"Frank, you're right!" exclaimed the delighted Will.
"It's the _Pot Luck_, as sure as you're born!" cried Bluff.
"But she'll just sail past us, fellows, and give us the merry ha! ha!
How are we going to coax her to come in here?" Jerry asked, anxiously.
Frank was already pulling off his shoes, and making ready as if to take
a swim.
"Leave that to me, boys," he said, hastily, but with something in his
voice that told his chums he would not be denied. "I'll get aboard
without much trouble. Here, take my clothes, and follow along the road
in the wagon. Once on deck I'll open the cabin with the key I'll hold
between my teeth when in the water. Then you can see the lantern I'll
light."
"Will you throw the anchor over, Frank?" asked Bluff, wishing it had
fallen to him to do this little affair; for Bluff was always willing to
undertake any sort of hazardous task, either for fun or to accommodate a
chum.
"I hope to work the big sweep first, and see if I can get her in to the
shore alone," came the reply, as Frank made ready to plunge into the
rushing river at the proper moment.
"And if you can't manage it, you'll heave the anchor over, and come for
us in the little skiff?" asked Will.
"Sure I will, after I get some dry clothes on; because by that time I'll
be feeling pretty cold. Here goes, fellows!" and Frank stepped into the
dark waters of the Mississippi as unconcernedly as though he might be
just meaning to enjoy a bath.
"Good luck!" shouted out Bluff; while the others added their blessing in
various ways, each according to his own mind.
The floating houseboat was now nearby, and coming on at a fair speed,
though, of course, the current was not nearly so swift close to the
shore as further out toward the middle of the stream.
Eagerly the three chums and Seth watched to see if they could tell when
the bold swimmer reached the drifting craft. They could not exactly make
him out; but in the starlight there was some sort of disturbance on the
water, which they believed must mark his progress.
Then the runaway houseboat passed them, about sixty or eighty feet away;
and Will's heart seemed almost in his throat with suspense as he
strained his eyes to catch the welcome sight of Frank clambering aboard
once more, to assume command.
"Hoop-la! there he goes!" suddenly shouted Bluff, whose vision proved
the keenest after all.
Plainly now they all saw something white climbing up the side of the
houseboat, and rolling over on the deck. Immediately afterward the big
sweep was seen to begin to swing, and move through the water.
"Frank's doing it!" cried the delighted Will, who had almost perfect
confidence in the ability of Frank Langdon to accomplish any task that
human ingenuity could perform.
"Into the wagon again, boys, and let's follow him!" called Jerry,
turning to make a rush toward the nearby road; and the others were at
his heels, stumbling along "any old way," as Bluff said, in order to
reach the waiting horses as soon as possible.
Here and there the road came so close to the bank that they could look
out; and with so many eager eyes on the alert it was not long before the
floating houseboat was discovered again.
"She's some closer, boys, as sure as anything; isn't that so,
Bluff--Jerry?" demanded Will.
"Frank's doing it, all right," answered the latter; "but it must be an
awful job, handling that big sweep all by himself. And I wouldn't be a
bit surprised if he gave it up soon."
"Yes," added Bluff, "it'd be a heap sight easier just to kick the anchor
overboard and come to bring us off in the skiff, one at a time."
"Say, you guessed it the fust shot, mister," said the farmer just then;
and all of them heard a big splash out on the river.
"She's stopped, fellows!" shrieked Will. "Isn't Frank the dandy one
though for getting there. Now, give him a little time to hunt up some
more clothes, and he'll be after us."
Will was as delighted over the changed aspect of things as a little boy
with his first pair of long trousers, Bluff told him. But, indeed, all
of them were pleased, even more than they would admit, because of the
improved prospect before them.
The minutes dragged along. They finally saw a movement aboard the
houseboat, and then the skiff, which had been hauled out on deck and
secured for the night before they took that wild run in the direction of
the fire, was dropped overboard.
"That's good!" said Will, when they understood this fact; "because, you
see, I was just a little bothered about that skiff. If it had been blown
overboard and lost in the storm, what would we do then, boys?"
"Just what Frank did," sang out Jerry, gaily; "swim for the boat; only
in our case we'd have to make bundles of our clothes, and fasten 'em to
the top of our heads to keep 'em dry. But here he comes, rowing after
us."
Frank soon landed, and his chums insisted in shaking hands with him as
though he had been off on a perilous duty, instead of taking a little
dip, Frank declared.
