SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS
So wearied were Fred and John by the exciting experiences of the day that
as soon as they were left to themselves they were sound asleep.
How long they had slept neither was aware when at last both awoke. The
little cabin was dark except for a faint light streaming in through the
open porthole.
"Where are we, Jack?" called Fred in a low voice.
"Why, don't you know?" replied John. "We're on board that boat that
picked us up."
"Oh, yes, I remember now. How are you?"
"All right I guess, though I feel as if I had been breaking stones or
lifting weights all my life."
"I guess you wouldn't feel that way if you really had," responded Fred
lightly. "A fellow's muscles would get used to the work if he had to do
it all the time. Where do you suppose we are?"
"I haven't any idea. We're moving, though, all the time, that's plain."
"Yes, I can hear the swash of the water. I wonder if we are anywhere near
Mackinac Island."
"Let's go up and find out," suggested John and hastily the boys left
their bunk and made their way to the deck.
The stars were shining and it was manifest to the boys that the morning
light had not yet appeared.
Perceiving a man near the stern of the boat they at once approached him
and made known their presence.
"Where are we?" inquired Fred.
"We'll be in Sault Ste. Marie in about a half an hour."
"What!" exclaimed Fred.
"That's right, lad," said the sailor.
"When did we pass Mackinac Island?"
"Mackinac Island! Why we left that a good many hours ago."
"Why didn't you stop and put us off?"
"We don't make any stop anywhere. I guess the captain told you that we
couldn't stop there. That doesn't make any difference, however, we'll be
in Sault Ste. Marie pretty soon and then you boys can stop all you want
to."
"How shall we get back to Mackinac?" inquired John.
"I can't say," laughed the sailor, who appeared to regard the plight of
the boys more or less as a joke. "My suggestion would be to wait there
and when one of the line boats come through go back on that. There will
be one out somewhere about noon."
"Probably that's the best we can do," said Fred meekly. "You say we'll be
there in about a half an hour?"
"Yes."
The boys at once returned to their cabin, but to their dismay they
discovered that the clothes in which they had been rescued were still too
wet to be donned.
"There's no help for it," said John disconsolately. "If this old tub
stops long enough at Sault Ste. Marie we can go ashore even in these togs
we have on. Come on back on deck and we'll find out how long the stop
is."
Returning to the deck the boys learned that the boat on which they were
sailing was to remain six hours at Sault Ste. Marie.
"That's all right," said Fred as he and John withdrew to another part of
the deck. "We'll go ashore just as we are and before the boat sails we'll
have a chance to change our clothes."
The boys were interested in spite of their predicament in the low lying
shores past which they were steadily moving. It was sufficiently light to
enable them to mark several parks, evidently playgrounds of the people of
the little city which they were approaching.
True to the prophecy of the sailor the boat drew alongside a dock within
the half-hour. Again assuring themselves that the vessel would not depart
within six hours, the boys at once leaped ashore and started together up
the wide street upon which they now found themselves.
There were low buildings on each side and to their surprise the boys were
soon aware that many people were moving about the street although it was
not yet three o'clock in the morning. Among these strangers they noticed
numbers of Indians. This fact, together with the decorations of many of
the buildings which were to be seen, indicated that either a festival or
a holiday of some kind had been celebrated the preceding day, or that the
city was preparing for some event of importance.
"We didn't pay the captain anything for bringing us up here," suggested
John, as he and his companion slowly walked up the street.
"That's right," said Fred. "Besides," he added hastily, "I haven't a cent
of money in my pocket, have you?"
"Not in these pockets," laughed John, whose spirits now had returned.
"We'll have to go back and get some money if we are going to get any
breakfast."
"But I haven't any money in my other pockets," said Fred ruefully.
"And I haven't either," added John laughing as he spoke. "I didn't think
we would want any money yesterday so I didn't take any with me."
"My mother would say that this is another good lesson. She says I am all
the while out of money and I ought to have enough with me to provide for
what I want."
"That's the difficulty," said John. "It isn't so much getting the money
as it is keeping it. But this is no joke, Fred. Neither of us has any
money and I don't believe up here even at Sault Ste. Marie they will give
us something to eat unless we pay for it."
"I put my watch in my pocket," said Fred. "I don't see anything for us to
do except to hock that."
"Maybe some fellow that keeps a restaurant will take it as security and
hold it until we can redeem it."
"We'll try that," said Fred quickly. "I wish we could find some place
open now."
"Perhaps we can, there are so many people on the street," said John.
