IN WHICH ERNEST CONVEYS THE STUDENTS TO PINE ISLAND.
We landed the provisions at Pine Island, and being still favored with
a fresh breeze, made a quick run over to Cleaver Island. It was bright
moonlight now, and very pleasant sailing on the lake. As we approached
the landing-place, I discovered a row-boat pulling round the point
below. My first thought was, that Mr. Parasyte was paying a second
visit to the camp, intent upon carrying out the threats he had
uttered.
"Can you make her out, Ernest?" asked Tom.
"It is a boat full of men or boys--I don't know which," I replied. "We
will run down to her, and see what she is."
"It may be Parasyte."
"Very likely it is," I added, heading the Splash towards the
intruder.
"What shall we do if it is?"
"I don't know that we can do anything but keep an eye upon him. I have
a great mind to serve him as he did me yesterday--run him down, and
sink his boat; but I won't do it."
I decided, however, to give him a scare; and with all sail drawing
well, the Splash going through the water at a rapid rate, I ran
directly for the row-boat. When we came within a few feet of the
intruders, the fate that stared them in the face was too much for
their nerves. They sprang to their feet, and begged me not to run them
down. It was a startling scene for them; but at that moment I put the
helm up, and ran astern of the row-boat, just grazing her as we went
by.
"Boat ahoy!" I shouted as I put the helm down, and the Splash came up
into the wind on the other side of the row-boat.
"Don't run into us," said one of the boys in the boat, whose voice I
recognized as that of Bill Poodles; and by this time I had found that
Mr. Parasyte was not one of the party.
"Who are you?" demanded Tom Rush.
[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF THE RECRUITS.--Page 178.]
"It's me," replied Poodles.
"Who's _me_?"
It was a disgrace to the Parkville Liberal Institute that any member
of the school should use such execrable grammar, and we were not quite
willing to believe that the party were fellow-students, with the
exception of Poodles, from whom nothing better in the shape of correct
speech was to be expected.
"I'm Bill Poodles--don't you know me?"
"Bill Poodles!" exclaimed Tom, in disgust. "What do you want here?"
"We have come over to see you," said another in the boat, whose voice
was that of Dick Pearl.
"Well, what do you want?"
"We want to join you," answered Pearl.
"I don't know that we want you. Have you any news from the shore?"
added Tom.
"We can tell you all that has happened since you left. We ran away
after supper to join you," said Pearl. "If you will let us in, we will
do all we can to help you."
"I don't know; I will speak to the general, and if he is willing, you
may join; but you can't go ashore till he gives you leave."
Pearl, who seemed to be the leading spirit of the recruits, promised
to wait off the shore till Vallington had been informed of his
request, and his answer returned. The Splash filled away, and we
landed at the point where the scow lay. We found that our enterprising
general had not been idle during our absence. The tents had been
struck, and the materials put on board the flat-boat. Everything was
ready for the departure to Pine Island.
The approach of the row-boat had been noticed by the vigilant
sentinels on the bluff, and the whole company had watched our
interview with the new comers. Tom Rush reported on the case to our
general, and it was necessary to act upon the request of the party for
admission to the camp. In this matter there was less unanimity than
had before been manifested, and several of the students were opposed
to granting the request. Bob Hale was the most earnest among them, and
declared that Bill Poodles, Dick Pearl, and the rest of the party
could not be trusted; they were mean fellows, and we should be better
off without them than with them. They were the "creatures" of Mr.
Parasyte, and they would make trouble if we admitted them.
It would have been well for us if this advice had been heeded, as the
sequel will show; but it was not. Some of our best declaimers urged
that there was power in mere numbers; and the strength of an
harmonious union was yielded to this idea. The vote was in favor of
permitting the recruits to be received; but a very respectable
minority voted against it. Bob cheerfully surrendered the point, and
Poodles and his companions were invited to land. When they came on
shore, Vallington questioned them in regard to their intentions. They
all made fair promises, and assured the general they would be good and
faithful subjects.
Tom Rush had reported on the provision question, and gladdened the
hearts of all the fellows when he stated what bountiful supplies of
ham, bread, potatoes, and coffee had been deposited on Pine Island for
the use of the party.
"Now, we are all ready to move," said Vallington. "The boats are all
loaded, and we submit the rest of the job to the skill of Commodore
Thornton."
"Move!" exclaimed Dick Pearl, and in the bright moonlight I saw him
glance anxiously at Poodles.
