[Illustration: "He's got something, for a fact!" exclaimed Herb.]
Motor Boat Boys
Among the Florida Keys
Or
_The Struggle for
the Leadership_
By
LOUIS ARUNDEL
Author of "Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence," "Motor Boat
Boys' Cruise Down the Mississippi," "Motor Boat Boys on the
Great Lakes," "Motor Boat Boys Down the Coast."
[Illustration]
Chicago
M. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY
COPYRIGHT 1913.
M. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Electrotyped, Printed and Bound by
M. A. Donohue & Co.
CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I--AT ANCHOR, INSIDE THE BAR 7
II--THE WARNING RATTLE 18
III--DOWN THE INDIAN RIVER 29
IV--THAT SAME OLD UNLUCKY WIRELESS 40
V--THE MYSTERIOUS POWER BOAT 54
VI--NICK TRIES AGAIN 63
VII--THE LOST CHUM 74
VIII--TRACKED TO THE BAYOU 85
IX--FOR THE SAKE OF CHUM JOSH 97
X--ABOARD THE STRANGE POWER BOAT 106
XI--IN HONOR BOUND 115
XII--AN INVASION OF THE CAMP 124
XIII--JIMMY REFUSES TO GIVE UP THE GAME 133
XIV--WHEN THE COMFORT WAS HUNG UP 142
XV--THE BIRD ROOST 151
XVI--A SCREECHER FROM THE NORTH 160
XVII--THE SHELTER BACK OF THE KEY 169
XVIII--JIMMY FORGES TO THE FRONT 178
XIX--FROM TAMPA, NORTH 187
XX--THE SHARK FISHERMAN 196
XXI--VICTORY COMES TO NICK 205
XXII--WHERE AMBITION LED 214
XXIII--WINDING UP THE VOYAGE--CONCLUSION 223
THE MOTOR BOAT BOYS AMONG THE FLORIDA KEYS
or
A Struggle For the Leadership
CHAPTER I.
AT ANCHOR, INSIDE THE BAR.
"Get busy here, Nick; now's your chance to make a big score for a
starter!"
"It's awful kind of you, George, to let me out of my part of the work
this afternoon, and that's a fact. I appreciate it, too; because I just
want to beat Jimmy out in this thing the worst kind."
"Oh! shucks! don't mention it, Nick. We're all interested in your game,
and you know it. Besides, there goes your rival, Jimmy, right now, in
his little dinky boat, and with a wide grin on his face. Jack's given
him a holiday, to celebrate the opening of the great fishing contest.
Get a move on, you slow-poke!"
"Gee! then he'll get a start on me. I _must_ hurry. Now, where in the
dickens is that other oar, George? Oh! here she is, tucked away under
the thwart. And can you tell me what I did with that mullet the cracker
gentleman gave me, to use for bait? Please help me get started, George.
Seems like everything wants to go wrong at once!"
"Here you are, Nick. Got your tackle all right, have you; and sure that
life preserver is in the boat? All ready? Then away you go; but keep
clear of the inlet, if the tide changes, or you might get carried out to
sea in that eight-foot dinky."
Three minutes later, and Nick Longfellow--who belied his name dreadfully,
in that he was short, and fat, and built pretty much after the style of
a full meal bag--was rowing clumsily toward a likely spot, where he
believed he might do some successful fishing.
A trio of motor boats were anchored just inside Mosquito Inlet, not far
from the town of New Smyrna on the east coast of Florida, having come in
that very afternoon, after making the outside passage from the mouth of
the St. Johns River.
They might have entered at St. Augustine, and taken the inside passage
down to this place, only that something was wrong with the connecting
canal that led to the Halifax River, and it seemed unwise to take the
chances of being held up.
The boat from which Nick had put out on his fishing excursion was a
slender looking craft, and evidently capable of making high speed; but
from the way she rolled whenever any one aboard moved, it could be seen
that she must prove rather an uncomfortable home on which to spend very
much time. The name painted in letters of gold on her bow was _Wireless_;
and her skipper, George Rollins, took more or less pride in her
accomplishments; although, truth to tell, he spent much of his time
tinkering with her high-power engine, that had a way of betraying his
trust when conditions made it most exasperating.
The boat from which the said Jimmy had started was called the _Tramp_.
