Crash!
Only for a sudden change of heart on the part of Oswald Fredericks the
coming together of the two boats would have been of a much more serious
character. At the last moment, almost, he had apparently changed his
mind, and tried to whirl the wheel rapidly in one direction. Frank,
seeing that the other was now endeavoring to avoid a collision, tried to
assist by every means in his power.
And the others, springing to his help, caused the sweep to plough the
water at the stern in such a manner that the _Pot Luck_ must have
altered her course considerably.
The other boat came with a slanting blow. As the young fellow who ran
the engine had had the good sense to shut off power previous to their
coming together, there was no great amount of damage done. One window
aboard the _Pot Luck_ and several on the _Lounger_ went to pieces, the
jingle of broken glass adding to the confusion.
"Whoop!" yelled Jerry, as he came near falling overboard, when the boat
staggered from the force of the slanting blow.
"Are we sinking?" cried Will, who was flat on his back, his legs
threshing the air in a helpless fashion.
Frank hung to the sweep; while Bluff, having his gun to look after, and
anticipating something of a knock, had settled upon the deck beforehand,
like a wise boy, so that he saved himself a nasty tumble.
"Why didn't you get out of the way?" called Oswald, from the pilothouse
of the other boat, now floating alongside. "Didn't you see the machinery
had jammed, and we couldn't control her?"
Frank knew that this was entirely false, for he had seen them head in
from a point further out on the river, as if deliberately meaning to
strike the _Pot Luck_.
He hurried over to the corner that had been struck, and took as good an
observation as was possible, just then. No particular damage seemed to
have been done, the heavy and sound timbers of the smaller boat serving
to save her. Outside of that one broken window, which could be easily
repaired, and perhaps a couple of dishes knocked to the floor inside the
cabin, there were no bad results following this mean trick of the enemy.
Frank did not even take the trouble to make a reply; but Bluff could not
keep still under such aggravating circumstances.
"That was a mean trick, Ossie Fredericks!" he called out, shaking his
fist toward the boy he addressed, and who was leaning from the
pilothouse of the _Lounger_, holding a handkerchief to his nose, as
though he might have struck it violently against some object when the
shock came. "You did that on purpose; needn't try to say you didn't! I
wish your boat had a big hole punched in her bow; because it'd just
serve you right. Now keep away, or I'll be so mad there's no telling
what'll happen."
"Oh! just hold your horses, Masters!" called the other; "don't you see
we're doing our best to draw away from you? Hi! start up the engine
again, Terry Crogan. These fellows are beginning to threaten me with
guns!"
Presently the sound of the gas engine belonging to the _Lounger_,
starting to send out sharp, explosive sounds, told that the big youth
who had been hired in St. Paul to run the machinery and do the hard work
of the cruise was attending to business. Then the power-boat started
away, and headed out toward the middle of the river once more.
A row of faces over the rail told that Oswald's other chums, Duke
Fletcher, Raymond Ellis, and the third fellow from St. Paul, whom Bluff
and Frank had met at the time the trap was set for them in the cabin of
the boat, were watching to see whether the _Pot Luck_ showed any signs
of foundering.
But although, no doubt, they hoped for the worst, nothing of the kind
was likely to occur, since small damage had been done. Jerry sounded the
well, and reported little bilge water in the hold. A trap on the forward
deck allowed of anyone going below, where, in case of necessity, certain
articles might be stowed; and Bluff took it upon himself to drop into
the hold, carrying Frank's electric torch. He found no evidence of
damage, so that even Will felt reassured on that score.
Of course the four chums were highly indignant concerning the boldness
and recklessness of their rivals in seeking to do them such an injury,
at the risk of sharing the destruction.
"If they had struck us, with their engine going full tilt!" declared
Jerry; "and before Ossie began to get cold feet, and edge away, why, ten
to one, both boats by this time would be either sunk, or leaking like
sieves, and bound to go under."
"Then we'd have had to throw a few things, like our guns, into the
dinghy, and jump overboard ourselves," remarked Bluff.
"Yes," agreed Will, "that's the way at a fire, they say; throw the
pictures out of the window, and carry a mattress carefully downstairs."
"Well, we wouldn't want the guns to get soaked, or lost; would we?"
demanded the proud owner of the new-fangled six-shot firearm; "wouldn't
matter so much with us, because we could swim; and if we saved our
clothes we'd have a dry outfit to put on later. But I wonder what next
that Ossie Fredericks will try? Isn't he the limit, though, Frank?"
