The next port was Priam, eight miles distant; and the _Ucayga_ dashed
merrily on her way, seeming to feel and rejoice in the responsibility
which was imposed upon her. Certainly she was doing all that was
expected of her. We were approaching the _Ruoara_; for that was the
name of the old boat, though it was a misnomer now to her, for she
did not deign to visit the town after which she was called. She was
making her best time, which, however, was very poor time, compared with
the new boat. Her captain was evidently hurrying her all he could. I
made the signal with the steam-whistle, to indicate that the _Ucayga_
intended to pass her on the port hand.
I was not a little startled to see her put her helm to starboard, and
crowd over upon our track, as though she intended to bother us. I took
the wheel with Van Wolter, and when she had forced herself in ahead of
us, I sounded the whistle to go on the starboard hand of her.
“Give her a wide berth,” said I to my companion.
“I reckon we can hit as hard as she can,” chuckled the mate.
“But we won’t hit at all, either hard or soft,” I added.
“She has put her helm to port, as though she did not mean to let us
pass her.”
“She can’t help herself,” I answered, as I crowded the helm over, so as
to give her a wide berth.
By this time we were abreast of her, and the old tub was so clumsy
that she found it impossible to crowd us any further. She had come up
so that we could recognize faces on board of her. Near the wheel-house
stood the major and Tommy, looking as ugly as they conveniently could
look. They would have sunk us in the deep waters of the lake if they
could. I was not disposed to irritate them; for I knew how miserably
they felt, as they gazed upon our crowded decks, and as they saw our
palatial craft sweeping swiftly by them. It did not appear that the
_Ruoara_ had more than forty or fifty passengers.
“We can afford to be polite,” said I to Waddie. “We will give them the
compliments of the day as we pass.”
“Don’t vex them,” replied Waddie.
“If they wish to take a common civility as an insult, they may. On
deck, there!” I cried to the hands forward. “Stand by, and dip the
ensign and the jack!”
Two of the crew promptly obeyed my order. The ensign at the stern,
and the jack at the bow, were dipped three times, just as we came
abreast of the _Ruoara_. Our passengers were disposed to be exceedingly
good-natured, and before I was aware of their purpose, they were
engaged in giving three cheers, and in demonstrating with hats,
handkerchiefs, and other articles. Not a sign of acknowledgment was
made by the old boat, and I am afraid that the magnate of Middleport
did not feel as happy as the people in our boat. We passed her, and
soon left her far behind.
We made our landings at the other ports of the lake, creating no little
excitement by our unexpected appearance. We took all the passengers and
freight that were waiting for a passage, leaving nothing for the old
boat, for the first-comer always carried off the prize. Promptly on the
time I had marked down on my program, the _Ucayga_ entered the narrow
river on which Hitaca is located. We whistled with tremendous vigor to
inform the people of the place of our arrival, for I was very anxious
that Colonel Wimpleton should be apprised of our approach.
Van Wolter was perfectly at home in the navigation of this river, and
piloted the boat, without any delay, to the broad lagoon which forms
the harbor of the town. It was just half-past seven when the bow line
was thrown on shore, and in a few moments more the steamer was fast
to the wharf. Our approach had been heralded through the town, and
the landing-place was crowded with vehicles, which had come down to
convey our passengers to the hotels, or to their homes. With them had
come a goodly delegation of the solid men of Hitaca, as well as the
miscellaneous rabble which always waits upon the advent of any new
sensation.
Almost the first person I recognized on the wharf, from my position
on the hurricane-deck, was Colonel Wimpleton. The _Ucayga_ had been
discovered and identified when miles down the lake, and her owner would
have learned of her coming, even if he had not been engaged with the
steamboat-builder on the creek near the wharf. I looked at him with
interest, for though we had achieved a triumphant success, we had acted
without his sanction, and even without his knowledge.
The moment the boat touched the wharf, the colonel rushed on board and
hastened up to the place where he had seen Waddie and me. He looked as
though he was laboring under some excitement, but I had yet to learn
whether he was angry or not. Certainly he did not look very gentle; but
then his astonishment at seeing the _Ucayga_ at Hitaca was a sufficient
explanation of his troubled aspect.
“What does all this mean, Wolf?” he demanded, rather sharply; but this
was his habit.
“If any one is to blame, I am the one, for I told Wolf to run the boat
to this place to-day,” interposed Waddie.
“But what are you here for?”
“We were compelled to come, sir,” I replied. “The action of the
railroad line left us no other course. If you will walk into my room,
sir, I will explain the whole matter; and I hope it will prove
satisfactory to you.”
“But this is a very strange movement on your part; and without a word
from me,” said Colonel Wimpleton, as I led the way into my stateroom.
