NICK TRIES AGAIN.
"Jimmy, strike up a bar of 'Nancy Lee,' or the 'Larboard Watch,' while
we're moving at this snail's pace along this shallow shore, looking for
some nice place to camp."
"That's right, Jimmy, just as Jack says; it would sound right to hear
music, for this is by a long shot the dreariest place we've struck yet.
Tune up your lyre, then, or your banjo--I don't care which--and give us
a song."
Accordingly, when thus pressed by the skipper, not only of his own boat
but Herb as well, Jimmy reached in the cabin, and taking hold of his
never far distant banjo, commenced to plunk away.
He had a fine mellow voice, and the rest of the boys never tired of
hearing him sing. All of them joined in the chorus, though Josh squeaked
so that he would have killed the whole melody, only that the volume of
sound was so great the discordant vein could not easily be detected.
The three motor boats were almost drifting along among the many keys
bordering the extreme southern shore of Florida; and the time was just
three days after we saw them reach the vicinity of Miami.
They had passed from Cards Sound into Barnes Sound, and marveled at the
wonderful construction of the concrete railway arches, by means of which
the East Coast Line expected in the near future to reach far distant Key
West, passing from key to key the entire distance, often over wide
stretches of open sea.
Cape Sable lay not a great distance ahead. Once the little flotilla had
rounded this tip end of the peninsula, they would begin their northward
voyage.
The prospect for a camp ashore did not look any too brilliant, and as
the afternoon waned, even sanguine Jack began to despair of finding any
solid ground. In all directions could be seen the interminable mangrove
islands, where swamp abounded, and landing was next to absurd.
When the wash of the sea proved too heavy they had managed to keep
some key between, and thus far had come on without any accident. Even
George's eccentric motor had been upon its best behavior, but none of
them placed much reliance upon it any longer.
"The tricky thing just seems to know when to lay down and quit," grumbled
Nick, when George mustered up faith enough to actually say a good word
for the engine again. "It bides its time, and when we need it most of
all, it flunks. I'm going to hold you to your word, George, when we get
to Tampa, where there's a chance to pick up another machine to put in
here."
"Oh, all right!" declared the other, "since you agreed to stand for half
the expense, why should I have any kick coming? Only I hope the new
engine can walk her along as good as this one, when she feels like it."
"Hang the speed part!" cried Nick, again rubbing himself as though his
muscles were becoming sore in a chronic way; "if only the plagued thing
won't prove a quitter. I hate anything that lies down on you, when
you've gone and soaked your trust in it, that's what."
"I think I see a place ahead that looks fairly promising, mates," sang
out Jack, at this point in the discussion.
"Good for you, Jack; take us to it right away. I'd give a heap just for
a chance to get out and just stand, without feeling my foundation heave
and wabble under me. Oh! if only I had money enough to coax George to
buy a boat that would let a poor feller part his hair on the side, like
he used to do."
A short time later, and they ran in as near the shore as was deemed
advisable. Here they anchored, with a friendly key protecting them from
any heavy sea that might come up from the south.
"Here's where the homely little dinky is worth its weight in gold,"
remarked Jack, as he prepared to go ashore to look around.
"Yes, only for that we'd have to do the great wading act right along;
and it ain't always convenient to get wet up to your waist," Herb
observed, in a satisfied tone.
Having taken in the prospect ashore, Jack came back again.
"It's all right, fellows," he announced. "High ground for half a mile
inland, and if the bugs allow, we can even sleep ashore tonight."
"Hurrah! that's grand news you're bringing us, Commodore!" cried Nick,
looking happy again. "Now won't I get the kinks out of my system,
though? Last night aboard nearly did for me, and that's no lie, either."
"Huh!" George gave vent to one of his odd grunts, adding: "I reckon it
was nearly the end of me, for you kicked like a steer, and came within
an ace of smothering me the time you rolled over, crowding me to the
wall."
While they were thus joshing each other, all hands were busily engaged
getting such things aboard the little tenders as they knew they would
need for cooking supper ashore. If it were later on decided to remain
there during the night, they could come out again to the anchored motor
boats, and secure blankets, mosquito nets, and what other things were
required.
As usual, they commenced doing various things, each according to his
taste.
George had gone back again to his beloved boat, doubtless to tinker with
her eccentric engine, which he always found a puzzle. Nick wandered off
along the shore, as though looking for shells. Jimmy was pottering with
some of his strong fishing tackle as though he had designs on the scaly
denizens of Barnes Sound, and intended putting out several night set
lines, if Jack could secure any mullet for bait. Herb was stretching
himself on the sand, while Jack and Josh built a little fireplace for
cooking, making good use of some blocks of coquina rock, a mixture of
shells and what looked like cement, and which underlies much of the
eastern shore of Florida.
Presently Jack saw Nick come breathlessly back. He did not say a word
to any one, but, putting off in one of the dinkies, went aboard the
_Wireless_. Two minutes later he appeared again, and Jack saw to his
surprise that he was trying to hide a piece of stout rope under his
coat.
Of course, his curiosity was aroused, but he did not say anything either
to Nick or the others. The fat boy, casting a suspicious glance around,
and with a wide grin on his face when he looked at Jimmy in particular,
again sauntered off. Jack noticed that when he thought he had passed
beyond their range of vision, Nick actually started on a run. No wonder
he had seemed breathless when he came in, if that was what he had been
doing.
