A SQUALL ON THE LAKE
"It's too bad we don't happen to have a motor boat up here," remarked
Jack, as he and Fred bent to the oars of their rowboat.
"You mustn't work too hard," came from Ruth.
"I wasn't thinking of that," answered the oldest Rover boy quickly. "I
was only thinking if we had a motor boat we could go farther."
"They are going to have a motor boat or two at Colby Hall next
Spring--I heard Colonel Colby speaking about it," put in Fred.
"That will be very fine," remarked May. "I suppose you'll give us a
ride once in a while?" she added, her eyes twinkling.
"Sure!" responded the youngest Rover, quickly.
"Hi--over there!" came from Andy, as he and his twin bent to the oars.
"Want to race?"
"Of course--if you'd like to!" responded Jack.
"Oh, a race!" exclaimed Alice Strobell. "Won't that be fine!"
"There won't be any danger, will there?" questioned Annie Larkins,
anxiously.
"No danger whatever, so long as we keep far enough apart," answered
Randy. "And we'll do that, because we expect to leave them far behind."
"Not much you won't leave us behind!" retorted Fred. And then he added:
"Are you ready?"
"Wait a minute until we have the young ladies seated just right,"
answered Andy. And then, turning to the two girls in the boat with him,
he continued gaily: "Now sit right in the center of the boat, please;
and be sure to have your hair parted exactly in the middle;" and at
this both girls shrieked with laughter.
With their passengers seated to their satisfaction, the four Rovers
prepared for the race.
"Where are we going to race to?" questioned Jack.
"I don't know," answered Randy. "Can any of you tell me?" he went on,
appealing to the pupils from Clearwater Hall.
"You might race to the near end of Foxtail Island," suggested Ruth, and
pointed to an island some distance down the lake.
"That suits!" cried Jack.
"The first one to reach the dock at the end of the island wins the
race," announced May.
"And what's the prize?" questioned Fred.
"Oh, the prize will be the pleasure of rowing back," answered May, and
at this little joke there was a general laugh.
"Now please don't tip us overboard," pleaded Alice.
"Nary a tip," answered Randy.
"We're not looking for tips," broke in Andy, quickly. "We are going to
do this free, gratis, for nothing," and at this pun there was another
laugh. Then Jack gave the signal, and away the two rowboats started on
the race.
Of course, it was only a friendly affair, and none of the boys rowed as
hard as he would have done in a regular contest. Nevertheless, each
craft made good progress over the sparkling waters of the lake.
"Oh, my! you certainly can row," remarked Ruth to Jack and Fred, as
their craft drew ahead.
"Oh, we're not warmed up yet," was Jack's reply.
"We could do much better if we were in regular rowing togs," explained
Fred.
"Hi you! What do you mean by going ahead?" piped out Randy. "Come on,
Andy, or they'll beat us."
"Maybe they can beat a drum, but they can't beat us," cried Andy.
And then he and his twin increased their strokes so that presently
their boat was once more beside the other.
The girls were as much interested as the boys in the impromptu race,
and they soon began to shout words of encouragement.
"Pull! pull! we're going to win!" cried May.
"Not a bit of it! Our boat will get there first!" sang out Alice.
"You can't beat us!" came from Annie.
"He crows best who crows last," cried Ruth.
"Right you are!" came pantingly from Jack; and then, as he saw the look
of encouragement in Ruth's face, he redoubled his efforts. Fred did the
same, and when they came into plain view of the tiny dock at the end of
Foxtail Island their boat was two full lengths ahead of the other.
"Hi you! What kind of a race is this, anyhow?" shouted out Andy, gaily.
"Why don't you keep side by side and be sociable?"
"Sour grapes!" roared Fred. "Here is where we win!" and in a moment
more he and Jack sent their boat up to the side of the little dock.
Almost immediately the second craft followed.
"I think all of you did very well," remarked Ruth, consolingly.
"Anyway, we came in a close second," remarked Randy.
"We would have won if it hadn't been for one thing--just one thing,"
remarked Andy, solemnly.
"Why, what was that?" questioned several of the others quickly.
"That was the fact that the other boat"--Andy drew a deep breath--"came
in first." At this the girls shrieked with laughter and the other boys
set up a howl.
"Pitch him into the lake!"
"That's right! Give him a bath!"
"A ducking will do him good--he needs to be cooled off!"
"Not much! No bath for me!" cried Andy, quickly, and lost no time in
leaping to the dock, where, in the exuberance of his spirits, he turned
several handsprings, much to the amusement of the girls.
"Is there anything worth seeing on this island?" questioned Jack, when
the excitement of the race was over.
