THE QUEER WAYS OF BUMPUS
"There ain't a thing moving up there, Davy; and I reckon, now, you're
only just afooling us," complained Step Hen, after they had stared as
hard as anything at the crown of the rocks, which was sharply outlined
against the dark heavens.
As the others had met with like poor success in trying to locate the
object the scout in question claimed to have seen, they naturally turned
on Davy, to demand further explanations.
It could easily be seen, however, from his excited condition, that the
boy actually believed what he said.
When Giraffe and Bumpus, and even Allan, urged him to repeat his
assertion, he not only did so, but added still more to what he had said
before.
"Guess I ought to know what a man's head looks like, hadn't I?" Davy
went on to remark, indignantly; "cause I've seen a few in my day. It
was there as plain as--as, well, the nose on my face, and you'll say
that's right smart in evidence, I know you will, Giraffe. Looky up
yonder--see the little peak that seems to stick up above all the rest of
the old rock pile? Well, it was alongside that it showed up; and right
while I was asaying it, the thing disappeared like smoke. But you
believe me, I saw something, and it was a man's head too, no matter if
there was a bear or a panther at the other end of the same."
Strange to say no one chuckled at these queer remarks of Davy. They saw
that he was in deadly earnest; and the possibility of a strange man
spying on them seemed too serious a matter to arouse a laugh.
"Well," said Step Hen, presently, when they had strained their eyes to
the utmost without any result whatever, "seems like he saw you at the
same time, and lit out in a big hurry."
Giraffe began to recover from the first shock caused by the alarm; and
when he was feeling himself the tall scout could nearly always think of
something quaint to say.
"That reminds me of the old baby book rhyme we all used to say; p'raps
you'll remember, fellows. It's been a long time since I repeated it,
but I think it runs about like this: 'I Saw Esau kissing Kate; and the
fact is, we all three saw. I saw Esau, he saw me; and Kate saw I saw
Esau.' How's that?"
No one answered, and for a pretty good reason; for hardly had Giraffe
uttered his question when, without the slightest warning, a dazzling ray
of white light suddenly fell upon the group of scouts crouching there on
the after-deck of the little hunting cabin cruiser, causing every one to
gasp, and fall to quivering almost as much as though a flash of
lightning had darted toward them.
"Oh!" cried some one; and while the tones of the voice could hardly be
distinguished on account of the vibration caused by the speaker's alarm,
no one had the least doubt but that it was Bumpus who thus betrayed his
agitated feelings.
Thad and Allan, and perhaps several of the other scouts, knew instantly
that the strong glow was caused by one of those handy little electric
torches, for they happened to have just such an alliance along with
them, and had made great use of it on numberless occasions.
This told them that after all Davy had spoken truly when he declared so
vehemently that he had seen a man's head up there on the rocks.
Nobody moved, only crouched there, staring at that dazzling light, and
mentally figuring what was going to happen next.
Doubtless all sorts of alarming theories flitted through their minds,
for after their recent talk about smugglers and those sorts of
law-breakers the boys were in a good state to imagine things.
They were given very little time, however, to collect their wits; for a
gruff voice (strange how voices are always gruff under similar condition
but this one was very hoarse without any question) called out:
"Ahoy there, aboard the launch!"
Had it depended on Bumpus, and perhaps Step Hen also, the reply must
have been a long time coming, for they hardly dared trust their voices;
but then Thad was able to hold his own, and he immediately called back:
"Hello! yourself; what d'ye want?"
"Bring that boat ashore, and be quick about it!" the deep grumble
proceeded to tell them; and somehow poor Bumpus was forcibly reminded of
the growl of a lion he had once heard in a menagerie, as well as several
other things along the same "away down in the cellar" line.
"I suppose we might as well do it, fellows?" Thad remarked to his chums,
in somewhat of a low tone; as though he meant to be influenced more or
less by what decision the other scouts reached.
"Oh! can't we skip out before they get their hands on us, Thad?" Bumpus
wanted to know. "We're full twenty feet and more away from the shore,
and it'd take a champion sprinter and jumper to cover that distance."
"Yes, but how about running out into that storm again, eh, Bumpus? Feel
like going through another experience like that?" demanded Giraffe.
"Not any for me, thank you. Thad, I say, do what he tells us. He can't
eat us, I reckon; and we ain't got any reason to be afraid because of
anything we've done."
