BOTTLED UP
Captain Ichabod Jones stepped briskly into Squire Chadwick's
courtroom--which was otherwise the parlor in his modest home. Van Dusen,
that very shrewd detective, observed that the old man trod with a
jauntier step than heretofore, and that his expression was one of smug
complacency. He wondered a little as to just what might have occurred to
make this change so swiftly. He could not guess that a romance of twenty
years was concerned, but his observant eyes told him that in some
mysterious fashion this aged native had found a new happiness in life
within the hour.
That happiness indeed was a thing assured in the opinion of Captain
Ichabod. The smile that Van Dusen found so hard to interpret was the
outward expression of great things within the old man's soul. He had
loved his loneliness. Now, he was rejoicing that no more would his life
be lonely! The gulls and fish-hawks and sand-crabs could take possession
of the old shack that had sheltered him for years. He cared nothing for
that. Shortly, he would be known as Ichabod Jones, proprietor of a
fashionable tourist hotel. He chuckled, and his lips moved into the
travesty of a kiss.
"I'm a-sayin' good-bye to that-thar hermit o' Captain Icky's Island,
what lived thar fer twenty year. He hain't a-goin' to live thar no
more."
The warrant was speedily signed and duly sworn to, after which Van Dusen
and Captain Jones hurried to board the yacht. The two chartered motor
boats arrived. Since _The Hialdo_ had the legs of the others, it took
both in tow to bring them to the point whereat the search was to start.
On reaching the Island, the red skiff also was taken in tow at Ichabod's
suggestion, since its draft would permit it to penetrate shallows
impenetrable to the other craft.
At a point midway between Harker's Island and Smyrna, Uncle Ichabod
directed that one of the chartered boats should be sent over and along
the shores of the Island, then to proceed up the Banks shore, but not so
far as to prevent the deputy from covering the southerly section of Core
Sound with his field-glasses in order to detect any attempt to retrace
the route by the Doctor in the tender. This launch having been
dispatched, _The Hialdo_ resumed her course, with the other boats still
in tow.
The next objective in the cruise was Atlantic--a long way up the Sound.
Thence, it was the intention to send the other chartered boat back along
the westerly shore, with instructions to go into every inlet and cove
and bay, no matter how small, provided they could navigate it, there to
make diligent inquiry of every person seen on the shores.
Van Dusen had already prepared reward notices, offering five thousand
dollars for the safe return of Ethel Marion, and one thousand dollars
for the capture of her abductor. These posters were given to the
deputies with instructions that they should be posted in every fishing
hamlet. It was the belief of the detective that the effect of these
would be to send out a swarm of fishing boats to search every nook and
cranny of the territory.
Before turning in from the main channel to the pier at Atlantic, Van
Dusen had the second patrol boat turned loose under the charge of his
deputy. He gave instructions that four blasts of the yacht's siren
should be understood as a signal for the smaller craft to return to _The
Hialdo_.
It was learned beyond doubt at Atlantic that the Doctor and Ethel had
been there. There were a score of witnesses to the fact. The entire
hamlet was loud in its praises of this stranger, who, by his skill, had
saved a life without thought of fee. Captain Ichabod's anxious inquiries
elicited the information that there was indeed a Dominick rooster aboard
the tender, perched on the forward deck. One boy, of a fine imaginative
mind, declared that the bird was tethered by a string tied to one of his
legs. That false information stirred the wrath of Uncle Icky, so that he
was moved to mutter:
"Yep, I reckin they're a-savin' 'im fer broth--consarn 'em!"
At the principal store in the town, soon after the arrival of the yacht,
there was a scene of unusual excitement. Conspicuously posted was the
notice typewritten by Van Dusen of the reward for Doctor Garnet's
capture. But here sentiment was overwhelmingly strong in the physician's
favor. A local orator made an impassioned speech to defend this
wonderful physician, who had shown such ability in saving of life
without charge. He insisted that the townsfolk should throw out the
"furriners" who desired the arrest of such a man.
Van Dusen was in a desperate hurry, but when he sensed the feeling of
the crowd, he was at pains to tell them, very simply, the facts. He
declared that, in all probability, the physician who had been guilty of
the kidnapping was a crazy man.
After touching at Atlantic, it was decided to sail the yacht to the
northward, along the mainland shore, with the little red skiff still in
tow. There was more depth of water on this side and, in consequence, a
larger number of inhabited points, from which news might be gathered. At
the end, there was a lighthouse, where the keeper would have seen every
boat that passed.
The yacht stopped at the Squire Goodwin landing. There they learned of
the recent presence of the physician and his patient. Thence, they went
on to the lighthouse, where they were reassured by the keeper's firm
assertion that the tender had not passed. It seemed to Van Dusen now
that the little boat must be bottled up, so that its discovery and
capture could be only a matter of a few hours. But there still remained
one tract to be explored.
For the voyaging over these shallows, the red skiff was needed. The
three men entered it, cast off from the yacht, hoisted sail, and set
forward toward the desolate land of the sand dunes, the wild ponies, the
goats and the beach-combers.... And it was Captain Ichabod who sat in
the stern, handling proudly both sheets and tiller.