"Hard a-port!" the pilot of the river boat was calling.
Fortunately, that was just what Frank had started to do. Had his
judgment been at all defective in the start, all would have been lost;
for there was certainly no time to reverse, and go the other way.
It was quite an exciting time. Will managed to "snap" the three boys
straining at that clumsy big steering oar called the "sweep"; with the
towboat apparently dead ahead. It would, doubtless, give him an odd
little creep every time he looked at the picture; for of the quartette
Will was more inclined to be timid than any of his chums.
Of course the river boat had shut off steam, and was no longer pushing
hard up against the current. Indeed, her stern wheel even began to churn
the water wildly, in the endeavor to back, and thus at least lessen the
blow, if one had to follow.
It was the onward rush of the houseboat with the current that proved the
most dangerous factor in the matter; for there was no means of staying
the progress of the _Pot Luck_.
Closer still they came; and Will even gripped a portion of the gunwale
of the floating craft, under the impression that a collision was about
due; when all of a sudden some new freak of the current seemed to seize
the apparently doomed houseboat, for with a whirl the _Pot Luck_ started
on a new tack.
They passed so close to the side of the towboat that any one of the boys
might, had they so desired, thrust out a hand, and touched the planking.
Frank sighed with relief, to realize that after all their voyage was not
fated to be nipped in the bud at the very start.
"Hurrah!" cried Bluff; but his voice was too weak for the sound to be
much louder than a hoarse croak.
The pilot was shaking his fist at them from above as they swept past,
and uttering hard words. Little they cared for what he said, since every
boyish heart was full of thanksgiving, after the scare. Possibly they
were in the wrong, since the channel seemed to be no place for a
helpless houseboat likely to be met at any time by an up-river tow that
would stretch from side to side.
"Whew! that was a narrow escape, though!" Jerry exclaimed, as he fell
back, panting for breath after his labor at the sweep.
"It ought to teach us a lesson while we're on the upper Mississippi,"
Frank remarked, himself willing to rest a bit from his labors.
"You don't mean, I hope, that we ought to learn to talk back, so as to
give these river pilots as good as they send?" ventured Will, now
recovering from his attack of the "shakes," and hoping none of his mates
had noticed how pale he had been.
"That would take years of practice, even if a fellow wanted to try it,"
replied Frank, with a nervous little laugh. "No, what I meant was this:
while the river is as small as it is now, with only a certain channel
for big boats to follow, we must keep nearer the shore, and out of the
passage. Then we'll stand no danger of being run down, you see."
"Oh!" remarked Bluff, with uplifted eyebrows; "that's the way it stands,
eh? And I was dead sure the fault all lay with that sleepy pilot, He
must have been taking a nap, not to see us, till it was nearly too late
to keep from smashing into us."
"Well, I hardly believe it was as bad as that," Frank affirmed. "He had
a pipe between his teeth when he poked his head up, and I imagine he
must have stooped just to light it, so as to be out of the wind. But I
hope it will be a long day before we have another shave as close as that
one."
There were still a couple of hours of daylight left before evening would
descend upon them, and they considered it good policy to keep on the
move for some time yet. When the sun had set they could look for a
promising place at which to tie up, and spend the coming night.
To these boys, accustomed as they were to a small lake, and a stream
connected with the same that was hardly more than a creek, the upper
Mississippi seemed particularly grand. It was a noble river, with very
picturesque shores, and something new attracting their eager attention
with almost every passing minute.
Later on in the voyage, when they were navigating the lower stretches of
the mighty river, its vastness might appal them, but could never excite
their admiration as this early part of the cruise did.
There were not many vessels afloat at this stage. Navigation does not
begin to show such bustle above Cairo as below the junction city, where
the flood of the Ohio is the first considerable body of water to join
forces with the Mississippi.
Still, to these boys from the interior, there was much to see; and one
or the other seemed to be calling out perpetually, drawing attention to
certain features of the landscape on either bank, the river itself, or
some craft that appeared in view.
True to his word, Jerry, at a certain hour, vanished within the cabin;
and presently smoke ascending from the pipe that projected above the
flat roof announced that the first stage of supper had been taken.