"Will, you go first," said Jerry, generously.
"The boat will hold two, besides the rower, so you come along, too,
Jerry; I'll be back for Bluff; and if Seth will tie his horses and come
aboard, we'll be glad to have him," Frank called out.
"Jest what Seth's goin' to do, fellers," remarked the young farmer; who
had taken quite an interest in these wide-awake boys from the North, and
was very glad of any chance to see how they lived aboard the houseboat,
which took his fancy very much.
So the ferry did double duty, and the entire party finally reached the
deck of the anchored _Pot Luck_. Jerry and Will had managed to light the
big lamp and the second lantern while Frank was absent on his second
trip, so that the interior of the cabin looked particularly cheery to
the boys, after their recent experience.
Jerry was also now busily engaged in starting a fire in the little rusty
stove; for as they had managed to get somewhat wet during the storm, it
would do them no harm to experience the genial heat that soon began to
emanate from the stove.
The countryman was soon asking scores of questions, which the boys
answered to the best of their ability. He wanted to know everything, and
was seen many times to shake his head, and sigh heavily; as though he
would have given much for the privilege of an outing after this style.
As the boys felt that they were deeply indebted to Seth, they insisted
on his accepting the five dollars promised by Frank, though he seemed
ashamed to take pay for what little he had done, and protested that it
had given him the greatest pleasure he had known for a long time.
"Buy something for the old lady, then," said Frank, as he pushed the
bill into Seth's vest pocket.
"Or some young lady, if there happens to be one, Seth!" said Jerry,
giving the countryman a friendly poke in the ribs.
"Well, if you just make me take it, boys, I reckon I must," Seth
remarked, seeing that they would not take no for an answer; "and I'm
a-goin' to write you arter you get back home, to tell you jest what I
_did_ buy with that five dollars, and what she thort of it. 'Cause, you
see, I must hear haow you fetched up, away daown in Orleans; and what
happened to you on the way."
"And we'll make sure that you do, Seth," Frank assured him; for he had
taken quite a fancy to the strapping young farmer, who seemed an honest
fellow, and a hard worker as well. "I've got your post office address on
the rural free delivery route, and you'll hear from me more than once
while we drift down South. But here's Jerry gone and made a nice pot of
hot coffee; stop long enough to have a cup with us; won't you, Seth?"
"Doan't keer if I do," replied the other, briskly, once more seating
himself. "She smells right fine, I tell you, fellers. I'll never forgit
this naow. Allers did hev a sneakin' ijee I'd like to take a trip on a
shantyboat daown to Orleans, an' I jest envies you the chanct."
"Well, suppose you fix it up, and take your honeymoon trip that way,
Seth," proposed Jerry, mischievously; but to the surprise of them all
Seth slapped a big hand on his knee and exploded with a delighted cry.
"Say, that's the very ijee; funny I never did think o' it myself," he
declared. "I'll talk it over with Mirandy to-morry night, sure. In the
fall we hev potatoes to sell, and I kin load up a boat, and kerry 'em
daown South to sell. That's a bully ijee, Jerry. I'll do it, sure as
shootin'!"
They were all sorry to see Seth go over the side, Jerry volunteering to
ferry the young farmer ashore. Short as their acquaintance with him had
been, the honest fellow had seemed to take a great fancy to all the
voyagers; and they knew they would always remember him with pleasure.
And so, after all, no real damage had resulted from the exciting events
of that night. The run to the fire; the terrible storm that overtook
them on their return; the discovery of the absence of the houseboat; and
the wild chase, ending in Frank's swimming out, and boarding the
drifting craft--all these things would form the subject for many a camp
fire talk in the future.
But the chances were that none of the boys would remember that one crash
of lightning that seemed to dazzle their eyes, and the awful crash of
thunder actually accompanying it, without feeling thankful deep down in
their hearts that Frank had been wise enough to forbid the halt under
the seemingly friendly branches of the big tree; because Seth afterwards
wrote them that it had indeed been shattered to pieces by the electric
bolt, and some of the splintered parts scattered over a distance of
sixty feet.
So a period of peace followed the tumult of fire and gale; and if the
tired boys woke up at all during the balance of that eventful night, it
was only to feel that all was well; for the gurgle of the river against
the end of the staunch houseboat and the sigh of the night wind were the
only sounds that came to their ears.