ADVENTURES ON THE ISLAND.
"Do you mean to tell me the _Sprite_ is not at the cove?" demanded
Paul, leaping to his feet from the log upon which he had been resting.
"If she is, I can't see her," answered Joe.
"Neither can I see the boat," added Fred.
"Let me take a look."
The others were willing and made room on the rock for their companion.
Paul gazed down to the cove and strained his eyes to their utmost.
"Well?" asked several, impatiently.
"Gone, just as sure as guns!" he ejaculated at last. "Where can she be?"
"There's a sailboat away out on the lake," announced Link. "Can that be
the _Sprite_?"
All turned in the direction indicated. The craft was headed directly
away from them, so it was hard to determine just what manner of boat
she could be.
"She certainly looks like the _Sprite_," said Paul, slowly. "I'm going
down to the cove to see about this," he continued, leaping off the rock.
"We'll all go," put in Harry. "If the boat is gone how are we to get
back home?"
All of the lads looked at each other in consternation. Not one had
thought of this before.
"Well, staying here over night will be no novelty to me," said Fred.
"But our folks will be worried over us," came from Link.
"Yes, I promised to be back by nine o'clock sure," added another of the
party.
"What can't be cured must be endured," said another.
"I'm sure I tied that boat good and tight," said Joe. "I was very
particular about it, Paul."
"I know you were, Joe, for I looked at the rope myself, before coming
away," answered Paul Shale. "If the boat is gone----" He did not
finish.
"If she couldn't drift away somebody must have taken her," said Bart.
"Don't you remember what Joel Runnell said?" shouted Harry. "I mean
about Dan Marcy hanging out up here?"
"I was thinking of him," said Paul. "Do you really think he would dare
to take the sloop?"
"That chap would dare to do anything--if he thought he wouldn't be
caught," answered Joe. "He is a thoroughly bad egg."
By this time the whole party was well on the way down the hill. As they
reached the bottom they noted that the sky to the westward was much
overcast.
"We are sure to catch that storm now," remarked Fred, "and when it
comes I guess it will be a corker."
"Which proves the old saying that it never pours but what we have a
flood," grumbled Frank. "Losing the sloop is bad enough, without any
more troubles."
At last they reached the cove and all gazed blankly at the spot where
the _Sprite_ had ridden at anchor such a short while before.
"Gone, that's all there is to it," said Joe, who was the first to speak.
"Here are some footprints along the shore," said Link, who was
examining the ground. "See, they come from back of yonder bushes."
"Only one pair of feet," said Harry. "That would seem to prove that
only one person sailed away with the sloop."
"You must be right, Harry," said Paul. "And that person must have been
Dan Marcy."
"We can't prove that--just yet," said another of the crowd.
They looked around, but could find nothing which might give them a clew
to the one who had taken the boat. Then they looked at each other.
"Is there another boat around here?" asked Bart. "Even a rowboat will
do--anything to get to the mainland in."
"I don't know of any boat," answered Joe.
Neither did any of the other boys, and it was decided to skirt the
shore of the island for some distance on the lookout for a craft of
any kind. But the search proved unsuccessful, and at last Joe called a
halt.
"It's beginning to rain!" cried Fred. "We've got to get to some sort of
a shelter, or we'll get soaked."
"Let us see if our shelter from last winter is still standing," said
Harry. "I don't mean Snow Lodge, but the shelter by the cliff."
"Two Tree Lodge," said Fred. "I don't see why it shouldn't be standing,
and it will make a good shelter from this storm."
Joe, Harry and Fred knew the way well and the others followed in their
footsteps. They had to climb over some rough rocks and then jump a
small brook. Just as they came in sight of the shelter the rain began
to come down heavily.
"Hurrah! the shelter is O.K.," came from Fred. "Come on in, fellows,
out of the wet."
The shelter, as my old readers know, was composed of two heavy trees
which leaned up against a cliff twenty to twenty-five feet in height.
The under limbs of the trees had been chopped off and piled on top,
and large quantities of brushwood had been added. During the winter
snow had been heaped over the brushwood, but now this was of course
gone.
