WHEN ALL ENDS WELL
Though Frank Allen was an expert swimmer, the best in Columbia and
the surrounding country, he found trouble in going to the aid of Fred
Cunningham.
The explosion of the tank had spread blazing gasoline over the
surface of the river; the wreck of the _Speedaway_ was settling by
the stern quite rapidly; the hundreds of splintered pieces were
moving here and there, jagged and rough, a menace to the swimmer; the
barge had come to a stop and was rocking to and fro while the tug
held it.
Men aboard the barge were yelling and calling warnings and
suggestions and the searchlight of the _Rocket_ danced about the
water as Lanky tried to compensate for the failure of Paul Bird, not
very expert at the wheel, to hold the _Rocket_ where it belonged.
Down into the river went the intrepid boy, bent on bringing
Cunningham to the surface if possible—and determined that it was
possible.
It seemed hours to the three boys on the _Rocket_ before they spied
Frank’s head on the surface, bobbing suddenly from the water, and saw
that he was tugging at a heavy load.
“Here, Ralph! You take the searchlight! Keep it squarely on Frank and
I’ll get the boat over!”
Lanky got Ralph West into active service, and, as he felt he could
handle the _Rocket_ better than Paul Bird was doing, he took hold of
the wheel and brought the _Rocket_ around to the spot where Frank
struggled to keep himself above water and hold the other at the same
time.
“Paul, give him a hand! Grab him when I get up close!” called
Wallace, the engine cut down to low speed, as he glided easily toward
the boy in the water.
It was the work of but a few more seconds to get Frank out of the
water and to drag Fred Cunningham along with him.
“Let’s try to save him,” gasped Frank, unmindful of his own condition.
A cry went up from the barge when they pulled the two boys over to
the deck of the _Rocket_, and now the skipper of the towboat yelled:
“Ahoy there! Can I help you any? Is he all right, or can you get him
over to town?”
“I’ll attend to him. Thank you ever so much!” called Frank, as
three of the boys turned their attention to the injured lad. Lanky
had already started the _Rocket_ for the landing at Columbia. The
searchlight was bearing straight ahead, since it had been abandoned
in that position, and Lanky could see his way.
Frank gave instructions to the others at once, with a snap like an
officer, and they went to work with vim.
Just as they touched the landing at Columbia Frank heaved a sigh of
relief—Fred Cunningham was showing signs of coming back to life.
Frank saw the first flush and noted that he was gasping for breath.
As they landed they saw a dozen people standing on the wharf, having
been attracted by the crash of the motor boat against the barge and
also by the sight of the fire.
Into an automobile the boys placed Cunningham’s limp body quickly,
Frank giving directions:
“Get him to the hospital! Quick! Don’t waste a minute!”
As the automobile pulled out, Frank turned, soaking wet, a laughable
sight notwithstanding the seriousness of it all and the stress and
tragedy of the race.
“I’m going back for the chief. You fellows want to come along?” he
asked.
The question was almost unnecessary. Lanky and Paul and Ralph, weary
and worn as they were, ready to drop off to sleep except for the
excitement of the day and night, were ready to follow their leader.
But a thought came suddenly to Frank.
“I’ll tell you, fellows. Paul and Ralph ought to stay here to take
care of that fellow and see that he doesn’t get away if he revives
quickly. Maybe he’s not badly hurt and he could be released from the
hospital. You two fellows stay here and see that things are ready
when we get back. Tell the doctor I’ll be back in an hour or so to
see dad—and all that, you know. Tell mother, too, if she’s still at
the hospital.”
The two boys, sensible, realizing a division of forces was now the
best, grabbed Frank and Lanky by the hands, wished them well and
promised to see about Cunningham.
Before the _Rocket_ left the wharf, they brought back a bottle of hot
coffee and warm rolls, which Frank and Lanky barely gave thanks for
as they grabbed, in their hunger, for the viands.
Just as the sun broke through the far horizon and shot its first
shafts of light into the world, the _Rocket_ got away from the
landing at Columbia and started back to the Jed Marmette farm.
Though as tired as two boys can ever be, a morning breeze which blew
across the Harrapin was an invigorating one, their worries were
almost over—the principal ones were over except for Frank’s father,
and the boys fell to chatting gaily while they raced the _Rocket_
upstream as rapidly as the engine would take it.