"Same here, Thad," remarked Davy, quickly: he had been feeling very much
like backing up Bumpus in his request, but what Giraffe said caused him
to "take water" instantly, and Davy was as quick to make a revolution in
his mind as his body could revolve in several handsprings over the
ground, when he was feeling good.
"Allan, how about you?" asked Thad, feeling that much depended on what
the one addressed thought.
"No help for it, Thad; we've got to throw up our hands that far, anyway;
because, like as not they've got us covered right now with their guns,
and while they can see us fairly well, everything all dark to us up
there."
"Oh! my stars!" Bumpus was heard to whisper to himself, in a horrified
tone, as he learned about those terrible firearms that must be held with
their muzzles projecting in the direction of the floating home of the
scouts; but all the same Bumpus, "though good and scared," as he
afterwards candidly confessed, did not attempt to lie down, and shield
his round body behind any of his comrades; if they could take the
consequences surely he ought to be ready to face the music; and so he
only knelt there and quivered and looked, momentarily to see a flash,
and hear a deafening report that would stagger them all.
"Well are you going to do what I told you?" the heavy bass voice
demanded, more or less, impatiently.
"Don't be so foolish as to think, you can slip away," a second unseen
man told them, "because we've got you covered, and if you start up that
engine we'll give you a volley that'll make you wish you hadn't. Come
ashore with that boat, you hear? We know you, Cranston! The game is
up!"
Thad breathed easier, somehow. What had been said seemed to tell him it
might after all only be a case of mistaken identity; and that if they
obeyed the rough summons they would in all probability not be apt to
suffer on account of yielding.
"Get a push pole, somebody, and help me shove ashore!" Thad remarked;
and then raising his voice so that the unseen enemies might hear, he
continued: "you needn't bother wasting any of your ammunition on us,
mister, because, we're willing to do what you, ask, and come to land.
So hold up, and give us a chance, for we've got to raise our anchor
first; and the water's some deep here to use the poles in."
He heard a low laugh near by, but there was no further comment from
those who had the situation well in hand. Every scout understood,
however, that a number of heavily armed men must be scrutinizing their
actions from the roll; for that strong white glow was kept closely
focused on the boat all the time they proceeded to drag in the anchor,
and start working the push poles, with which the little hunting cabin
launch was well provided.
The water in the harbor they had found was of considerable depth, but
fortunately the poles were long as well as stout, and presently the boat
began to move slowly in response to the energetic efforts which Thad and
Giraffe put forth.
Bumpus had assisted to pull in the anchor, and was now squatted like a
big frog near the bow. He knew full well that his position was very
much exposed, and that in case the unseen enemy chose to actually open
fire upon the boat, he would likely be the first to suffer; but in spite
of this Bumpus refused to budge. He had gotten over his first qualms of
fear, and feeling ashamed of allowing himself to give way to such a
sensation, and he a scout in the bargain, the boy was now going to the
other extreme, and growing actually reckless.
It made him think of the time some of his mates had declared they had
seen a real boni-fide ghost in the town graveyard, and dared Bumpus to
lead the way in there, late at night, when they were passing. He had
felt his teeth rattle together, just as they had been doing now; but
summoning all his courage to the fore he had grimly said: "who's
afraid?" and trembling like a leaf shaken in the wind, he had stalked
into the cemetery, much to the admiration of his chums, who had expected
the fat boy to back down abjectly.
The boat approached the shore slowly.
Thad could not exactly see the forms of those who were waiting for them
to come in, but since the focus of light changed from spot to spot he
concluded that they were also drawing closer to the shore line, so as to
be ready to receive those whom they already counted on as their
prisoners.
And, Thad waited, in momentary expectation of hearing some sort of
explosion, when the parties realized their mistake. In fact, he was so
sure of this that he would not make the slightest effort to draw that
shotgun closer to him, though that might have seemed good policy.
Finally the nose of the cruiser came smack up against the rocks with
quite a little bump; and Giraffe, having failed to fend off in time, was
almost toppled over, but he managed to clutch hold of Bumpus to steady
himself, and that was like seizing upon the Rock of Gibraltar, because
it would take a derrick to move the stout scout, once he settled down.
So, when for the second time the boat came in contact with the shore,
Giraffe was able to give a little leap, painter in hand, and reach land.
Just as he did so, that deep bus voice sprang up again; and this time,
as Thad had expected, it told of considerable chagrin and
disappointment.
"Well, what's this? Only a bunch of kids, after all, instead of
Cranston and his gang of smugglers. The joke's on us, men; it is to
laugh!"