THE LAUNCH BOYS SERIES
The Launch Boys' Cruise In the Deerfoot
BY EDWARD S. ELLIS
Author of "The Flying Boys Series," "Deerfoot Series," etc., etc.
ILLUSTRATED BY
BURTON DONNEL HUGHES
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
PHILADELPHIA
Copyright, 1912, by
THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY
PRINTED IN U. S. A.
[Illustration: THE BIG SHIP WAS STILL COMING TOWARD HIM]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. BETWEEN TWO FIRES 9
II. LIVELY TIMES 19
III. MIKE MURPHY 29
IV. A LOAN TO CAPTAIN LANDON 39
V. A MOTOR BOAT 50
VI. CAPTAIN AND CREW 58
VII. ONE AUGUST DAY 69
VIII. A PASSING GLIMPSE 81
IX. NO MAN'S LAND 92
X. THE LURE OF GOLD 104
XI. A MISSING MOTOR BOAT 114
XII. IN THE TELEGRAPH OFFICE 125
XIII. A SLIGHT MISTAKE 136
XIV. A FRIEND IN NEED 145
XV. A GLIMPSE OF SOMETHING 156
XVI. ON BARTER ISLAND 166
XVII. THE MAN IN GRAY 176
XVIII. AT THE INLET 186
XIX. NOT NEAR EITHER BANK 196
XX. A DISAPPOINTMENT 206
XXI. A TELEGRAM 216
XXII. FOUND 226
XXIII. CAPTAIN AND MATE 236
XXIV. "THIS IS WHERE I STOP" 247
XXV. GOOD NEWS 257
XXVI. DISQUIETING NEWS 267
XXVII. AN ALARMING FACT 277
XXVIII. THE CRY ACROSS THE WATERS 287
XXIX. MAROONED 296
XXX. A NEW ENGLAND HOME COMING 308
XXXI. THE MAN IN GRAY 319
The Launch Boys' Cruise in the Deerfoot
CHAPTER I
BETWEEN TWO FIRES
I once heard the bravest officer I ever knew declare that the height of
absurdity was for a person to boast that he did not know the meaning of
fear. "Such a man is either a fool or the truth is not in him," was the
terse expression of the gallant soldier.
Now it would have been hard to find a more courageous youth than Alvin
Landon, who had just entered his seventeenth year, and yet he admits
that on a certain soft moonlit night in summer he felt decidedly
"creepy," and I believe you and I would have felt the same in his
situation. He was walking homeward and had come to a stretch of pine
forest that was no more than an eighth of a mile in length. The road was
so direct that when you entered the wood you could see the opening at
the farther side, where you came again upon meadows and cultivated
fields. The highway was so broad that only a portion of it was shaded
and there was no excuse for one losing his way even when the moon and
stars failed to give light. All you had to do was to "keep in the middle
of the road" and plod straight on.
But when the orb of night rode high in the sky and the course was marked
as plainly as at midday, there was always the deep gloom on the right
and left, into which the keenest eye could not penetrate. A boy's
imagination was apt to people the obscurity with frightful creatures
crouching and waiting for a chance to pounce upon him.
Alvin was a student in a preparatory school on the Hudson, where he was
making ready for his admission to the United States Military Academy at
West Point. The appointment had been guaranteed his father, a wealthy
capitalist, by one of the Congressmen of his district, but nearly two
years had to pass before the lad would be old enough to become a cadet,
and pass the rigid mental and physical examination required of every one
enrolled in the most admirable military institution in the world.
On this mild August night he was going home from the little cove where
his motor boat nestled under the shed built for its protection. His chum
Chester Haynes, about his own age, lived within a hundred yards of the
shelter of the craft, so that it was always under his eye, when not
dashing up the Kennebec or some of its tributaries, or cruising over the
broad waters of Casco Bay. On their return from an all-day excursion,
they reached Chester's home so late that Alvin stayed to supper. It was
dark when he set out for his own home, a good half mile north, the last
part of the walk leading through the odorous pines of which I have made
mention.
The lad had no weapon, for he needed none. His father was opposed to
the too free use of firearms by boys and insisted that when a lad found
it necessary to carry a pistol for protection it was time for him to
stay within doors where no one could harm him.
The youth was impatient because of a certain nervousness which came to
him when he stepped into the pulseless gloom and saw far ahead the broad
silvery door opening into the open country beyond.
"About all the Indians in this part of the world," he mused, yielding to
a whimsical fancy, "are at Oldtown; the others are making baskets, bows
and arrows, moccasins and trinkets to sell to summer visitors. There
used to be bears and panthers and wolves and deer in Maine, but most of
them are in the upper part. I shouldn't dare to shoot a buck or moose if
he came plunging at me with antlers lowered, for it is the close season
and a fellow can't satisfy the wardens by saying he had to shoot in
self-defence. As for other kinds of wild animals, there's no use of
thinking of them.
