that fact, and Tom's orders being
strictly carried out, the Sweepstakes was got under way very speedily.
But, just as the wind filled the sails, and she began to move through
the water, Xury discovered their pursuers.
"Stand by, governor," he exclaimed. "Here comes them spooneys."
Sam looked over the stern and saw the jolly-boat swiftly approaching the
schooner.