“You have broken up your trips to Centreport, and there will be a howl
of indignation there when I return.”
“Not at all, sir. We shall run every trip from Centreport to Ucayga, as
usual.”
“Well, explain yourself,” continued the magnate impatiently. “Does the
boat need repairs, that you have brought her up here?”
“No, sir; she is in good order in every respect. This morning, Major
Toppleton made his next move, and we have not had a single through
passenger on the down trips to-day. As I supposed he would do, he
ordered his boat not to go to Centreport until after our steamer
had started. He took his yacht and went over to Gulfport early this
morning, so that the first boat did not touch on our side of the lake
till the _Ucayga_ had sailed.”
“That’s one of his tricks.”
“Well, sir, I don’t know that I blame him. He means business, and he
meant to keep all the through passengers. At Ucayga, to-day, he and
Tommy crowed over me, and defied me to do anything I pleased. Now, sir,
if you look at my time-table, you will see that we can, by hard work,
make two trips a day from Centreport, and one from Hitaca, to and from
the foot of the lake.”
The great man put on his spectacles, and proceeded to examine the
program which I had placed in his hands. With the explanations I made,
he comprehended the whole subject. His countenance lighted up with
pleasure as he realized that he had the means in his hands, even now,
to win the day in the battle with his great enemy.
“Why didn’t you mention this thing before, Wolf?” he asked.
“I didn’t think of it, sir. When Major Toppleton made his next move,
as he called it, I went to work on the problem, to see what could be
done. I didn’t like the idea of running from Centreport with only half
a freight. I want to make the boat pay.”
“She will pay handsomely under this arrangement. Do you think we need
another boat, now?”
“Yes, sir; I do. This boat will be going from half-past six in the
morning till half-past seven at night; and the hands will be on duty
from five in the morning till nine at night. The boats will all need
repairs, and there will be no time to make them.”
“You can have two sets of hands, if you like.”
“But we can make only one trip a day from Hitaca to Ucayga.”
“Well, that is really enough, for the railroad line has very few
passengers up in the morning, or down in the afternoon. We shall take
the lion’s share of them. This boat-builder has raised his price so
much that I have not yet made a contract with him.”
“We can try our plan for a while, if you approve it, sir,” I replied.
“Certainly I approve it.”
Waddie produced the handbills he had procured at Centreport, and
a person was employed to distribute them all over Hitaca. Colonel
Wimpleton inserted advertisements in the papers, paying liberally
for “editorial puffs” of the new line. Everything promised an entire
success for the enterprise.
At quarter-past eight, the old _Ruoara_ made her appearance, and
moored at the wharf just above the _Ucayga_. It was a meager show of
passengers which landed from her, and I could well understand the rage
which filled the bosom of the major and his son, as they stood upon the
hurricane-deck gazing at the new steamer. I wondered what their next
move would be, for it was not in the nature of either of them to submit
to the mortifying defeat they had sustained. I could think of nothing
that it was possible for them to do to retrieve their misfortune,
unless the major built new steamers, or continued the Lake Shore
Railroad to Hitaca.
As they did not come near me, I did not devote much attention to a
consideration of their case. Having nothing more to do on board, I took
a walk on shore with Waddie. I visited a clothing-store, and purchased
a suit of blue clothes, which included a frock coat. When I got up the
next morning, I put on the new garments, and surveyed myself in the
glass. The effect was decidedly satisfactory. I had a glazed cap, for
I was not quite ready to don a high hat. As I surveyed myself, I had
hopes that I should not again be accused of being a boy.
At quarter of six the _Ruoara_ left the wharf. I could not see more
than a dozen passengers on board. I looked in vain for Tommy and his
father. Soon after, the people began to pour in upon the decks of the
_Ucayga_, to the great satisfaction of Colonel Wimpleton. Our handbills
had accomplished their purpose, and our triumph was to be even greater
than that of the day before. I was very much excited by the lively
scene around me. Carriages and other vehicles were constantly arriving
with freight and passengers, and I found enough to do in answering
questions and hurrying up the men engaged in loading freight. Five
minutes before the hour of starting, the scene became a little more
quiet. I stood upon the wharf, looking at the situation, when I saw
Major Toppleton and his son, accompanied by a stranger, approaching me.
“There he is!” said Tommy, pointing to me with his finger. “Grab him!”
Hearing the words, I deemed it prudent to hasten on board, for I
concluded that this was the sequel to the affair of the day before in
Middleport. I hurried to the plank; but before I could reach the deck,
the stranger seized me by the collar. I struggled to escape, but the
man was too strong for me.
“I have a warrant for your arrest,” said he.
A trick of the enemy!