"What can the sly fellow be up to?" Jack said to himself. "I believe
I'd better keep an eye open, for he's always so ready to tumble into
trouble."
So as he worked alongside Jimmy, he kept his eyes and ears on the alert.
Perhaps fifteen minutes passed. Then those in camp heard a husky call
that caused them to look up the shore.
It chanced that there was a clump of mangroves at the nearby point, and
around this Nick hove in sight. He seemed to have harnessed himself in
some fashion with the rope, and was tugging with might and main.
"Now, what under the sun can he be doing?" ejaculated the surprised
Herb.
"He's got something along, and seems to be dragging it through the
shallow water!" Josh declared.
"And look at it splash, would you?" Herb went on. "Say, d'ye suppose,
now, Nick's gone and caught a turtle, one of those big loggerheads they
were telling us about?"
"Turtle nothing!" laughed Jack; "that's a fish!"
"A fish!" cried Jimmy, turning pale; "do ye mane to till me he's gone
and caught a _whale_?"
Evidently Jimmy feared for his laurels; he had held the position of
top-notch in the competition almost from the start, and was beginning to
believe that he might never be ousted by the slow-moving fat boy. And
hence the sight of Nick deliberately dragging that immense bulk behind
him gave Jimmy a bad sensation.
As the puffing Nick arrived alongside, it was seen that he had indeed
been dragging a tremendous fish after him. The rope was twisted under
its gills in such a way that it could not come loose.
"What in the dickens is it?" demanded Herb.
"Blest if I know; but it's a _fish_, and that's enough for me!"
announced the red-faced captor.
"Be afther listening to him, now, bhoys," observed Jimmy, looking
dismayed; "by the pipers if he doesn't mane to claim he caught it!"
"Of course, I do!" exclaimed Nick, instantly; "and I'd like to know how
you're going to knock me out of this, like you did that shark. Here I go
fastening on to all sorts of big game, and you always want to question
my right."
"What kind of a fish is it, Jack?" called George, who was coming ashore
to take a closer look at the squirming victim.
"It looks squatty, like a big sea bass, the kind we caught several times
along the coast. I rather think it's what they call a jewfish down
here," Jack replied, after looking the prisoner over.
"Good to eat?" asked Nick, hungrily.
"Oh, yes; they say so; and we'll take a chunk out of him to try," was
Jack's answer. "Where did you get him, Nick?"
"Up the shore a little ways. Do I have to tell just how, Jack?"
"See him try to back out," jeered the envious Jimmy, as his eyes took in
the enormous bulk of the prize, and he mentally figured that it must
weigh all of two hundred pounds, against which his bass of fifteen must
look like a baby.
"Yes, we want to know everything, so begin," declared George.
"Well, when I was walking along, I discovered this silly thing splashing
like Sam Hill close to the shore. He must have been left by the tide,
and was half stranded between two bunches of coquina rock. I had a
sudden wild idea, and hurried back here to get a rope."
"So that's why you wanted it, was it?" cried George. "I was a little
afraid you might be thinking of hanging yourself; but then I expected
the rope would break if you tried that. But go on, Nick."
"Oh, there ain't much to tell, for I just harnessed the old chap up like
you see, worked him loose from the rocky wedge, and dragged him to camp.
But I hope now, after all my hard work, you ain't going to say I didn't
catch that fish. Anyway, our rules read so long as a feller gets the
game by fair means, and without help. Here he is, and you can rig up
some sort of scales to weigh him. What's a few pounds, more or less,
among friends? But what do you say, Jack, Herb, Josh and George?"
"Why, according to the letter of the rules, you win," Jack remarked.
"That's correct," ventured Josh.
"He lost one whopper because he had to have help; but that can't be said
about this prize. Nick, you certainly take the cake," Herb chuckled.
"I agree with the rest; he deserves all he gets," said George.
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders, and made a grimace, as he observed:
"Sure, I do belave the lot of ye are set agin me; but, honest to Injun,
in me own hearrt I do be thinkin' the same. Which laves me a bad second
in the race. But I do not despair of batin' him out yet. Just give me
toime, bhoys, give me toime to get me wits together."
Jack busied himself rigging up a crude scales, whereby two of them could
stand out against the big fish; and in this way it was finally estimated
that Nick's latest capture weighed about two hundred and thirty pounds.
The fat boy was in high glee over his adventure, and burst out into
frequent boasts. He took especial pains to let Jimmy know that the one
who laughed last always laughed hardest.
"Just wait, and say how that same turns out," declared the Irish lad,
seemingly only the more determined to exceed Nick's big score.
So the afternoon passed away, and it came on toward evening.
"Hello! how's this?" remarked Jack, who had been out with George for
some time, taking a look at his motor, and consulting as to the wisdom
of making a radical change when they reached the city of Tampa; "it's
coming on night, and I don't see any signs of supper in sight. And by
the way, where is Josh; I don't happen to set eyes on him around?"
The others stared at each other.
"Why, I remember now, that he asked me for the loan of my gun some
little while back, and said he'd like to take a stroll down the beach,
thinking there might be a bunch of those nice little shore birds on
some mud flat, that he could bring back with him," Herb said, looking
perplexed.
"How long ago was that?" Jack demanded.
"I guess all of an hour; just after you went out when George called."
"Has anybody heard a shot?" asked Jack.
But nobody had; and, as the night came on, the five boys began to realize
that something must surely have happened to their lengthy chum.