ON HEAVING WATERS
"Gee! Pirates! Whew!"
That was only Bumpus talking to himself; as he lay there on the deck,
and stared across the swelling water toward the black powerboat that was
heading the other way, so as to cross their course.
There were apparently several men in the strange boat; and as Giraffe
had just remarked, they seemed to be more or less interested in the
Chippeway Belle and her young crew, for every one of them was looking
that way, and one man really had a pair of marine glasses up to his
eyes.
Thad dived into the interior of what was called the "hunting cabin," and
quickly reappeared bearing the glasses they had been wise enough to
fetch along, as well as a compass whereby to steer.
"That's the ticket, Thad!" said Step Hen; "let 'em see they ain't the
only pebbles on the beach. We've got a marine glass, too. Now, tell us
what you think, are they really lake buccaneers; and will we have to put
up a desperate fight to keep from being robbed, and sunk, and perhaps
made slaves?"
Bumpus gasped for breath, at hearing such doleful things; but as, Step
Hen gave a quick glance toward the fat chum, possibly what he said was
only meant to cause the other's flesh to quiver with dread.
"Oh! they don't seem to be altering their course in the least," spoke up
Allan; "and as for them watching us, who wouldn't stare on seeing a
crowd of boys afloat up here on Superior waters?"
"I was thinking that our uniforms as scouts might make them sit up and
take notice," said Giraffe. "P'raps they think we're U. S. soldiers,
because the dough-boys all wear this same khaki now instead of the old
army blue. And in case they're real bold smugglers or pirates, that
would give them cause for a scare. Do they look like they're ready to
run away, Thad?"
"Well, not any more than would be the case if they were honest
cruisers," replied the other, as he handed the glasses to Allan, who in
turn would pass them around. "Seems to me one of them wears some kind
of a blue cap, as though he might be an officer of some sort."
"Oh! don't count on that," spoke up Bumpus, "anybody can buy one like
that. Ain't I got one right here in my duffel bag; but I hadn't found a
chance to spring it on the rest of the bunch. They, may be a tough lot,
even if one does wear an officer's cap."
"Well, they're going right along about their own business, and don't
seem to be changing their course a little bit," Allan said as he passed
the glasses to Giraffe.
"I'm glad to hear that," Bumpus admitted, breathing freely again.
"Because, as you all know, I'm very much opposed to violence at any
time; though," he continued, "I'd fight if I was hard pushed, and fight
real fierce, too."
"We all know that, Bumpus, so there's no need of you apologizing," Thad
assured him, with a smile and a nod, for he was very fond of the stout
chum.
"But when you said smugglers, what did you mean, Giraffe?" questioned
Step Hen.
"Oh! Don't you know that they have heaps of trouble with such
law-breakers all along the Canadian border?" demanded the tall boy. "You
see, there's a heavy duty on a lot of things that can come into Canada
free, or with only a small sum to pay; and whenever men can make money
taking chances, they're just bound to try it. Why, I understand that
millions of dollars are lost to the Government every year just in the
goods smuggled across the border all the way from Maine to the Pacific
ocean."
"Whew! and yonder craft might be one of the tricky boats engaged in that
business; is that what you mean, Giraffe?" asked Bumpus, again staring
hard after the strange black powerboat which was larger than the
Chippeway Belle, and apparently much better able to meet the heavy seas
that must sweep across the lake when the wind reached a certain
strength.
"Oh! I don't say that, remember," quickly replied the other; "because
it's only a guess on my part, and I haven't anything to show for proof.
I was just giving you the benefit of a bright thought that came into my
brain, that's all. There may be something in it, and again, p'raps them
fellows are just a pleasure party; or some sportsmen heading, for a
favorite fishing place."
"Then if we followed 'em, we'd stand a show to find where the fish lie,"
suggested Bumpus; showing that at least he had not forgotten about his
recent wager, even in the midst of all this excitement.
"Better mind your own business, I think," remarked Allan.
"Yes," added Giraffe, "if so be they turned out to be a bad lot, they'd
think we kept poking our noses in just to arrest them; and in that case
chances are we'd get our fingers burned."
"But what do you think they might be, Thad?" persisted Step Hen,
noticing that the pilot of the expedition had as yet not given any
opinion on the matter.
"Oh! any one of the explanations you fellows have put up might cover the
bill," Thad, went on to say. "The idea came into my mind that perhaps
now those men might be game-fish wardens."
"W-what!" gasped Bumpus; "d'ye mean to tell me they have such things on
a big lake like this? Why, I thought they were only needed ashore,
where ponds and rivers require looking after."
