A STORM ON THE LAKE.
The announcement that the person in the other boat was the very one for
whom we and the detectives were hunting, was so surprising that for a
moment Ford could hardly believe it was a fact.
“You are sure?”
“Exactly. Don’t you remember that curious hat he wore?”
“I do, now you speak of it. I wonder where he is bound?”
“We’ll soon find out,” I replied decidedly.
“Do you mean to follow him?”
“Not only follow him, but catch him, Dan.”
“You really mean it, though he is your uncle?”
“I certainly do.”
When I told Ford that I intended to follow Mr. Norton, and capture him
if possible, I meant every word I said.
The fact that the man posed as my uncle must have nothing to do
with my feelings. He was a criminal, and must be handed over to the
authorities.
I let out the mainsail, and ran up the jib to its fullest. This sent us
forging ahead, and we began to close up the distance that separated the
two crafts.
“I think we’ll overtake the Catch Me in a quarter of an hour,” I said,
after I had done all I could to increase our speed.
“We will if this breeze holds out, and he doesn’t trim the sails,”
replied Ford. “He is carrying too much canvas.”
“I suppose Mr. Norton is not much of a sailor, or he would run right
away from us. The Catch Me is a far better boat than the Mary.”
“Of course; but his lack of knowledge is to our benefit.”
“I don’t like the looks of those clouds over there,” I went on,
pointing over to the west. “That is a regular squall quarter.”
“If we catch anything like that, it will be look out all around!”
laughed my helper.
In five minutes we were within hard hailing-distance of the other
boat; and then Ford called out through his hands, using them as a
speaking-trumpet,――
“Sloop ahoy!”
There was no reply, and he repeated the call.
“He doesn’t intend to answer,” I remarked. “But see, he is trimming his
sails. He intends to get away if possible. I wonder if he recognizes
us?”
“Shouldn’t wonder. He’s foolish for taking in sail now, when the wind
is dying out,” added Ford.
“I don’t know about that. We may have more wind than we want presently.”
And I pointed to a heavy cloud that was scurrying over.
“By George! I think you are right!” exclaimed the mill-hand. “That
looks nasty, and no mistake!”
A moment later the wind died out utterly. We almost came to a
standstill, and immediately dropped all sails. The Catch Me did the
same, but not before she had been carried a goodly distance farther
away.
“Here it comes!” I shouted, as a long, low line of white swept up from
the south. “Hold fast, Dan!”
“I’m all right, Rube; look out for yourself.”
He had hardly spoken before the first brush of the squall was upon us.
It caused the water to foam and dash on all sides, and the Mary bobbed
up and down as if she was a cork.
Then came a heavy puff of wind that sent us driving onward, and made us
ship fully half a dozen pails of water. I began to bail out; and seeing
this, Ford set to helping me.
A moment later the sky was fairly black, and it began to rain, first
lightly, but soon in a perfect torrent. We had but scant protection,
and it did not take long for the water to get to our very skins,
making us far from comfortable.
“Do you see anything of the Catch Me?” I shouted, so as to be heard
above the roaring of the wind.
“No; the rain hides everything,” replied Ford. “Wonder how long this
squall is going to last?”
“They never last very long; but we must keep on bailing, or we will be
swamped.”
After this we were silent for perhaps ten minutes. I could not help but
shiver, and I saw that my companion did the same.
“I think it is letting up on the blow,” said Ford presently.
“It is; but it’s raining as hard as ever.”
Five minutes later the shower stopped short, and the clouds began to
scatter.
“The squall is over. They are always short, sharp, and nasty. Let us
hoist the mainsail, and continue our chase.”
Easier said than done. Under cover of the squall the Catch Me had slid
out of sight.
“Then we’ll make for Rock Island. I am satisfied that that is the place
for which Mr. Norton was bound. It is more than likely he has been off
to get some provisions.”
“Shouldn’t wonder but what you were right, Rube. Shall we make for the
south shore?”
“That is as good as any. We can watch out for the Catch Me, and by
getting her away leave the robbers without a means of quitting the
place.”
“True! I never thought of that. The south shore it is.”
Presently the setting sun came out, and we made arrangements to dry our
clothing. Luckily there were a couple of old suits in the cuddy of the
sloop, and these were put on in the meanwhile.
In half an hour we were in sight of the island, and then we took a reef
in the mainsail, and lowered the jib.
“We want to be as careful as possible,” I said. “These men are
desperate, and they may be on the watch for any one who comes along.”