"I should be ashamed to let Chester know I felt creepy to-night, when I
have been through these woods so often without a thought of anything
wrong. But it does seem to me that some sort of mischief is brooding in
the air----"
"_Tu-whit-tu-whoo-oo!_"
Alvin must have leaped a foot from the ground. He was sure he felt his
cap rise several inches above his crown, with still an upward tendency.
Then he softly laughed.
"Only a screech owl, but that hoot when you are not expecting it is
startling enough to make a fellow jump. It seems to me nature might have
given that bird a more cheerful voice, say like the thrush or
nightingale. Then it would be pleasant to listen to his music after
dark. I remember when I was a little codger and was coming home late one
night, near Crow's Nest, one of those things began hooting right over my
head and I didn't stop running till I tumbled through the gate. I think
I have a little more sense now than in those days."
It did not add to his peace of mind when he glanced behind him to see a
shadowy form coming toward him from the rear and keeping so close to the
line of obscurity on his right that only a flitting glimpse of him was
caught. Few situations are more nerve-racking than the discovery at
night of an unknown person dogging your footsteps. He may be a friend or
an enemy--more likely the latter--and you see only evil intent in his
stealthy pursuit.
But Alvin's good sense quieted his fears and he resumed his course,
still holding the middle of the road, alert and watchful.
"He can't mean any harm," he thought, "for every one in this part of the
country is a neighbor of the others. I shall be glad to have his company
and will lag so that he will soon overtake me--hello!"
It was at this juncture that two ghost-like figures suddenly whisked
across the road in front. They seemed to be in a hurry and acted as if
they wished to escape observation--though why they should feel thus was
more than Alvin could guess. It dawned upon him that he was between two
fires.
"It's queer that so many strangers are abroad to-night, though they have
as much right to tramp through the country as I."
At the time of learning the rather disquieting fact, young Landon had
gone two-thirds of the way through the wood, so that the couple in front
were near the open country. Striving to convince himself that he had no
cause for misgiving, he still felt uneasy as he moved stealthily
forward. He gave no thought to the one behind, for it was easy to avoid
him. His interest centered upon the two in front, with whom he was quite
sure to come in contact. They were no longer in sight, but whether they
were walking in the broad ribbon of shadow at the side of the highway,
or awaiting his approach, was impossible to tell.
He stopped and listened. The one dismal hoot of the owl seemed to have
satisfied the bird, which remained silent. The straining ear failed to
catch the slightest footfall. Recalling the feathery dust upon which he
was stepping, Alvin knew that no one could hear his footfalls.
For the first time, he now left the band of illumination, moving into
the darkness on his left. There he could be invisible to every one not
less than four or five paces away.
"If they don't wish me to see them, there's no reason why they should
see me," was the thought which impelled him. Gradually he slackened his
pace until he stood still. Then with all his senses keyed to a high
tension he did some hard thinking. Despite his ridicule of his own
fears, he could not shake off the suspicion that mischief was brooding
over him. The two men in front and the third at the rear belonged to the
same party.
"They mean to rob me," muttered Alvin, compressing his lips.
The belief seemed reasonable, for he was worthy of the attention of one
or more yeggmen. He carried a gold watch, the gift of his father, a
valuable pin in his scarf, a present from his mother, and always had a
generous amount of money with him. Many a youth in his situation would
have meekly surrendered his property upon the demand of a company of
criminals against whom it was impossible to prevail, but our young
friend was made of sterner stuff. He would not yield so long as he could
fight, and his bosom burned with righteous anger at the thought that
such an outrage was possible in these later days.
All the same, he was too sensible to invite a physical encounter so long
as there was a good chance of avoiding it. The wisest thing to do was to
step noiselessly in among the pines at his side, pick his way for a few
rods, and then wait for the danger to pass; or he could continue to
steal forward, shaping his course so as to reach the open country, so
far to one side of the highway that no one would see him.
You will smile when I tell you why Alvin Landon did not follow this
plan.
"They may suspect what I'm doing and sneak along the edge of the wood to
catch me as I come out. Then I'll have to run for it, and I'll be hanged
if I'll run from all the yeggmen in the State of Maine!"
He listened intensely, not stirring a muscle for several minutes. Once
he fancied he heard a faint rustling a little way behind him, but it
might have been a falling leaf. At the front the silence was like that
of the tomb.
"They're waiting for me. Very well!"
Instead of keeping within the darkness, he stepped back into the middle
of the road and strode forward with his usual pace. He did not carry so
much as a cane or broken limb with which to defend himself. All at once
he began whistling that popular college air, "When I saw Sweet Nellie
Home." He would not admit to himself that it was because he felt the
slightest fear, but somehow or other, the music seemed to take the place
of a companion. He began to suspect that it might not be so bad after
all for a frightened lad thus to cheer himself when picking his course
through a dark reach of woods.
"At any rate it can't tell them where I am, for all of them already know
it," was his conclusion.