THE HERMIT'S SECRET.
All three of the boys were much mystified by the old hermit's words.
"He must be a little off in his head," thought Harry.
"Who is Abraham?" asked Jerry.
"This is Abraham!" cried the hermit. "Are you not Abraham?" he went on to
Blumpo.
"I reckon not, sah. I'se jess plain Blumpo Brown."
"Blumpo Brown! Ha! how well I remember that name! You are indeed Abraham,
and I am your father!"
And the hermit caught Blumpo in his arms. It is needless to say the youth
was frightened and bewildered.
"Come to my cave and I will tell you all," went on the hermit, and he
dragged Blumpo along.
Jerry and Harry willingly followed. They found that the old man had quite
a comfortable place among the rocks. It was elaborately furnished, showing
that the hermit was well-to-do.
They all took seats on some skins thrown over rude couches. The hermit
made Blumpo sit close to him.
"My name is Daniel Brown," he began. "And you, Blumpo, are my only son.
Your full name is Blum-pou-la-hau,--the Indian for
boy-of-the-laughing-face,--for, you know, you have much Indian blood in
your veins."
"Dat's what folks said I had," said Blumpo.
"I thought you were dead--that you had been drowned. It was this drove me
to make a hermit of myself."
Then the old hermit went into many particulars, to which all listened with
great interest.
Blumpo could scarcely believe his ears. His face began to expand, and a
smile broke out on it, the like of which had never before been seen. He
was a homeless waif no longer. He had found a father.
Jerry and Harry talked to the old hermit for an hour and more. They found
him peculiar in his ideas, but with a warm heart.
Before they retired for the night Daniel Brown came to the conclusion to
give up his dwelling on the top of the mountain.
He said he would build a cabin down by the lakeside and there he and
Blumpo could live like ordinary people.
"I have several thousand dollars saved up," he said, "so we will not want
for anything. I will buy a boat, and Blumpo can make a living by letting
her out to pleasure parties."
"Dat will suit me exactly," cried Blumpo.
"But you must also go to school in the winter," went on Daniel Brown. "And
you must drop that dialect, and not say dat for that."
"Golly! but won't I be eddicate!" murmured Blumpo. "Say, Pop maybe I kin
hab--I mean have--a new suit, eh?"
"Two of them, Abraham," said the hermit; and then all hands laughed.
It was well for the boys that they were housed in the hermit's dwelling,
for that night a terrible thunder storm came up. The wind howled and
shrieked around the mountain top, and continued until dawn.
"If we had been on the plateau we would have been blown off into the
lake," said Harry, at breakfast.
By nine o'clock it cleared off and at twelve the mountain was as dry as
ever. They packed up, and, accompanied by the hermit, set off, for the old
camp.
Daniel Brown knew every inch of the mountain and under his guidance they
reached the bottom much quicker than they would otherwise have done.
As they were trailing through the woods toward the camp, Harry suddenly
put up his hand.
"Listen! Don't you hear some persons talking?" he asked.
"Where can it be?" asked Jerry.
"Down by the camp," said Blumpo.
"Si Peters' crowd, I'll bet a new hat!" cried Jerry. "Come on, all of
you!"
The young oarsman broke into a run, and Harry and Blumpo came after, with
the hermit lagging on behind. A turn in the brush brought them in sight of
the camp.
There were Si Peters, Wash Crosby, and four others in the act of shoving
Harry's craft into the water.
"They intended to run off with our boat!" yelled Jerry. "Stop, there, you
thieves!"
"Stop, or we'll fire on you!" added Harry.
The Peters crowd were surprised and alarmed. They hesitated for a moment.
"Go ahead, don't mind them!" howled Si Peters. "Quick, fellows, shove out
to the yacht!"
Before Jerry and the others could reach the spot the big row-boat was
afloat. The Peters' crowd leaped on board and quickly shipped the oars.
"Stop, or we'll fire on you!" sang out Harry again.
"Fire and be blowed!" howled Wash Crosby.
Bang! went Harry's gun, and the shot rattled all around the row-boat.
But now a turn of a headland took the craft out of range.
"Follow me!" said Jerry, as he leaped across the camp to where they could
again catch sight of the craft.
Over the rock and through the brush they stumbled, a distance of two
hundred feet. Then the shore of the lake was again reached.
But, alas! before they could do anything the Peters crowd was entirely out
of range. They saw the big row-boat taken over to where the yacht lay at
anchor. Harry's craft was tied fast to the stern and the Rockpointers
clambered aboard their own vessel.
"Good-bye and good luck to you!" cried Si Peters, mockingly. "Hope you
fellows enjoy playing Robinson Crusoe. We'll come back for you some time
next year."
And then the yacht sailed away, leaving those on the island to their
fate.