Her lines were not so fine as those of the hurry boat; but, nevertheless,
an experienced cruiser would have picked her out as an ideal craft for
combined business and pleasure. Her skipper was Jack Stormways, really
the commodore of the little fleet; and his crew consisted of Jimmy
Brannigan, a boy who sported many freckles, a happy-go-lucky disposition,
and a little of the Irish brogue whenever he happened to remember his
descent from the old kings of Erin.
As to the third motor boat, it was a broad beamed affair, that really
looked like a pumpkin seed on a large scale; or, as some of the boys
often called it, a "tub." It was well named the _Comfort_, and its
owner, Herbert Dickson, content to take things easy and let others do
the hustling, never denied the claim George was fond of making, that he
could draw circles around the "Ark" with his fast one. The engine of the
_Comfort_ had never failed to do its level best, which was limited to
some nine miles an hour.
Herb also had an assistant, a tall, lanky lad, by name Josh Purdue. By
rights he and Nick should have exchanged places; but Josh had had one
experience on the dizzy speed boat, and absolutely refused to try it
again.
These lads belonged in a town far up toward the sources of the mighty
Mississippi River. They would have been attending high school, only that
a fire had almost demolished the buildings, and vacation season was
enforced until after New Year's.
Owning these boats, and having had considerable experience in making
long trips, the boys had, with the consent of their parents, shipped the
craft east to Philadelphia, and some five weeks previously started down
the coast by the inside route.
And now they were starting on the second half of the remarkable voyage,
which they intended would take them around the end of the peninsula of
Florida, among the keys that make this region the small boat cruiser's
paradise, and finally land them at New Orleans in time to ship their
boats north by steamboat.
Spending several days in Jacksonville, and taking aboard supplies,
before making a start, Nick and Jimmy had fallen into quite a heated
dispute as to which of them could be called the more expert fisherman.
Now, truth to tell, neither of the boys had had very much experience in
this line; but, egged on by Josh and Herb, they had finally entered upon
a contest which was to last until they reached New Orleans. Jack had
solemnly entered the conditions in his log book; and the one who, during
the duration of the cruise, could catch and land unassisted the heaviest
fish of any description, was to be declared the champion.
Eager to accomplish wonderful "stunts," the two boys naturally seized
upon this very first chance to get their lines overboard, in the hope of
starting things moving by a weighty capture.
And the others, anticipating more or less fun out of the bitter rivalry,
lost no opportunity to "sic" the contestants on. Just as a breeze fans a
flame, so their frequent allusions as to the budding qualities of the
rivals as fishermen kept Nick and Jimmy eager for the fray.
As might have been expected, when George secured a tender for his speed
boat, while in Jacksonville, as they were told they would need such
things right along, in order to make landings where the water was too
shoal for the larger craft to get close to the shore, he selected
a dumpy little flat-bottomed "dinky," just about on a par with the
_Wireless_ when it came to eccentric qualities.
An expert with the oars or a paddle might manage the affair fairly well;
but as Nick was as clumsy as he was fat, it seemed as though he would
never get the hang of the squatty tender.
When he sat in the middle, one dip of an oar would cause the boat to
spin wildly around as if on a pivot; and as to rowing in a straight
course, the thing was utterly beyond Nick's abilities. So, when he was
aiming for a certain spot, he was wont to approach his intended goal by
a series of eccentric angles.
The flood tide was still coming in lazily, for they had managed to hit
the inlet when the bar was well covered, wishing to take no chances. So
Nick, after managing to propel the "punkin seed" over to the spot near
a bunch of mangroves, that he had selected as most promising, set to
work.
He tied the boat, first of all, by a piece of cord, so that it would
not float away while he fished. Then he laboriously got his tackle in
readiness.
Those on the motor boats had kept an eye on the actions of the two
rivals, as if anticipating that sooner or later they might have
something to laugh over; for Nick was forever tumbling into difficulties
of some sort.
"I don't believe Nick will ever get the hang of that dinky, George,"
remarked Jack, as he leaned over the side of the _Tramp_, peeling some
potatoes which they intended having for supper; and, as there did not
seem to be any decent chance to cook this ashore, the voyagers would
have to do as they had often done before, use their little kerosene gas
stoves aboard the several boats.
