A SURPRISE.
I was never so astonished in my life as when I heard one of the
new-comers in the boat order the constable to arrest me at once. I had
done no wrong, and I could not make the matter out.
“Hullo, Stone!” sang out Constable Pointer. “Hold up; we want to see
you.”
“I’m going to tie up at the landing,” I replied; and as I spoke I
lowered the sail.
The two men in the other boat did the same, and soon all hands were
standing on the little wharf.
“What do you want of me, Pointer?” I inquired, looking from one to the
other of the three men.
“He’s going to arrest you, young man,” replied the elder of the two
others.
“Arrest me! What for?”
“You know well enough.”
“I haven’t the least idea,” I returned. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Too thin! Do you know who I am?”
“I do not.”
“My name is Williams――Richard Williams, and I’m the owner of the Catch
Me, the craft you have stolen.”
I was rather surprised at this speech, but relieved to think that I was
not accused of some other crime.
“I did not steal your boat, Mr. Williams,” I replied as calmly as I
could.
“I have pretty plain evidence that you did,” returned the boat-owner
warmly.
“Nevertheless, you are mistaken, and you ought to know it.”
“I ought to know it? Young man, what do you mean?”
“Didn’t Mr. Markham pay you for the boat?”
“Pay me! Not a cent, sir; not a cent!”
I was surprised.
“He didn’t pay you?” I gasped.
“No, he didn’t; and besides, even if he did, the boat is still mine.
When a man hires a boat for a day he isn’t supposed to keep her
forever.”
“Do you mean to say he didn’t even pay you for hiring her?” I asked
faintly.
“No, he didn’t; and you know it. He was the biggest rogue at the hotel,
and when he left he owed me nearly fifty dollars for boat-hire.”
The news actually staggered me. Mr. Markham a fraud! I could not
believe it.
“Well, he told me he would pay you for the boat, and then she should be
mine,” I explained. “I saved him and his family from drowning when the
boat went over. He even wanted me to take a reward besides, and took me
to the bank to get the money.”
“And did he get the money?” questioned Mr. Williams.
“No; he had some difficulty, and”――
“Rather guess he did have some difficulty,” sneered the boat-owner.
“That man was nothing more nor less than a swindler,” put in the
constable. “He tried his best to do the bank out of several thousand
dollars.”
“I can hardly believe it,” I replied. “He looked every inch a
gentleman.”
“Where is the boat?” demanded Mr. Williams.
“She is just in the cove above, sir. I suppose, then, she doesn’t
belong to me,” I added, with a sinking heart.
“Hardly, young man; unless you want to pay four hundred dollars for
her.”
“I couldn’t pay four hundred cents.”
Considerably downcast, I led the way to where the Catch Me rode at
anchor.
All my high hopes concerning her and what I might realize by a sale
melted away.
“Then you didn’t take her on purpose?” asked Pointer, as we walked
along.
“Certainly not,” I replied. “I thought she was my property.”
“It’s quite likely men are giving away such valuable presents,” sneered
the man who had not yet spoken.
“Nevertheless, he appeared wealthy enough to do so, and he said I could
have her,” I cried hotly. “I wouldn’t steal a pin!”
There was no reply to this, and presently we came in sight of the Catch
Me.
“That my boat?” ejaculated Mr. Williams.
“That’s the Catch Me,” I replied. “Some men tried to steal her and
alter her appearance.”
“A likely story! This is some of your own work”――
“It is not!”
“And I say it is. I believe you are in with this Markham,” stormed Mr.
Williams. “You towed the boat in here, and expected to fix her up in
such a fashion that no one would know her again. Pointer, I want him
arrested.”
I started back. The word arrest sent a chill through my body.
“Believe me or not, Mr. Williams, I am innocent,” I cried. “Mr. Markham
gave me this boat――at least he said I could have her. I went on a hunt
for her, and took Tom Darrow the fisherman with me. I found that a
fellow named Andy Carney had taken her to Rock Island, and was at work
on her. We waited till Carney and his chums, two in number, had left
the island, and then we hooked fast and dragged her over here. That’s
the whole story, and it’s the truth.”
And I looked the boat-owner squarely in the eye as I spoke.
My manner had an effect upon him. He bit his lip.
“You say Darrow helped you find the boat?” he asked.
“Yes, sir. If you don’t believe it, ask him. Every one in the Bend
knows Tom wouldn’t lie about it.”
“And you say a fellow named Carney took the boat in the first place?”
“Yes, sir. He had two strangers with him.”
“Then if your story is true I will have Pointer arrest that man. This
mutilation of my property is shameful. But you must come along and
prove your story.”
“Tom Darrow isn’t at the Bend now. He left to call on Gus Hallett, who
lives about half a mile up the main road.”
“Is he there now?”
“I think so.”
“We’ll go up and see him at once,” said Mr. Williams.
Leaving the other man in charge of the Catch Me, with instructions to
sail her over to Bayport, the boat-owner told the constable and me to
lead the way.
We met Darrow just coming away from the Hallett cottage. He was
surprised to see me, and more surprised when I informed him of the
object of our coming.
“What! Rube steal that boat!” he exclaimed. “Why, Mr. Williams, it’s
plain to see you don’t know much about the Bend! The Stones are every
one of them as honest as a summer day is long.”
And then he told what he knew of the affair.
His statement corroborated mine so well that the boat-owner was forced
to believe that I had told him the truth; but he was still indignant
regarding the treatment the Catch Me had received, and he made us
promise to appear against Carney whenever wanted.
We then walked back to the mill-landing. As we did so, Mr. Norton came
out of the mill, and approached with a questioning look on his face.
“What’s up?” he asked.
“Nothing much,” I replied briefly.
“There seems to be,” he went on.
“Who are you?” asked Mr. Williams.
“I am Enos Norton, this boy’s uncle and guardian.”
“Ah, indeed! Well, you can be thankful. We came very near arresting the
boy.”
Mr. Norton was greatly taken aback. He asked half a dozen questions at
once, and he grew pale at the mention of Carney’s name.
“Have――have you arrested that man?” he faltered.
“No; but we’re going to,” replied Constable Pointer.
“Of course, of course,” said Mr. Norton uneasily. “He has done a great
wrong. Reuben, you should have told me that Mr. Markham gave you the
sloop.”
To this I made no reply. A little later Mr. Williams and Pointer went
on board their boat, and Darrow accompanied them. They were bound for
Bayport, and expected to catch Andy Carney on his return to Rock Island.
I walked to the mill slowly, Mr. Norton following. I was deeply
perplexed. What did Mr. Markham mean by his course of action? Had he
really intended to dupe me, or was there some mistake?
Mr. Norton watched me closely, but said no more until we were inside of
the mill; then he slammed the door shut and faced me, his face growing
dark with passion.
“Reuben!” he cried, savagely.
“Well, sir?” I returned.
“I want to talk to you.”
“What about?”
“What do you mean by trying to play an under hand game on me?” he
demanded.