BOB'S LAST LAND JOKE
Returning home, Bob said nothing to his mother about what Captain
Obed had said. The boy wanted to think more about it. If he could
combine a treasure hunt with his sea voyage it would be a fine
thing. Besides, why should not the old man know something of hidden
treasure? He had sailed in many waters and been on many ships. Bob
decided he would visit him that night.
Accordingly, when it grew dusk, he set off for the lonely house
where the old sailor lived. It was quite a walk, but in his
eagerness Bob covered the ground in short time. As he was passing a
clump of bushes, not far from his destination, he was surprised to
hear a voice calling sharply from the darkness:
"Avast there!"
"Who is it?" asked Bob.
"It's me," replied Captain Obed in his husky voice. "I hid out here
to signal you so's you wouldn't be followed."
"Followed? Who by?"
"By persons anxious to get hold of the secret map that tells of the
treasure buried on the island. Are you all alone, Bob?"
"Of course."
"Then go ahead into my house. I'll follow as soon as I've taken an
observation."
The boy thought the old man must be rather queer to imagine any one
would try to steal his secret, if secret he had. Bob was half
inclined to give the whole thing up. But he walked on, and was soon
inside the rather humble home of the retired mariner. Presently
Captain Obed entered and quickly closed the door.
"Have to be very careful--very careful," he said in a whisper. "If
any one knowed I had this map they'd rob me of it."
He pulled down the shades of the windows, and then carefully locking
the door he went to another room. Bob heard him fumbling about, and
soon the old man came out with a yellowish piece of paper in his
hand.
"Feel of it," he said to Bob.
Bob did so. It was stiff and crackly.
"Parchment--parchment," whispered Captain Obed. "The map is drawed
on parchment--that's sheepskin instead of paper. He wanted it to
last for years and years."
"Who did?"
Once more Captain Obed looked around to see if by chance any one had
stolen into the room. He made Bob rather nervous.
"Captain Kidd," he answered in a lower whisper than he had yet used.
"Captain Kidd drawed that map. It gives the real secret of his
buried treasure. I'm the only one that knows where it is. There's
lots of maps of Captain Kidd's treasure, but I've got the only real
one. All them others was jest drawed so as to fool folks. An' they
did fool 'em. 'Cause why? 'Cause nobody ain't never yet found the
captain's treasure. But you'll find it, an' you'll bring it home to
Captain Obed, won't you, Bob? Of course you will. You're a good
boy, and if you bring it home safe, why, I'll give you"--he paused
and seemed to make a great effort--"yes, I'll give you a hundred
dollars, or maybe a hundred and fifty. There! What do you say to
that?"
"How much treasure is there?" asked Bob, hardly knowing whether to
laugh at the old man or take him seriously.
"How much? It must be near a million dollars. O h, there's lots of
treasure!"
It struck Bob that if there was that amount he would not be getting
much for his share.
"Now you take that map," went on Captain Obed. "It gives the exact
location or the island, and shows where the treasure is buried on
it, right in the center of a place where four trees grow. The
island is about eighty-two degrees west longitude and twenty-one
degrees south latitude. It'll be easy to locate. Just cruise about
in that locality for a few days and you'll find it. Then dig up the
treasure."
"But suppose Captain Spark doesn't want to cruise around there?
It's his ship."
"Oh, you give him twenty-five dollars or so--out of your share, mind
you--and he'll be glad enough to do it. Now, Bob, I rely on you.
You're the only one I ever told my secret to, and I want you to keep
it close. Don't let 'em get that map away from you. They'll
try--oh, they'll try dreadful hard. I got it from my grandfather,
who had it direct from Captain Kidd himself, so I know it's correct.
Now, Bob, you'd better go. Take good care of the map and bring me
the treasure."
He thrust the yellow, crackling piece of parchment into Bob's hands
and opened the door.
"Put it in your pocket," he cautioned as Bob went out. "Some one
might see you."
Now Bob was quite a level-headed youth, and though he knew that
sometimes treasure might be found on islands in the ocean, where it
had been hidden by modern pirates or illegal pearl fishers, he did
not take much stock in what Captain Obed had told him.
Still he thought it would be no harm to take the parchment and show
it to Captain Spark. That seasoned mariner would soon be able to
tell if it was worth anything. At any rate, Bob was not going to
lie awake at night over the possibility--the very small
possibility--of securing the treasure.
"Guess I'll have to make a better bargain for my share of it before
I do much searching," he decided.
The boy said nothing to his parents about the parchment map. He
preferred letting Captain Spark know of it first, as that seemed
fairer to the old sailor who had given it to him. Then, as the time
was drawing nearer to the date of sailing, Bob's thoughts dwelt more
and more on his prospective trip.
"Don't you notice quite a change in Bob?" asked Mrs. Henderson of
her husband the next day. "He seems to have settled down, and he
hasn't played a joke in a long time."
"No, he hasn't. But you know the proverb about a new broom sweeping
clean. Just now Bob's mind is so full of the sea that he thinks of
nothing else. Wait a while. If he gets away with Captain Spark
without playing some sort of a trick before he goes I'll be
agreeably disappointed."
"I think he will. I'm so glad the captain came to pay us a visit
when he did. It was a lucky thing for Bob."
"I think it was. He was getting quite reckless in his pranks."
