talking in the shanty, for he was standing on the shore at a point where
it seemed positive the dory would take the sand, evidently counting on
"having it out" alone with the commander of the "Sally D."
"We've got to take a hand in this, Sam!" Tom cried hurriedly. "There's
no tellin' what that pirate may do to your Uncle Ben, an' we're the ones
who've got to stand up for the new family if it comes to a row."
Tom did not wait to see what steps Sam proposed to take; but, stopping
only long enough to arm himself with the buoy to which was attached a
short length of rope, ran with all speed toward where che old lobster
catcher stood awaiting the coming of him who might well be looked upon
as an enemy.
Sam Cushing was not far behind his friend in making ready to aid Uncle
Ben in case it should be necessary. A broken oar was the only weapon
near at hand, and with this upraised as a club, he ran and took his
place alongside Tom Falonna, who, ankle-deep in the water, stood
directly in front of the old man.
*CHAPTER IX*
*THE STRANDED SCHOONER*
The old lobster catcher understood full well why the boys were gathering
so close around him, and most likely their desire to defend pleased him
well; yet he motioned Tom to stand aside, as he said:
"I'm allowin', lads, that Eliakim won't be wild enough to kick up very
much of a row, an' by showin' yourselves ready for a fight, it might
make him worse'n he is naturally. Get up shore a bit, an' leave me to
deal with him, for he ain't the first man I've seen a good deal mixed by
bad temper."
Tom had hardly more than time to obey this command before the master of
the "Sally D." was ashore and striding up to Uncle Ben threateningly.
Tom swung his buoy ready for use, believing that an attack was about to
be made upon the old man.
"I want you to understand, Ben Johnson, that I don't allow anybody to
mix himself in my business as you've been doin', an' I'm here to settle
accounts," and Captain Doak raised his hand as if to strike; but Tom's
buoy came so near his head that he prudently stepped back a couple of
paces.
"The time has gone by, Eliakim, when you an' I can settle anythin'. In
order to protect Sammy, I was obliged to go to Southport yesterday, an'
when next you put in there it will be to see that your power over him is
gone. I've taken a longer lease of the island, an' found out jest what
my rights are as to the place. You're trespassin', an' if you don't
take yourself off mighty quick, I shall enter complaint agin you."
It seemed impossible for the commander of the "Sally D." to speak, so
great was his anger, and while one might have counted twenty he stood in
front of the old man waving his hands threateningly, but not daring to
advance a single pace because of the buoy which Tom swung around his
head in a manner that told how heavy a blow could be delivered with it.
Before it was possible for the infuriated man to gain command of his
tongue, Rube Rowe shouted:
"Come aboard, cap'en. What's the use of kickin' agin the law, for you
know Uncle Ben has the upper hand?"
"I'll pound you to a jelly when I get aboard, which won't be till after
I've squared accounts with this meddlin' old idjut!" Captain Doak cried
savagely, and his "crew" replied impatiently:
"If you don't come 'round on another tack mighty soon, I'll go ashore,
an' once there you ain't big enough to make me step foot on this deck
ag'in!"
"I'll lash you to the foremast for a mutinous hound, that's the way I'll
serve you, an' it won't take me long to do it!"
It was as if the captain had suddenly forgotten that he came ashore to
settle accounts with Uncle Ben, so great had become his desire to punish
his "crew" for thus daring to speak disrespectfully, and without further
heed to those on the beach, he leaped into the dory, pulling back to the
schooner as rapidly as he had previously rowed toward the island.
"He'll come pretty nigh killin' Rube," Sam cried in alarm. "He's not
quite himself, an' when he gets that way he's terrible."
"I'm allowin' that Rube will hold his own," Uncle Ben replied placidly,
"an' it'll be strange if Eliakim don't get the worst of the bargain."
"Why don't Sam an' I go aboard the schooner to take a hand in whatever
happens?" Tom asked quickly. "That sailor is a decent fellow, an' I'd
hate to see him done up by a duffer like Cap'en Doak."