"It takes an expert to run that cut-off runt properly," said Herb, who
was also engaged, wiping his engine, while Josh started operations
looking to the evening meal, the lanky boy being by all odds the best
cook in the party.
"Thank you for the compliment, Herb," laughed George. "It happens that
I've always been at home in small boats. And there was something about
that stumpy little affair that made me take a fancy to her. Nick will
do better after he learns the ropes. And he generally manages to get
there, even if he does cover twice as much distance as I might. Look at
Jimmy, fellows!"
"He's got something, for a fact!" exclaimed Herb; "and Nick is excited
over it. See him wiggle around to watch, just as if he feared the game
was going to be settled right in the start. Hi! sit down, Nick! Want to
upset that cranky thing, do you? Well, it's good you've got your air bag
fastened on; for without a life preserver you'd drown in this tideway,
if ever you fell over."
"Watch Jimmy, will you, boys?" chuckled Jack. "Look at the grin on his
face as he pulls his line in. You can see that half his fun is in
keeping an eye on Nick, to enjoy his confusion and disappointment."
"Wow! why, the fish is pulling his boat around, do you notice?" demanded
George.
"That looks as if it might be a good one. There, I thought Jimmy
couldn't keep still much longer. Listen to him yap, would you?" Herb
called out.
Jimmy had started to crow over his rival, as any ordinary boy would be
apt to do under similar conditions.
"Don't be after gettin' downhearted too soon, Nick, me bhoy!" he
shouted. "Sure, this is only a little one for a stharter, so it is. Wait
till I get going, and I'll open your eyes good and sthrong. Och! how he
pulls! If only ye were a bit closer now, I'd let ye fale of the line, to
know the sensation. Come in, ye darlint, and let's have a look at ye.
Whirra! but he's bigger than I thought; and it's me as hopes he won't
upset the boat when I pull him over the side!"
Of course much of this talk was for the purpose of making his rival
squirm with envy; though the captive did show signs of being a strong
fighter.
After about five minutes of apparently strenuous effort, Jimmy concluded
that it would be unwise to risk losing his prisoner by playing it
longer; so he dragged the hooked fish over the side. There was a flash
of bronze and white that told Jack the story.
"A channel bass, and something like fifteen pounds in weight, too. We're
sure of fish on this trip, anyway, with the two of them bending every
energy to the winning of the medal!" he exclaimed.
"There goes Nick back to his work," said George. "If there are fish
here, he hopes to get his share. But ten to one he's nearly choking with
envy right now, because Jimmy drew the first blood. It's an uphill game
for poor old Nick."
"Well," Herb went on to remark, "the game will last a whole month, and
more; so nobody can tell how the finish may turn out. Nick might get
hold of a bigger fish any minute. But it's up to us to encourage 'em
right along. We'll never want for a fish diet if we do, for they'll stay
up nights to keep at it."
"There, I declare, if Nick didn't have a jerk at his line then; but he
failed to hook the rascal!" Jack exclaimed.
"And came near upsetting the boat in his excitement, too," complained
George. "If he does, I can see the finish of my oars, which will go out
of the inlet with the ebb tide."
"But what about Nick; you don't seem to worry about how he'll act?"
laughed Herb.
"Oh! he'll just float around, with that life preserver holding him up,
till one of us pushes out and tows him ashore. Whatever is he doing now,
do you suppose?" George demanded.
"Throwing out that shark hook of his, with the clothes line attached,"
Jack explained. "You see, Nick has evidently made up his mind to go in
for something worth while. He wants to knock the spots out of Jimmy's
hopes right in the start."
"But, my stars! if he hooks a big shark while he's sitting in that
punkin seed of a boat, there's bound to be a warm old circus!" Herb
declared.
Some little time passed, and those aboard the anchored motor boats,
busily engaged in their various occupations, had almost forgotten about
the bitter rivalry going on so near by, when suddenly they were startled
by a great shout.
"It's Nick, this time!" exclaimed Jack, as he jumped to the side of the
_Tramp_ to observe what was taking place.
"And say, he's fast to a whopper, as sure as you live!" cried Herb.
George added his contribution on the heels of the rest.
"That string's broke away, just as I expected, and there goes Nick and
the punkin seed, full tilt for the inlet! By all that's out, fellows, he
must have caught a whale that time, fresh run from the sea. Hi! hold on
there, Nick, that's my boat!"