“You’ve got the gun.”
“I know that; but it isn’t much to depend on in a tight corner.”
In a moment we were within a hundred feet of the rocky shore. Nothing
was to be seen of a boat of any kind.
“It is evident that Mr. Norton didn’t land here,” I said, “unless he
pulled his boat ’way up in the bushes; and that I don’t believe, for
the Catch Me is a heavy craft to handle.”
“Shall we go around to the east or west?” asked my companion.
“Suppose we go to the west. It really doesn’t matter much.”
So we set our course for the west coast of Rock Island. We had hardly
gone half a dozen rods before Ford caught me by the shoulder.
“We made a lucky choice!” he cried. “There is the spot where the man we
are after landed!”
“How do you know?” I questioned eagerly.
“Because there is the Catch Me in the bushes beyond.”
“Has he left her, do you think?” I asked in considerable excitement.
“I think so. I will go ahead and see. Hold your gun in case he intends
to surprise us.”
I did so; and Ford went forward and landed on the rocks. He was gone
fully five minutes.
“No one around,” he said, upon his return.
“Maybe Mr. Norton has gone off to warn the others,” I suggested.
“Perhaps he has. Any way I didn’t see a soul.”
“Hadn’t we better get the Catch Me out into the lake? Then we can land
and hide the Mary in another place.”
“That’s a good plan,” said Ford. “Come ahead.”
It was no easy job to get out the larger boat. But finally it was
accomplished, and the big craft was anchored fully quarter of a mile
away from the shore.
“Now, if they haven’t another boat, they are prisoners,” I said. “That
is, if we can hide the Mary where they can’t find her.”
“I know a spot, a little farther up the shore,” said my companion. “Let
us try that.”
We hoisted the sail once more and stood up the shore fully an eighth of
a mile. Then Ford took the tiller, and headed the craft for a deep and
narrow inlet, guarded on both sides by high rocks and heavy bushes.
“Now, if they haven’t seen us, I guess they will never find the Mary.”
“I think I’d have a job finding her myself,” I laughed. “It’s so dark I
can hardly see a thing!”
We lowered the sails and pushed the Mary as deep into the bushes as
possible. Then we jumped ashore, tied fast, and hurried back to the
spot where the Catch Me had been beached.
“There ought to be some tracks in the mud,” I said. “See how soft the
rain has made the soil.”
“It would be easy enough to follow the man if it wasn’t for the rocks,”
returned Ford. “But we will do what we can, and that, too, without
waste of time. It will be a feather in our cap if we capture the whole
crowd.”
“Here are footprints,” I went on. “Do you see, they lead from this
place where the Catch Me struck over those rocks to the north?”
“That’s so. Let us see if we can catch them again beyond the rocks.
Come, don’t make any more noise than you can help.”
We walked on with our heads bent close to the ground. When we reached
the spot where the rocks ended and the marshland began, we could for
the moment distinguish nothing.
“It’s lost,” said Ford soberly.
“No; here it is,” I whispered, “and quite fresh, if I am not mistaken.”
“An hour more and we’ll be lost in the dark. It must be every bit of
five o’clock.”
“Yes; and later. We lost a good deal of time down at the Bend.”
After this we followed the footprints in silence.
They took a roundabout course over the marshes, for which Rock Island
was noted, and then gradually struck a direct path leading to the north.
I was ahead, and carried the gun in such a fashion that it could be
brought into instant use.
“Go slower,” cautioned Ford; “they can’t be far away.”
I slowed up, and listened intently. Some distance ahead I fancied I
heard the murmur of voices.
I nodded to Ford, and he came up close.
“They are just ahead,” I whispered into his ear. “I wonder if there
isn’t some sort of a hut beyond?”
He shook his head.
With my heart beating loudly I continued to advance, my companion
close behind me. Presently we came to a number of big rocks, the ones,
in fact, from which the island derives its name. Here we halted and
listened once more.
“You say some one followed you?” we heard the voice of Avery say.
“Yes; two men,” was Mr. Norton’s reply. “I couldn’t make them out. They
must be close to the island by this time.”
“Then we must divide the booty, and get out as fast as possible,” said
another; and I knew it was the man called Yates. “Put all the stones
together, boys, here on this board, and we’ll draw lots for them, after
dividing them into three parts.”
Then I crawled up the rocks and peered over.
Beyond was a rude shelter of boards, and sitting beneath it were the
trio of robbers, with the stolen diamonds spread out before them.
[Illustration]