"Well, I don't exactly know," replied the other. "I've tried to study
that fellow for a whole year. Sometimes I think he's got a halfway
streak of decency in him, and that it's only because he keeps such bad
company that he chokes it right along."
"Huh! mighty funny way of showing decency," grunted Jerry; "to try and
smash our boat, when we didn't bother them any. But I know that Ellis
lad is a bad egg, and wouldn't be surprised if Fletcher's just as tough
a nut. They know Ossie's got a fistful of money, always, and they just
hang around, telling him what a great boy he is, and how mean Frank
Langdon talks about him. Oh! rats! Don't I know that crowd, though?"
Will was once more in the sulks, lamenting the fact that he hadn't
thought to run into the cabin, and bring out his rapid-action camera, so
that he might have taken a snapshot of the power-boat heading straight
for the _Pot Luck_.
"It would have been all the evidence we needed in court, if ever we sued
to collect damages," he declared, sadly; "and to think how I so seldom
see these chances till it's all over but the shouting."
The other boat was rapidly leaving them, and every one of the four chums
hoped they might never see the _Lounger_ again--during that cruise, at
least. It seemed that they must meet with some sort of trouble every
time the two boats came close together, all through the bad tempers and
ugly dispositions of those on board the _Lounger_.
An hour later, and they could barely make her out miles away; and only
with the aid of the glasses could they recognize the craft. So they
determined to put Ossie Fredericks and his cronies out of their minds,
for the time being at least. There were other things much more pleasant
demanding their constant attention on every hand; boats that passed, or
which they overtook, moored to the bank; change of scenery that gave
them more or less pleasure, and with Bluff and Jerry consulting as to
what the evening meal should consist of.
"I move we camp ashore to-night, if there seems to be a decent chance,"
proposed Bluff, as they began to look for a good spot to tie up to, with
the sun hanging low in a bed of yellow clouds that Frank did not fancy
any too much.
"We might have a camp fire, and do our cooking there," he said in reply;
"but if you cast your eyes over yonder, you'll see why we ought to sleep
aboard to-night."
"It does look as if we'd get something before morning," Jerry admitted.
"Think my foot don't know?" remarked Will, with a grin and a nod.
When they had found a good place to fasten the cable to a tree alongside
the bank, this programme was carried out. Frank soon learned they were
close to what appeared to be a road that followed the river; but it
seemed to be rather what Will called a "sequestered" spot, so he thought
they could take chances.
He showed his chums once more how a good cooking fire was built, and,
after supper was done, Bluff was allowed to build a large camp fire,
around which they meant to sit for several hours, until their eyes
warned them that it was time to go aboard and crawl into the bunks.
"Seeing that fire we made for Luther Snow just put me in the notion of
having one for ourselves," Bluff remarked, as he toasted his shins there
beside the blaze he had created, with the aid of several logs, found
near the spot.
"Wonder what's become of the old fellow; and if we'll ever see him
again?" Will said, in a meditative manner.
Frank did not choose to tell anything he thought, but listened with an
amused smile as his comrades discussed the chances the man had of making
his intended destination before his only daughter sailed for the other
side of the world.
The hour began to grow late, and once or twice Will started to yawn.
Frank was just about to propose that they go aboard, after putting out
the camp fire, as he had learned to always do on breaking camp, when
Jerry called his attention to a strange ruddy hue in the sky.
"Can that be the storm coming?" asked Will, as they all gazed.
"If it is, she's going to be a scorcher!" remarked Jerry.
"You forget that the storm is over to the southwest, boys, and this red
light lies in the east, or southeast rather. I think it must be a house
afire," Frank at that moment remarked.
The idea of a poor family being burned out appealed to the boys
strongly; and when Bluff boldly proposed that they lock the door of the
cabin securely, and see if they could arrive on the scene in time to be
of any assistance, somehow even timid Will and conservative Frank fell
in with the idea at once.
The result of the vote being unanimous in favor of going, they hastened
to shut the windows, and fasten the padlock on the door. Bluff insisted
on carrying his precious gun, though admitting that it must look odd to
see a boy hurrying to help a family that was being burned out, and
carrying a shotgun along.
"But you never can tell what will happen," said Bluff, stoutly; and so
Frank, remembering that other occasion only too well when the presence
of that same gun had prevented a fierce hammering from Fredericks and
his crowd, wisely held his peace.