"We have decided to break up our camp here and move to Pine Island."
"Be you?" said Poodles.
"We _be_," answered Vallington.
"If we had known it, I don't know that we should have come," added
Pearl.
"What possible difference can it make to you whether we camp at Pine
Island or at Cleaver Island?"
"I don't know."
"It is too late to back out now; you have found out where we are
going, and you must go with us, to help keep the secret," said our
general, decidedly.
Pearl and Poodles looked at each other, and evidently wished to
consult together; but there was no opportunity.
For my own part, I was not satisfied with their conduct, and I
determined to keep a close watch upon them; for it seemed to me, from
their appearance, that they intended to make mischief. I whispered my
suspicions to Vallington, who thought it was well enough to keep an
eye upon them; but he did not believe ten such fellows as they were
would attempt to interfere with the plans of the company. I assured
him Pearl was a smart fellow, and under his lead the party might make
trouble.
As the wind was not only fresh, but fair for our passage to Pine
Island, I rigged one of the tent poles as a mast for the flat-boat,
intending to save the boys the hard labor of towing her seven miles. I
secured another pole across the mast for a yard, to which I bent on
the canvas of one of the tents for a sail. There was a heavy steering
oar in the boat, which answered the purpose of a rudder. Having
adjusted all this gear to my satisfaction, we pushed off, and I took
my station at the helm of the flat-boat, which was crowded with boys.
I appointed Bob Hale, who had some experience as a boatman, to the
charge of the Splash, though, as a matter of prudence, I directed him
to set only the jib and mainsail. The row-boats were towed alongside
the scow. The sail fully answered all my expectations, and the old
"gundalow" actually made about three knots an hour under her new rig.
The students stretched themselves on the tents, and very likely some
of them went to sleep, for it was now two o'clock in the morning, and
most of them were tired out, and gaped fearfully.
It was daylight when we ran into the little sheltered bay where we had
landed the goods from the Splash. It was quite chilly in the morning
air, and the fellows were glad of the exercise required to unload the
scow and pitch the tents. But in a couple of hours the work was done,
and the weary laborers were glad enough to stretch themselves on the
beds of pine foliage in the tents. All the boats were hauled into an
inlet, where they could not be seen by any passing craft on the lake,
and I felt that everything was safe.
Everybody was worn out, and I think everybody went to sleep, even to
the sentinels, who were stationed where they could give notice of the
approach of any intruders. I was so exhausted myself that I should
have slept if I had known all the deputy sheriffs in the state had
been after me. And there we all lay till noon, buried in slumber. And
when we awoke there appeared to be no life anywhere but on the
island. The lake was calm and silent, and from the distant shores not
a sound came to disturb us.
When the boys did wake they were wide awake, and immediately voted
that "breaking away" was a capital idea. It was then unanimously
resolved that it was time to have something to eat. The boys had had
some experience in the culinary art in previous campaigns, and we had
all the pots, kettles, and pans provided for such occasions. A fire
was made in the woods, near the centre of the island, where it was
hoped the smoke would not betray us, and potatoes and ham were soon
hissing in the pans. About twenty of the students were employed in
this work,--peeling potatoes, and preparing the pork and bacon,--while
only four of the most experienced were intrusted with the care of the
actual cooking. We had a big meal, though we had no knives and forks,
or plates. The company was divided into messes of ten each, there
being one large tin pan for each, from which the boys took the "grub"
with sharpened sticks or jackknives. We enjoyed it quite as much as
we did our dinners at the Institute.
We passed a quiet day, without interruption from within or without. We
neither saw nor heard anything from Mr. Parasyte, and the Poodles
party behaved better than we had expected, so that we had learned to
trust them. The necessary work of the camp was all we could do, and
when night came we were glad to turn in at an early hour, for we had
not yet fully recovered from the fatigues of the previous day and
night.
It was ordered by the general-in-chief that the watch during the night
should be relieved every two hours, and that three should be on duty
at once. A sufficient number of the company were detailed for this
purpose, and a tent apart from the rest assigned to them, that others
might not be disturbed when the watch was changed. How faithfully this
watch performed their duty we learned from the developments of the
next day.
I turned out about five o'clock in the morning, intending to try my
hand at fishing with Bob Hale and Tom Rush. We went down to the inlet
where the squadron had been secured, to obtain one of the row-boats.
There was not a boat there!
Even the old scow had disappeared, and the Splash was nowhere to be
seen!