"That's where you make a big mistake," Thad informed him. "Right up
among the Great Lakes there are millions of dollars taken out in fish
every year; and if the Government didn't watch sharp plenty of
unscrupulous fishermen would use all kinds of illegal devices for
getting big hauls. They are limited to certain kinds of nets or seines;
and so the precious sturgeon, and the delicious white fish that are in
these lakes will be kept from being exterminated."
"Thank you for telling us that, Thad; it's all news to me," said Step
Hen. "But what about the trout; I've heard there are awful big speckled
trout in Superior?"
"So there are, as high as eight pounds; and the Government hatchery at
the Soo has hundreds that large in their ponds, for breeding purposes,
I've read," Thad continued, for the topic was a favorite one with him,
and he was a very accommodating boy at that; "that in Michigan, for
instance, the law doesn't allow trout to be offered for sale or shipped;
so while they catch some whoppers in the acts they use for white fish,
they have to put most of them back."
"And then you think that p'raps those men are wardens, looking for
poachers that are breaking the law some way or other?" Giraffe asked.
"I only said that might be who they are," Thad insisted. "You notice
they have a high-powered boat that could make circles all around, ours,
if they wanted to let her engine out. And it's painted black, perhaps
so they can sneak up on a dark night without being seen. But as they're
two miles away from us by now, suppose we cut out talking any more about
them."
From the way Thad turned his eyes upward, and looked at the gathering
clouds it was evident that he felt he had better pay attention to other
matters which threatened to cause them more or less annoyance before
long.
The wind was certainly freshening very fast. And of necessity the waves
began to take on a size that made poor Bumpus stare, and look serious,
as he contemplated the possibility of a wreck.
"Sure you are heading right to make that cove?" Giraffe asked the
skipper who had the wheel in his charge.
The engine was plodding away steadily, though some of the boys were
worried at the quick whirr that followed the passing of each big wave,
when, perhaps the propeller would be partly exposed, and the resistance
so much less that it spun around, much faster than usual.
"Yes, no doubt about it at all, and if everything goes along right we
stand to make our harbor before dark comes along," the other answered.
"Oh! I wish we were there already," groaned Bumpus; and when Thad looked
at the fat scout he noticed how white he was.
But then that was nothing singular, for it was certainly getting pretty
rough out there on that great expanse of water, and some of the scouts
were sure to display signs of seasickness sooner or later, he knew.
Perhaps poor Bumpus was fated to be the first victim.
"Well," remarked Giraffe, trying hard to appear indifferent, though he
could not wholly hide his concern every time a wave larger than ordinary
would slap against the side of the boat, and sweep along toward the
stern, causing a quiver to run all through the little craft that seemed
just like a chip on that inland sea; "I reckon now, it would be pretty
tough if we missed connections somehow, and had to keep marking time all
night long out on this old bathtub."
"Oh! Murder! I hope we don't!" muttered Bumpus, shivering.
"Stop that kind of talk, Giraffe," ordered Thad, who would rather look
on the bright side of things; "don't you see you're only bothering
Bumpus?"
"There's no need of feeling that we're going to have trouble; because
the engine is working as fine as silk right now, and I feel sure I can
see where that same jolly little cove lies, away ahead there."
"You mean where that small point juts out, don't you, Thad?" asked
Allan, who hovered constantly near his best churn, ready to take a hand
at a second's notice, should there ever arise an occasion calling for
assistance.
"Yes, that shows on the Government chart I've marked, and the cove lies
just in the shelter of it. I think a little river makes into the lake
there, and if so we might pick up some fish before starting out again."
He spoke this loud enough for Bumpus to hear; but apparently that sad
individual had lost all interest in the wager he had so recently made
with Giraffe, for he did not take any notice of what Thad said, only
continued to look far away, and press his hand up and down in the pit of
his stomach; and when a boy begins to realize that he has such an organ
at all, he must be in a pretty bad way.
Still the wind kept on increasing until it was blowing a small gale.
Even the confident Thad felt a little nervous as he wondered what would
happen should their engine suddenly give a groan and cease to labor.
The situation must be anything but pleasant, left at the mercy of the
coming storm, out there a couple of miles from the southern shore, and
further than that away from the lovely little cove where they had hoped
to pass the night in peace and safety.
The next half hour was apt to settle that matter, one way or the other;
and of course Thad found no reason to despair, as yet, for the motor
kept buzzing away cheerily, and the boat pushed through the rising and
falling, billows quite sturdily, as the pilot kept her pointed toward
that headland far beyond.