JUST AFTER THE CLOCK STRUCK TEN
"Here we are, monarchs of all we survey," remarked Bobolink, as the last
of the other scouts went off, leaving the four guards to their task of
taking care of those two fine motorboats for the night.
It was nine o'clock.
The well-known sounds from the church steeple had told them that; and
somehow every fellow counted the strokes aloud, as though on this night
in particular they meant far more than at other times.
Stanhope, not being a manufacturing town, like Manchester, was, as a
rule, rather quiet of nights; except when the Glorious Fourth was being
celebrated; or some other holiday kept the younger element on the move.
Bobolink had been given the post of "Captain of the Guards;" while Tom
Betts was to be considered the second in command. They were to divide the
duties in such fashion that there would be two of them on deck at a time.
"I'll take Andy for my mate; and you can have Spider to help out,"
Bobolink had told Tom, when they were arranging the programme.
"And how long will the watches be?" demanded Spider, who liked to sleep
about as much as any fellow in the troop; he had gained that odd name not
because he was artful and cruel; but on account of his slender legs,
which long ago some smart boy had likened to those of a spider; and it
only requires a hint like that to establish a nick-name.
"Two hours each, divided into four," replied the chief, feeling the
responsibility of his position; for this was really the first time
Bobolink could remember being placed over any of his fellow scouts--Paul
wished to "try him out," and discover what sort of reliance could be
placed in the lad.
"That's an awful short time to get a snooze," complained Spider, yawning.
"Why, you'd hardly get asleep before you'd have to wake up."
"Then what's the use going to sleep at all, at all?" remarked Andy
Flinn, with a broad smile. "Let's draw lots to say who'll stand guard
the whole night"
"Well, I guess not," objected Spider, vigorously. "Half a loaf is some
better'n no bread, they always say; and four hours ought to make a
fellow feel as though he hadn't been shut out altogether from his
needed rest."
"Needed rest is good for you, Spider; the only trouble is you need too
much," Bobolink remarked. "But here's the way we'll fix it: Andy and me,
why, we'll be the pioneers on the job, starting in right now, while you
others curl up somewhere, and get busy taking your forty winks. At
eleven-ten we'll give you the foot, and take your places. Jack left me
his little watch, so we could tell how time goes; but sure, you can hear
the clock in the church steeple knock off the hours. And for the last
time, listen to me; not one wink must any sentry take while on duty.
Sleeping on post is the most terrible thing you can do. They shoot
soldiers in war time who betray their trust that way. Get your
instructions, fellows?"
"I'm on to what you mean, all right," said Spider; "and I guess I know my
weakness, as well as anybody. To prove that I want to do the right thing,
I'm going to fix it up with my mate to give me a jab with this pin, every
time he gets a notion in his head that I'm drowsing."
"Say, that sounds heroic all right," remarked Bobolink, doubtfully; "but
you don't want to get too gay with that same pin, Tom. It'd be a shame to
wake Andy and me up every ten minutes, making Spider give a yelp. Better
just shake him if he acts sleepy. And above everything else, keep a
bright watch along the shore."
"Think they'll be apt to come from that direction, do you?" asked Spider.
"Just as like as not," the other returned; "but that isn't saying you
ought not to keep an eye on the other side, and all around. I wouldn't
put it past that Ted Slavin to swim down this way from some place above,
thinking he could do his little trick by fooling us, and coming aboard on
the water side."
"Whew! do you really think, then, he'd dare board these boats, knowing
that they belong to two of the richest and most prominent citizens of
Stanhope?" asked Spider, who occasionally liked to air his command of
fine language.
"Well, you ought to be on to the curves of that Ted Slavin; and if you
just look back to things he's been known to do in the past, why, lots
of times he's played his pranks on people that had a pull. Why, didn't
he even sneak into the loft over Police Headquarters once, and rig up a
scare that came near breaking up the force. Ted fixed it so the wind'd
work through a knot-hole in the dark, whenever he chose to pull a
string over the fence back of the house, and make the awfullest
groaning noise anybody ever did hear. It got on the nerves of Chief
Billings and his men. They hunted that loft over and over, but of
course the groans didn't come when they were up there. Why, he had 'em
so badly rattled that they all just about camped out on the pavement
the rest of that night."
"Sure, I remember that," declared Andy Flinn, laughing. "Three nights did
he play the same joke, and then they got on to him. Wan officer do be
sneakin' up to the loft, while the rist pretended to be huntin' around
downstairs. He discovered the sthring, cript downstairs again, wint out
on the sly, and, be the powers, followed it to the fince. Then he wint
around, and jumped on Tid while the bhoy was a pullin' his sthring like
smoke, makin' worse groanings than any time yit. Sure they thried to hush
the joke up, the police was that ashamed; but it cript out some way."
"Well, get off to bed, Spider and Tom;" said Bobolink, "we'll wake you up
when it's time to change the watch. And remember what a nice little
surprise we've got ready for anybody who thinks he can meddle with things
that don't belong to him. Skip out now, both of you."
The two motorboats had been lashed side by side. They were about of a
size, and something like twenty-four feet in length, with a rather
generous beam, because their owners went in for pleasure and comfort,
rather than racing. Still, one of the boats, the _Speedwell_, was said to
be capable of doing a mile in seven minutes, if pushed, on flat water;
while the other, called the _Comfort_, being broader, could not do
anything like that.