"Hullo, somebody has had a campfire in here!" cried Joe, as he entered.
"See, the ashes are still hot!"
"Yes, and here are several cans and cups," added Fred. "Somebody has
surely been living here. Wonder if it was Dan Marcy?"
"More than likely, although other folks come here, too," added another
of the crowd. "This is certainly cozy enough!" he continued, gazing
around admiringly. "And the name, Two Tree Lodge, just fits it."
"Just listen to the rain!" exclaimed Joe. "We didn't get here any too
quick."
It was a hard shower, and at the end of half an hour it was raining
as steadily as ever. With the coming of the shower the wind at first
died down, but now it came up stronger than before, whistling furiously
through the pines and bringing many a decayed branch down with a loud
crash.
"If we were out in this we'd be wet to the skin," remarked Frank. "Even
as it is, some water is coming in here."
"Let us start up the fire," suggested Link. "It will make it more
cheerful."
"Do you imagine there are any wild animals around here?" questioned
Frank.
"More than likely--I don't think we killed all of them last winter,"
answered Harry with a grin. "Wouldn't you like to meet a wildcat, or a
big bear?"
"Not much!"
"What a pity somebody didn't bring a gun along," came from Fred. "We
may need it for protection, or for bringing down some food."
"I've got a fishing line and some hooks in my pocket," said Frank.
"Good! Then we can catch some fish if we can't do anything else."
It was not until sundown that the rain ceased. The wind blew as hard as
ever and soon the sky became perfectly clear.
"Our folks will certainly be worried over us, especially because of
the storm," said Link. "But I suppose it can't be helped. If it was
daylight we might build a raft and try to reach the mainshore that way."
All were anxious to catch a few fish, and soon they were back to the
shore. Some bait was found and Frank also had two very good artificial
flies along. Four of the lads went fishing at once, in as many
different places.
"Hurrah! here's the first catch!" cried Link, and brought up a perch
weighing seven or eight ounces. "Not very big, but better than nothing."
Frank was after a lake trout and was making his casts near the foot of
a big tree which overhung the lake. Presently there was a flash and
a tug and he knew he had his game. Then began a bit of real fishing,
which came to an end as he brought his prize up on the bank and
clutched it in both hands.
"Good for you, Frank!" sang out Joe. "That is certainly worth while. A
pound and a half if he is an ounce!"
After that the fishing continued steadily, until they had three trout,
two bass and nine perch to their credit.
"There's a good supper for all hands," declared Link. "Now the question
is, who is going to do the cooking?"
"Harry is the boy to cook fish," declared Fred.
"Yes, when I have something to work with," was Harry's answer.
"However, I'll do the best I can with the utensils we found at the
shelter."
It was dark by the time they returned to Two Tree Lodge. The fire was
stirred up and several set to work to bring in firewood for the night,
breaking it up with their feet and knees or cutting it with their
jack-knives.
"This shows how useful a hatchet is," said Link. "When you've got it
you don't appreciate it, but when you haven't got it you want it the
worst way."
"And that's the way with lots of things," added Frank. "'Do without, if
you want to know the real worth of a thing,' is what my father often
says."
It was not long before the fire was blazing in good shape, and while
the others cleaned the fish Harry set to work to cook them to a turn.
"This is the way to eat fish!" declared Joe, smacking his lips over a
particularly sweet morsel. "The fish one buys in a market is nothing
like this."
"I know some men who won't eat fish unless they are just caught," came
from Link. "They say the right way to eat trout is to take 'em from the
hook and drop 'em in the pan."
"Well, I want mine cleaned first," said Frank, dryly.
The boys took their time about eating, and along with sandwiches and
some cake they had brought with them, the fish made them a substantial
supper.
"One of us ought to stay on guard to-night," said Joe. "It won't be
safe for all to go to sleep. There is no telling what animal may be
prowling around in the darkness."
"Let us take turns at watching," answered Fred. "Each fellow can stay
on guard just an hour. That will give us eight hours for sleep."
"With one cut off for guard duty," corrected Bart. "All right, that
suits me."
It also suited the others, and soon all turned in but Frank, who was
the first selected to remain on guard.