"I've forbid his comin' on the island, an' it wouldn't do for us to lay
ourselves open to a charge of trespass by goin' aboard his vessel. You
needn't have any fear but that Reuben will come out all right jest now;
but what may happen after the 'Sally' gets under way is another matter."
The boys made no reply to this remark, for Uncle Ben had but just ceased
speaking when Captain Doak ran the dory alongside the schooner and was
clambering over the rail, Rube Rowe standing amidships as if indifferent
as to what might be done. The enraged man had hardly more than gained a
footing on the deck when the "crew" suddenly aroused himself to
activity, and while one might have counted ten, the two struggled
together, after which the master of the schooner dropped on the deck as
if felled by a blow.
Then Rube Rowe disappeared from view, and while the boys were wondering
if he had been seriously injured during the short squabble, he came out
of the cabin, dragging a sea chest, which he lowered into the dory that
lay alongside. In another moment he was pulling for the shore, and
Uncle Ben announced as if the situation needed little or no explanation:
"Reuben has allowed to desert the 'Sally D.,' an' I reckon Eliakim will
have a hard time to find another man, for he ain't in no ways a favorite
with fishermen."
"How can he sail the 'Sally' alone? Sam asked, in surprise.
"He can't, an' that's why I'm sorry he an' Reuben parted company so
soon, 'cause we'll have him layin' here kickin' up a fuss when we count
on bein' peaceable."
"Reckon I can take your dory a minute, eh, Uncle Ben?" Rube said as he
beached the schooner's boat and threw the sea chest out on the sand.
Then, without waiting for reply, he launched the old man's craft, and
began towing the "Sally D.'s" dory out to the schooner.
Until he had completed his task Uncle Ben and his "family" watched the
proceedings in silence, but when he returned to the shore, pulling the
dory belonging to the island well up on the beach, the old man asked
with just a tinge of curiosity in his tones:
"Where is Eliakim?"
"Stretched out on the deck, too ugly to move; now he knows I won't stand
any more of his nonsense."
"Ain't you puttin' yourself in the way of bein' called a mutineer, by
knockin' the cap'en down?"
"Mutiny aboard a fishin' vessel layin' at anchor, with only one man as
crew, an' he doin' no more'n protecting himself!" Mr. Rowe repeated with
a scornful laugh. "If Doak can make mutiny out of it, an' prove to a
judge that I wasn't doin' any more'n a decent man has a right to do, by
defendin' himself, let him go ahead an' I'll stand the shot. Say, Uncle
Ben, will you keep me here a little while, pervidin' I'll turn to an'
work my board?"
"For certain, Reuben. You're welcome to stay as long as you like, an'
needn't distress yourself tryin' to pay for what you eat. It kinder
looks as if my family was growin' faster'n I counted on, an' at this
rate I'll have to get somebody to help me out with the housekeepin'."
"I'll do the cookin' an' Tom can look after the shanty," Sam cried, and
Master Falonna added:
"We can do that much, an' 'tend to the lobster-pots while we're restin'.
Even then it won't be any more'n a snap, 'longside of what I've been
having."
"I reckon I'm able to do my full share of the work for a spell yet, so
we won't shove it all off on to you lads. Reuben shall lend a hand, as
he's allowed, an'---- Hello! Eliakim has come to, an' now I'm guessin'
we'll hear considerable bad talk."
Captain Doak had risen to his feet, and was standing near the rail
looking toward the shore where he could see that his "crew" had really
abandoned him. He gazed at the group on the beach for an instant, then
looked alongside where the dory was made fast, and afterward shouted in
a voice thick with rage:
"Don't think you've beaten me off, Ben Johnson! I'll spend all my time
from this out settlin' accounts with you, an' when they've been squared,
I'll make Rube Rowe wish he'd never been born! Better do your crowin'
now, 'cause you won't have a chance after twenty-four hours have gone
by!"
"I'm allowin' Eliakim's bark is worse'n his bite," Uncle Ben said
placidly, as the commander of the "Sally D." ran forward much as though
time was very precious just then. "But what is the poor creeter countin'
on doin'? Surely, he don't allow to sail the schooner alone!"