It was easy to pass from one boat to the other, as they lay there. Each
had a canopy top, and curtains that could be dropped, and buttoned,
during a wet spell, or if the owner chose to sleep aboard; but on this
occasion Paul had believed it best that these latter should remain up, so
as to allow of free observation all around.
A stout hawser secured the boat nearest the shore to a big stake that
had been driven deeply into the earth. Thus the boats lay close beside
a short dock that was called a landing stage. As the current of the
Bushkill was always pretty strong there must be more or less of a
strain on that hawser; but since it was comparatively new, the boys
felt that there could not be the slightest danger of its breaking,
unless some outside influence were brought to bear on it, such as a
keen-edged knife blade.
In that case, as it was very taut, it would naturally part readily; and
with consequences disastrous to the safety of the two boats, which must
be carried off down-stream in the darkness, possibly to be driven ashore
on some rocks below.
And so Bobolink, having been duly warned with regard to possible trouble
in connection with that same hawser, had mentally called the rope his
"dead line;" and he watched the shore above that point three times as
much as any other place.
He and Andy had planned not to talk while on duty. If they found it
necessary to say anything at all, which was hardly likely, the
communication would be in the lowest whisper.
Bobolink was not greedy, but he really hoped that if any sort of
trouble did come it would come along while he and Andy were holding the
post of guards. He had a little fear that Spider Sexton might not be
depended on, no matter what his good intentions, while Tom Betts was an
unknown quantity.
In case Andy happened to be sitting in one boat, while Bobolink was
occupying the other, they had fixed it up so that by taking a lead
pencil, the "commander" could give a few little light taps on the side of
the craft, using his knowledge of the Morse code to send the message, and
in this way ask whether his assistant were wide awake, and on the job,
when Andy would send back a reply along the same order; for he aspired to
be a signal man of the troop, and was daily practicing with the wigwag
flags, as well as smoke and fire signals.
The town clock boomed out the hour of ten.
Bobolink had himself begun to feel rather sleepy, and more to arouse his
dormant faculties than anything else, he sent a message along the wooden
telegraph line. The reply was a bit slow in coming, which made him think
Andy might also be inclined to fall into a doze.
So Bobolink decided that he must bestir himself, and give the signal more
frequently. He would not have this, his first important commission, turn
out poorly, for a good deal. Perhaps his whole future usefulness as a
scout who could be depended on in emergencies rested on the way he
accounted for the safety of the motorboats this night.
When he found himself letting his eyes shut, even for a minute, he would
immediately try to picture the consternation that would ensue should a
fire suddenly envelope the boats that had been placed in the hands of the
scouts, and for which they would be held responsible.
He knew Ted Slavin of old, and felt that the town bully would not
hesitate at even such a thing as that.
Then there was such a thing as cutting the hawser, and letting the boats
drift down-stream, to bring up against some rocks that might stave a hole
in the delicate planking. Who could tell but what the rope had parted
under a strain? Sometimes a break may look like the work of a sharp
knife; and anyway, as darkness lay upon the scene, with a cloudy sky
overhead to hide the young moon, the identity of the vandal could never
be absolutely known.
All these things Bobolink was turning over and over in his mind as he sat
there trying to keep awake.
It is one of the hardest things to do, and especially when the subject is
only a half-grown lad, with but a dim idea of the responsibility
depending on the faithful discharge of his duty.
Hello! what was that? Bobolink thought he surely heard a sound like
muttered conversation. But then, even in steady old Stanhope, there were
a number of happy-go-lucky chaps who tarried late in the saloons; and
when they finally started homeward, used to talk to themselves along the
way. Perhaps it was only one of these convivial fellows trying to find
the way home, and getting off his course, coming to the open place along
the river bank, intending to lie down and sleep his confusion off.
Bobolink was thrilled, however, a minute later, when he felt sure he
could again hear the low mutter of voices. It struck him that several
persons might be urging each other on, as though inclined to feel the
need of backing.
It came from up-river, too, the point he meant to watch more than any
other; and this fact increased the suspicious look of the case.
"Oh! it's coming," whispered the eager boy to himself; "and I only hope
the water will be hot enough, that's all."
His words were mysterious enough to suit any one; and even while he was
speaking in this manner Bobolink started to crawl under the canopy that
sheltered him from the dew of the night. He allowed the end of his pencil
to throb against the side of the boat, giving the one significant word:
"Come!" An immediate answer assured him that Andy heard, and understood.
Another minute, and the Irish boy came shuffling over from the other
boat, trying to keep from making any more noise than was necessary.
"Take hold," Bobolink whispered in his ear, pulling the other's head down
close to his lips; "They're coming! Be ready to go at it licketty-split
when I say the word. Get that?"
"Sure!" came in the faintest tone from the other; whereupon Bobolink,
feeling that his hour had arrived, started once more to crawl back to his
former position.
But now he had something in his hands that looked very like a snake; or
since Bobolink was known to fairly detest all crawling creatures, it
might be a rope, although there are still other things that have that
same willowy appearance--a garden hose, for example.