"Come on let's go further on and try it."
In accordance with John's suggestion the boys walked rapidly up the
street and soon to their delight they discovered a restaurant which
evidently was being patronized at that early hour. Several people could
be seen seated at the small tables within the room, and, encouraged by
the sight, the boys at once entered.
At the cashier's desk a woman was seated, but evidently she had been
there throughout the night. There were moments when her head nodded and
she plainly was greatly in need of sleep.
At once approaching her Fred said, "We have been unfortunate."
"I'm afraid you're not the only ones," said the woman sitting quickly
erect as she heard the unexpected statement.
"I guess that's right," laughed Fred, "but we fell into the lake and were
picked up by a boat that did not stop until it got to Sault Ste. Marie."
"Where did you want it to stop?" inquired the woman.
"Mackinac Island."
"Where were you working there?" she inquired.
"Working?" laughed Fred. "We weren't working at all. We were staying at
one of the hotels."
For a moment the woman glanced quickly at the young spokesman and then
shaking her head began to laugh.
"What are you laughing at?" demanded Fred irritated by her manner.
"I guess you had the parlor suit," said the woman still laughing at the
boys before her. "You look as if you belong to John Jacob Astor's family.
It may be that you look better than he did when he used to come there,
but I guess you wouldn't pass for much more."
For the first time the boys were aware that the strange garb in which
they were clad certainly did not imply that they had been guests at any
prominent summer hotel. Both suits were ill-fitting and worn, and if
either had been plunged in soap and water within a year there was nothing
in the garments to imply such action.
For a moment Fred was nonplussed and then hastily thrusting his hand into
his pocket he drew forth his watch.
"How will that do?" he said as he placed the gold watch on the desk. It
was a beautiful little time-piece, a present he had received on his
sixteenth birthday from his father. "You'll take that as security, I
guess," he said lightly, "and when we get back to Mackinac Island we'll
send you the money or come with it and get the watch."
Picking up the time-piece the woman gazed curiously at it and then again
looking sharply at the boys she said, "Where did you get that?"
"It was a present," said Fred.
"Who gave it to you?"
"My father."
"Does he live on Fifth Avenue, New York?"
"He does not," said Fred slowly.
"Oh, I thought maybe he did," sniffed the woman. "That's the kind of
watches they have in New York City. It isn't the kind that most of the
roustabouts carry on the lakes."
"But I'm not a roustabout," said Fred.
"You don't need to say what you are," said the woman. "All I can say is
that I shan't take that watch. I don't want the police in here."
"Police!" exclaimed Fred. "What do you mean? What would the police come
for?"
"For one thing they would come for the watch and another thing they would
want would be the fellow that took it."
"Did you think I stole that watch?" demanded Fred.
"I'm not saying nothing," said the woman. "All I say is that if any boys
on the lake are seen carrying watches like that it is most generally
known how they got them. My advice to you is to stick that watch in your
pocket again and don't let anybody see it while you're in Sault Ste.
Marie."
"You needn't trouble yourself any more," said Fred as he took the watch
and thrust it again into his pocket. Then turning to John he said, "Come
on, Jack, we won't stay here another minute."
When the boys were once more on the street Fred's indignation soon gave
way to a feeling of alarm. Not only were they without any means of
securing breakfast, to say nothing of their passage back to Mackinac
Island, but also they might be regarded as suspicious characters.
Evidently the woman keeper of the restaurant had believed they had stolen
the watch.
"Never mind, Fred," suggested John. "It will all come out right. We'll
try it again."
"We might pawn the watch," said Fred thoughtfully.
"But there's no pawn shop open."
"Well, there probably will be a little later. There must be a good many
such shops in a place like this. I'm getting hungry."
"So am I," said John fervently, "but that doesn't do me any good. There's
another restaurant down yonder," he added quickly, pointing down the
street as he spoke. "It's almost light now and we might try it there."
"All right," said Fred. "I'm not very hopeful, but they can't do any more
than throw us out."
"Unless they arrest us as suspicious characters," suggested John somewhat
ruefully.
"We'll never know until we try anyway," said Fred resolutely. "Come on,
Jack, we'll soon know what is going to happen to us. If we get into jail
we'll have to telegraph the boys to bail us out."
"But we don't know where the fellows are," declared John.
"That's as sure as you live. I had almost forgotten about that. We
certainly are having our troubles on this trip, aren't we?"
By this time the boys had stopped in front of the restaurant they were
seeking and at once entering they looked quickly about the room for the
proprietor.