“Frank,” said Lanky, as they had gained their full speed and stood
looking ahead of them along the river, “the _Rocket_ is a better boat
than the _Speedaway_.”
“Right now, you mean?” laughed Frank.
“No, I mean she always was. She gained on the _Speedaway_ to-night in
straight running.”
“Not to-night.” Frank felt in a teasing humor.
“Well, last night, then. But, believe me, Frank, you surely did do
some clever headwork! By jove, that was good the way you made those
bends and beat him to the punch.”
Full daylight was upon them as they made the landing at the Marmette
place.
“Did you catch him? I know you did!” called the chief as the _Rocket_
warped into the shore.
“I’ll say we caught him—out of the water!” cried Lanky from the bow.
“He smashed into a barge and tore his boat all to pieces!”
The chief had to hear the entire story before he brought his charges
on board, which was done very shortly.
The two strangers and Jed Marmette were led aboard, their arms
pinioned and locked with handcuffs.
“Here is the jewel box!” said Frank, when they were ready to leave
the shore. He reached down into a locker and brought out the black
iron box, no longer mat-surfaced with soot, but shining brightly from
the new japanning on it.
The chief took it, raised the cover and peered within. Then he gasped
with surprise. Here, surely, was a fortune which these fellows had
almost made away with. He carefully closed the box and tied it with a
piece of the rope which his sharp knife clipped off from the arms of
Marmette.
The trip down the river was without event. The chief asked many
questions of the two boys, and the boys, in turn, asked how things
had gone after they had left so hurriedly.
“What’s all the crowd about? Some one hurt?” asked Chief Berry,
pointing to the throng that had gathered at the river in Columbia.
They had not long to wait for the answer. As glasses in the hands of
some of the people told them the approaching boat was the _Rocket_, a
series of wild cheers went up, hats were thrown into the air, and as
rapidly as cheers died away someone started them over again.
“What’s it all about?” asked Frank.
“Sounds as if they’re cheering this boat for some reason.” The chief
seemed to understand.
“Three cheers for Frank Allen and Lanky Wallace!” they heard some one
cry from the shore, and the cry was followed by wild cheering by the
crowd.
Frank brought the _Rocket_ up to the main landing, with the crowd
laughing, cheering, waving and talking, and allowed the chief and
his policemen to take the three prisoners off the boat. Then he very
easily pulled out and circled to the boat-house where the _Rocket_
slipped in easily, seeming still to have the same go and pep that it
had in the beginning.
“She doesn’t seem to be a bit tired,” said Frank.
To this Lanky replied that the indicator on the gas tank said she
ought to be feeling quite run down, inasmuch as the pin was standing
close to the word “empty.”
“Oh, well, before we take her out again we can fill her,” and the two
boys walked out of the house and locked the door.
Instantly they were seized by friends in the crowd, and a thousand
questions of all kinds were shot at them.
Frank spied the doctor in the crowd, and before answering any of the
questions, before hardly being civil to his friends, he called to
that gentleman:
“Doctor, how’s dad? Any good news this morning?”
“Nothing else but good news, boy!” the doctor waved back at him.
“Don’t worry—he’s getting along nicely. Going to get well, quick!”
Tears of joy welled up into the lad’s eyes as he heard these words so
cheerily spoken by the man who had fought so sturdily at his father’s
bedside.
Just then Minnie Cuthbert accompanied by Helen Allen made her way
through the crowd close about these two boys and grasped Frank by the
hand.
“You’re a real hero! I’m so glad you did all those things they tell
about you,” she exclaimed, her eyes shining brightly.
“Who tells about me?” asked Frank.
“Why, Paul Bird and Ralph West haven’t done anything else since early
this morning but tell every one on the streets and telephone all
those they didn’t see!” she laughed.
So that was what caused this crowd to be here!
“Come on, Lanky, let’s get away from here as soon as we can. I want
to catch those two fellows and lay them across my knee,” muttered
Frank in an undertone to his chum.
The two boys finally got free of the crowd, Minnie and Helen walking
along with the heroes of the hour, while the crowd followed behind,
talking loudly, cheering every once in a while.