"There isn't anything here that I know of," answered Ruth. "In the
summer time people come here to picnic. There is a nice spring of water
in the center of the island."
"Let's go and get a drink," said Fred. "That race made me thirsty;" and
off the whole party trooped to the spring.
The young folks had a good time at the spring and in exploring the
little island, which had a hill at one end covered with trees. They
found some chestnuts and also a few hickory nuts, and these the boys
opened for the girls' benefit.
"I suppose we had better go on and finish the row," remarked Jack to
Ruth, presently. "That is, unless you girls would rather wander through
the woods."
"Oh, it's nice enough here on the island," she answered. "Remember,
you'll have quite a row back to the school and then to Colby Hall."
"Oh, let's stay here for a while," put in Alice. "Maybe we'll be able
to find more nuts."
They hunted around, and presently discovered another large chestnut
tree which was fairly loaded. The boys threw up sticks and stones, and
brought down a big shower.
"If I had known this, we might have brought along a pillowcase for the
nuts," said Fred.
"We can come back some day if we want to," returned Randy.
Before leaving the island the young folks decided to go back to where
the spring was located, so as to get another drink and also to wash
their hands. On this trip, in speaking about the excitement at the
moving picture theater, Randy chanced to mention Jennie Mason's name.
"Jennie is a nice girl," answered Annie Larkins, to whom he was
speaking, "but she does some things that I do not approve of. Do you
know a cadet at your Hall named Napoleon Martell--I think they call him
Nappy for short?"
"Do we know him!" exclaimed Randy. "I should say we did!"
"Oh! is that so?" Annie looked at him searchingly. "Is he a friend of
yours?"
"No; I can't say that he is. To tell you the truth, he doesn't like us
at all."
"If that's the case, I don't mind speaking to you about Jennie," went
on the girl. "You know, Jennie comes from New York City. And down there
she met Nappy Martell quite a few times, and they became well
acquainted. But Jennie's folks don't approve of him at all; and they
don't want her to go with him." And here Annie paused.
"And do you mean to say she does go with him, anyhow?" queried the
Rover boy.
"Yes. She goes out to meet him whenever she can get the chance," was
the reply. "You are sure you don't approve of him?"
"Not in the least. In fact, to tell the truth, we have no use for him
or the bunch he trains with."
"I see. Well, all of us think it is perfectly dreadful the way Jennie
accepts Martell's invitations. Of course, we don't want to tell on her,
either in school or to her folks, and yet none of us think it is
right."
"Does he take her out much?"
"Oh, as much as they dare to go. He takes her out sailing on the lake
and to the moving picture shows, and once they went off together on a
picnic to the Clearwater Country Club. The places were all right in
themselves, but I know Jennie's folks don't want her to be seen in the
company of Nappy Martell. He is so loud and forward."
"You can't tell us anything about Martell being loud and forward,"
answered Randy, readily. "We all know him to be a regular bully.
Besides that, when he isn't in uniform, he wears the loudest kind of
clothes--just as if he wanted to make an exhibition of himself."
"Jennie went out with him this afternoon," continued Annie. "Where they
went to, I do not know. But I think they hired a motor boat and went
across the lake."
"Does Martell know how to run a motor boat?"
"Oh, yes. He told Jennie that he owned a motor boat on the Hudson
River--a boat his father gave him for a birthday present."
Randy and the girl had dropped a little behind the others, who now
waited for them to come up.
"I think we had better be getting back," said Jack. "It isn't as clear
as it was before, and it is beginning to blow."
"Yes, we'll get back," returned Randy, with a look at the sky. He knew
that a blow on the lake might be no trifling matter.
On the way over to the island the sun had been clear and warm. Now,
however, it was hidden under a dark bank of clouds, which were coming
up quickly from the west. The wind was already blowing freely, and out
on the bosom of the lake the water was roughing up in tiny ripples.
"All aboard, everybody!" sang out Jack. And then turning to his cousins
he added in a low voice: "We mustn't lose a minute of time in getting
back. This blow is going to be a heavy one."
The girls were soon seated in the rowboats, and then the four Rovers
lost no time in casting off from the little dock and in starting to row
towards Clearwater Hall. As they proceeded, the sky kept growing darker
and darker while the wind grew stronger and stronger.
"We're in for a squall all right enough," murmured Randy, as he and
Andy bent to their oars with vigor.
"Gee! I only hope we can reach the shore before it strikes us," was the
response.
"Row for all you're worth, boys!" sang out Jack from the other boat.
"Bend to it just as if you were in a race!"
And then he and Fred, as well as the twins, settled down to the task of
trying to outrace the oncoming squall.