"He's liable to allow anything," Mr. Rowe replied, and then the
conversation ceased as those on the beach watched the captain of the
schooner.
That he intended to sail the vessel alone could be seen when he hauled
in on the anchor.
"He won't go far if he don't make sail mighty quick," Mr. Rowe muttered
as the little schooner swung around once the anchor was clear of the
bottom. "With the wind settin' in so strong from the s'uthard, it'll be
a touch an' go if he clears the point. Why didn't he get some sail on
her first, an' then he might have been able to handle himself?"
When in his right mind Captain Doak was a good seaman, and, perhaps,
there were none in Southport who could get more speed out of a vessel
than he; but now he was little better than a crazy person, and before it
was possible to raise an inch of canvas the bow of the "Sally D." was so
far inside the point that she could not by any possibility be made to
clear it.
"Let go your anchor, Eliakim, or you'll take the ground for sartin!"
Uncle Ben cried excitedly, and Captain Doak replied, as ne ceased work
to shake his fist threateningly:
"Hold your tongue! I'll run my own craft as I please, an' when I come
back there won't be enough left of you an' your gang to fill a pint
pot!"
Then he turned to the main halyards once more; but before he could make
the first motion toward hoisting the sail the schooner, given
considerable headway by the strong wind, struck heavily just inside the
point, throwing her commander to the deck. The surf was by no means
heavy, but yet had sufficient force to send the "Sally D." inshore yet
further, until her nose was buried deeply in the sand, when she heeled
over at a sharp angle.
"That's the end of his cruise, an' now we'll have him on our hands, for
no matter who owns the island, he's got the right to come ashore in
order to save his schooner," Uncle Ben said mournfully, and Mr. Rowe
added:
"Unless he hires a steamer to pull her off, she'll lay where she is for
good an' all. It's the top of the tide, an' nothin' but a tug, which
can't be found this side of Portland, will move her. I allow that
Eliakim hasn't got ready money enough to pay any sich bills."
By this time Captain Doak had scrambled to his feet, and was gazing
stupidly into the water, as if not fully understanding what had
happened; but he aroused himself to activity when Uncle Ben cried in a
friendly tone:
"I'm allowin' you're needin' a tug, Eliakim, an' if we can take any word
to Southport for you, we're ready. The 'Sally' is on there to stay till
you can get steam power to haul her off."
"Mind your own business, or it'll be the worse for you!" Captain Doak
roared. "When I'm so far gone that I'm ready to take advice from a
cantin' old hypocrite like you, it'll be time to order my coffin!"
Then, moving like one in a fury of rage, the commander of the stranded
schooner literally threw himself over the rail into the dory, and an
instant later was pulling like mad in the direction of Southport.
"He's crazy as a hedgehog, an' I'm allowin' he'll be worse before
gettin' better," Mr. Rowe said as he turned his attention to dragging
the heavy chest toward the shanty, while Tom and Sam ran along the beach
until arriving opposite where the "Sally" lay helpless, and so near the
disabled schooner's bow that it seemed as if they might board her
without wetting a foot.
"Don't make the mistake of foolin' with her," Uncle Ben shouted
warningly. "She's abandoned, an' any one has the right to take
possession, but we can't afford to have more of a row with Eliakim Doak,
so the safest plan is to give the schooner a wide berth. We'll pull the
pots now, so's to stay in the shanty when he comes back to set about
workin' her off."
"An' it'll stand him in hand to come mighty soon, for it won't take long
for her to settle herself so far in the sand that all the steamers
'twixt here an' Boston couldn't pull her off," Mr. Rowe cried as he
dragged his chest inside the shanty, disappearing with it to come out a
moment later and say cheerily:
"If you lads know where the pots are, I'll row the dory while you do the
pullin'. Uncle Ben can stay ashore an' look after things, 'cause there
ain't any call for all hands to go."