“There’s Mrs. Parsons. She’s trying to attract your attention.”
Minnie nudged Frank and nodded toward the street, where an
automobile was moving slowly along.
Looking that way, he could not help but see the excited beckonings of
the wealthy widow up the river, who had been robbed.
“Frank, I want to apologize to you and to your friends for the way
in which I have acted. I’m not going to explain anything—I’m just
awfully sorry for the way I treated you.”
“Mrs. Parsons,” and Frank spoke very evenly, though pleasantly, “that
is all right. I know that things were awfully exciting, and you
probably didn’t think of lots of things. I don’t blame you at all.”
“And that’s the way all of us feel,” spoke up Lanky.
“I am awfully glad to hear you say that. I’ll tell you!” and a happy
smile spread over her face, “won’t you organize a party and come up to
my place on a great big picnic—just any day you say? Minnie, can’t
you organize it?”
“Surely! We’ll make it day after to-morrow, too!” cried the young
lady.
“You are to bring absolutely nothing to eat with you. I shall have
all the things that a really nice picnic needs. Now, I’m going to
depend on you, Minnie, to get up the picnic and be there day after
to-morrow—the whole day!” Saying this she gave a nod to the driver
of her car and waved the young people a happy good-bye.
“I guess I can organize a picnic, all right,” Minnie laughed gaily,
as she took Frank’s arm and they stepped back to the sidewalk. “She
ought to give you boys a first-class picnic, and I’ll see that she
does.”
The girls said good-bye, and then over to the hospital walked Frank,
his clothes dried on him, but looking slouchy, rough-dried, and
anything but the neatly dressed boy that Frank Allen was. Lanky
walked alongside.
There the news the nurse gave was of the very best, and Frank walked
into the room, to see his father lying on the bed smiling happily,
holding up his arms as if he would take his boy in them.
Fred Cunningham had suffered contusions which were very painful, and
the doctor kept him in bed, announcing that he would not allow the
young man to leave the hospital for several days.
At the preliminary hearing it was learned, through telegrams which
Chief Berry sent out, coupled with the admissions of the men
themselves, added to which were letters on their persons, that these
men were professionals who looted the homes of wealthy people after
careful, painstaking study of the locale, of the habits of the
people, their friends, and their goings and comings.
It was shown that Fred Cunningham was a tool of one of them who had
some things on the young man. It could not be learned exactly what
that “something” was, though it was surmised that it was a boyish
indiscretion which had been multiplied strongly by the man in order
to force the boy to do his bidding.
The picnic turned out as Minnie Cuthbert had planned it should: a
perfect repayment by Mrs. Parsons for all the insulting looks and
remarks she had made about these boys. The picnic was an entire
success.
But Mrs. Parsons was to do still more for Frank and his chums, and
what that was will be related in the next volume, to be called,
“Frank Allen at Old Moose Lake; or, The Trail in the Snow.” In that
volume we shall learn the particulars of a stirring vacation in a
winter camp and solve a very perplexing mystery.
THE END
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Transcriber’s Notes
pg 8 Changed Rocket was going up-stream to: upstream
pg 19 Changed between the Pasons to: Parsons
pg 23 Changed Lanky was siting to: sitting
pg 26 Changed for the police head-quarters to: headquarters
pg 36 Changed spread of carpetted to: carpeted
pg 93 Added missing quote before: Let’s get her out
pg 95 Changed period to comma: Perhaps they can, Frank replied
pg 99 Changed if you are geting to: getting
pg 102 Added comma after: finished their work
pg 121 Changed way along the trial to: trail
pg 121 Changed Rocket toward mid-stream to: midstream
pg 136 Added hyphen to: Racing to the boathouse: boat-house
pg 136 Added hyphen to: reached the boathouse: boat-house
pg 137 Changed Ralph lay pone to: prone
pg 143 Changed to be denied hat to: that
pg 145 Changed soon had him warmed, inprisoning to: imprisoning
pg 176 Changed colon to semi-colon after: seen in the trunk
pg 194 Changed switched on his flash-light to: flashlight
pg 212 Changed good news his morning to: this
pg 214 Added quote before: won’t you organize a party