The subject of this conversation was, of course, not aware of it.
The truth was that Bob was fairly holding himself in. He saw many
opportunities to play jokes--more, in fact, than he had ever seen
before. It was a great temptation to indulge in pranks, but he
reflected that if he got into any more trouble he might not be
allowed to take the sea voyage.
"And I wouldn't want that to happen for the world," he said to
himself. "Still I know a couple of dandy jokes I could play before
I go. Maybe I might get Ted Neefus to do 'em, but I don't believe
he could do 'em as good as I can."
Bob was pondering over the rather queer fact to him that old folks
don't care half as much for jokes as boys do, when his mother asked
him to go on an errand for her. This was to take a message to Mrs.
Dodson, who lived in a large house on a hill just outside the
village. She was quite wealthy, and Mrs. Henderson used to do some
fine embroidering for her.
Bob, who was always ready to oblige his mother, took the package of
sewing and the note which went with it and started off. On the way
he passed the wagon of a certain old crusty farmer he knew. The
vehicle was in front of a house where the farmer had gone to sell
some butter and eggs. Dangling from the back of the wagon was a
long rope, and it was a great temptation to Bob to take the rope and
tie one of the rear wheels so that it would not revolve. The
farmer, coming out in a hurry, would not notice it, and would wonder
what was the matter when he started to drive off.
"But I guess I'd better not," thought Bob with a sigh. "He'd be sure
to tell dad, and then I'd be in more trouble. I've got a pretty
good reputation since the donation supper, and I don't want to spoil
it."
Bob delivered the embroidery and note to Mrs. Dodson, and was on his
way back home when he saw Susan Skipper, Mrs. Dodson's hired girl,
and Dent Freeman, the hired man of the place, washing the big front
windows of the house--that is, Dent was washing them, perched upon a
step-ladder, for Susan was quite heavy and was afraid to trust
herself very high in the air. However, she was doing her share by
handing up pails of warm water to Dent.
Now Dent and Susan, as Bob well knew, were what the country people
call "sweet" on one another. Susan was very fond of the hired man,
and as for Dent, he thought there never had been a better cook than
Susan. They lost no chance of talking to each other, and as the
window-cleaning operations afforded them a good opportunity, they
were taking advantage of it.
All at once a daring plan came into Bob's mind. It seemed as if he
could not resist it, for he thought of what he considered a fine
"joke."
As he was well acquainted with the hired man and cook he walked
toward them. Perhaps he would not have been flattered if he had
heard what they said as he approached.
"Here comes that Henderson lad," remarked Dent. "He's allers up to
some trick. Look out for him, Susan."
"Oh, I can look out for myself. It's you that wants to be cautious.
He'd just like to spill your pail of water."
So they did not look with much favor on Bob's appearance. However,
Bob, once he had set his mind on a bit of mischief, knew how to
carry it through.
"Hello, Dent," he said good-naturedly. "Dad wants to know if you
have any more of that rheumatic medicine you made. It fixed him up
in great shape."
This was true enough, though Mr. Henderson had not given the message
to Bob that day, having some time previously requested him to
deliver it the first chance he got.
"Sure I have some more," replied the hired man. If he was open to
flattery on any point, it was on his skill as a maker of rheumatism
cures. He had tried several, and had at last decided that he had
hit on one that was infallible. He had a notion of setting up in
the drug business. "I'll get you a bottle if you wait a while,
Bob," he said.
"I'll wait."
This was not very welcome news to Susan. She wanted to have a
private conversation with Dent, and she could not while Bob was
present. But the boy's plan was not completed.
As he stood idly by the step-ladder, on the top of which was Dent
washing away at the windows, with the pail of warm water beside him,
Bob appeared to be toying with a bit of string.
"I don't s'pose you have any doughnuts left, Susan?" he ventured
rather wistfully.
Now Susan had not forgiven Bob for a little joke he had played on
her some time before, so at his hint, to show her displeasure, she
turned her back and did not answer. This was just what Bob wanted.
Looking up to see that Dent was not observing him, he passed one end
of the string about the step-ladder. Tying it securely, he fastened
the other end to Susan's apron strings in such a manner that it
would not pull off.
"I'll wait for you out in the barn," he said to Dent when it became
evident that Susan was not going to take the hint and get the
doughnuts. In fact, Bob, much as he liked them, would have been
disappointed if she had gone in for some. He wanted to get out of
the way before a certain thing happened.
He strolled off, but instead of going to the barn he hid around the
corner of the house. Susan and Dent conversed for several minutes
longer, the man meanwhile busy at the windows. Then the cook,
hearing her mistress calling her, started for the house in a hurry.
The result was disastrous. As she started off the string tied to
the ladder and her apron tightened. As Susan was a woman of heavy
weight, it did not take much effort on her part to pull over the
ladder, together with Dent and the pail of water.
Dent came down to the ground, fortunately landing on his feet like a
cat. The pail of water described a graceful curve and splashed on
both Susan and the man. The cook, whose feet became tangled up in
the falling ladder, slipped and fell, knocking Dent down, and there
they were in a heap, both soaking wet.
And that was Bob's "joke." Hidden around the corner of the house,
he laughed so he almost betrayed his position.
"Oh, that's too funny!" he whispered. "It was like clowns in a
circus!"