By slow degrees Frank was working the boat in toward the shore on which
it had been decided to pass the night. This being their first experience
aboard such a craft, he believed that they had better take no risks of
losing a good chance for anchoring to a friendly tree.
True, there did seem to be an anchor aboard, to be used in an emergency;
but Frank had learned from Mr. Whittaker that the best way for tying up
for the night was to find some means of using the stout cable. And he
had also been warned to beware of getting into a shallow creek; since
the river has a mean way of sometimes dropping half a foot during a
single night; and in consequence they might find the houseboat stranded
until another rise came along, which, in summer time, might not be for
several weeks.
Perhaps the delightful aroma that began to drift out of the partly open
cabin door helped to urge Frank to hasten. At any rate, in less than
half an hour after Jerry disappeared, the clumsy boat was pushed in
close to the overhanging shore, and nimble Bluff clambered up the bank,
to whip the cable-end twice around an accommodating tree that happened
to be growing just where it would prove of greatest use to the young
river cruisers.
After that there was really little to do. Bluff got out a couple of fish
lines and proceeded to cast them from the stern, having secured a piece
of meat from the cook with which to bait them.
Before they went to bed he had hauled in quite a good-sized channel
catfish, an ugly, dark-skinned creature, with keen pointed spikes along
his spine, which Frank warned them must be avoided unless they wished to
have a poisoned hand. Yet uninviting as the fish looked, the boys all
pronounced it good eating when, in the morning, they had it for
breakfast.
Night settled down about them as Jerry announced that supper was ready.
The illumination of the interior of the cabin was not all that they
could wish, and more than one complaint was heard as they sat around the
table, which when not in use could be dropped so that it lay along the
wall.
"I think I saw a big lamp somewhere about," Frank declared; "and
to-morrow I'll see what I can do with it. Yes, there's where it used to
hang, right over the table. If it can be made to work it ought to give
us plenty of light. Bring out the two lanterns we made sure to fetch
along, Bluff; with their help we might get on for one night."
Indeed, they were all so happy that it would take many shortcomings of
this type to disturb them to any great extent.
It had really been a whole year now since the Outdoor Chums had enjoyed
an outing together, because of being away at college. Old memories
thronged their minds as they sat there, enjoying that first meal, and
the talk was connected with many events of the past.
"I haven't had such a feed all the time I've been away from home,"
declared Bluff. "And, Jerry, honest now, I really begin to believe that
you _have_ improved in your cooking more'n a little."
Jerry fell into the trap in a way that made Frank smile behind his hand.
"A little!" he echoed, warmly; "why, I'm going to surprise the lot of
you pretty soon. You wait and see. I used to be a greenhorn, and do
things just in the old rough and ready camp way; but now I've studied
the scientific methods of a _chef_. And I've got a whole lot of messes
I'm going to ring on you fellows sooner or later."
"If they're as good as what you gave us to-night, you can't begin too
soon," remarked Bluff, keeping his face straight; though Frank saw him
send a sly wink in his direction once or twice.
All of the boys were tired, and anxious to try their bunks. These were
ranged along one side of the cabin wall, two and two, "Pullman style,"
as Bluff called it.
They had brought their own blankets along, because it was not known
whether the boat was supplied. Plenty were found aboard in a box; but
they smelled so strongly of camphor that the boys preferred to use their
own.
Frank was the last one to crawl in. He had taken a turn on deck to see
that all was well, and no peril hanging over them from a break in the
cable. This uneasiness of the first night afloat would soon wear away,
of course; when the boys might be able to take things as they came
without worrying about anything.
Frank felt very comfortable in his bunk, and soon snuggled down to
sleep. He lay there for half an hour or more, however, the situation was
so novel to him; but finally it must have passed away.
Some time later he awoke, and in the darkness was for the moment unable
to place himself. He could hear the other boys breathing hard, and also
the gurgle of the river as it swirled past the blunt end of the beamy
houseboat.
Then Frank received a sudden shock. Plainly he heard someone try the
door of the cabin from without, as though a prowler had dropped on the
deck of the _Pot Luck_, and was endeavoring to find an entrance; bent on
stealing some of the goods which the young voyagers had loaded up with,
when making their start on the long cruise down the Mississippi.