The old lobster catcher made no protest at thus being relieved of labor,
and as soon as they could make ready Mr. Rowe and the two boys set off
to make a complete voyage around the island, as would be necessary in
order to examine all the traps, while Uncle Ben was left critically
examining the "Sally D." from a distance, as if trying to form in his
mind some plan of launching her.
*CHAPTER X*
*MR. ROWE'S PROPOSITION*
The catch brought in on this day, when Uncle Ben had no hand in the
work, was so large as to surprise the old man, and he said in a tone of
content, when Sam reported the number of lobsters put into the car,
which was just outside of where the stranded schooner lay:
"'Cordin' to the looks of things it would pay for me to stay ashore all
the time, for I haven't taken as many full-sized lobsters this last
month."
"Well, why don't you do it, Uncle Ben?" Rube Rowe asked, as if the
matter was one which might readily be arranged. "You're gettin' kinder
old to be knockin' 'round in a boat, an' it looks as if you had help
enough here to run things about as they oughter be run."
"I don't allow that the boys are quite up to handlin' a dory in heavy
weather, an' pullin' pots at the same time, so I reckon it's a case of
my keepin' off the shelf a spell longer," Uncle Ben replied placidly.
"I wouldn't know what to do with myself, knockin' 'round on shore with
nothin' 'special to be done."
"The boys have been tellin' me 'bout your plan, an' I allowed that when
you'd got your family together, there'd be plenty for you to do without
lobsterin', 'cept when you wanted to tackle the job in pleasant weather
for what fun might be got out of it," Mr. Rowe suggested in a tone which
told that he would have said more, but lacked the courage, whereupon
Uncle Ben asked with a smile:
"What is it, Reuben? There's more in your noddle than you've let out so
far, an' no reason why you shouldn't make a clean breast of it."
"Wa'al, I reckon I may as well say what came inter my mind while we were
out in the dory. The boys got the idea that you was countin' on buyin'
a schooner, so's you could do a little fishin'?"
"That's in my mind, Reuben; but, of course, it ain't to be thought of
till the family grows a bit. Sam an' Tom will have their hands full
with lobsterin', an' consequently, there wouldn't be anybody to run the
vessel if I bought one."
"It was the idee of the schooner that set me to thinkin'," Mr. Rowe said
hesitatingly, much as though hardly daring to put his thoughts into
words. "If there was another man on the island, I don't see why you
couldn't run a schooner on short trips, an' 'tend to the lobster
catchin' at the same time; two boys, with a skipper who knew his
business, oughter bring in quite considerable fares of fish."
"But so long as I'm the only one to look after anythin' of the kind,
there ain't much sense in talkin' 'bout it," Uncle Ben said with a laugh
which ceased very suddenly as a new idea presented itself. "Look here,
Reuben Rowe, are you kinder hintin' that you'd turn to with us?"
"That's jest the size of it, Uncle Ben!" Mr. Rowe exclaimed, evidently
much relieved in mind by having the matter thus brought speedily to a
head.
"I ain't allowin' that I could run a schooner or look after the lobster
end of it as well as you; but yet you know I'm counted an A1 man aboard
a fisherman."
"We couldn't afford to hire a skipper, Reuben. If I can contrive to pay
for a vessel, the crew will have to work for the family, without
countin' on gettin' wages."
"Wa'al, ain't that the same as I've been talkin'?" and now Mr. Rowe
really appeared aggrieved because he had been misunderstood.
"What?" Uncle Ben cried in amazement, as, with his hands on his knees he
looked keenly at the fisherman. "Do you mean to say you'd be willin' to
come here to Apple Island an' work on the same lay as the boys?"
"Why shouldn't I?" Mr. Rowe asked meekly. "Take one season with another
I don't earn much more'n my keep, 'specially when I go ashore at this
port or that an' blowin' my wages same's the most of the crew do, an' I
can't seem to hold off when they're keen to have me go with 'em.
Seein's how I never was any great of a scholar, an' wasted what few
chances I did have for gettin' an education, I can't count on goin'
ahead as a sailor, so why not stop here where things look to be mighty
snug? Take it all in all, Uncle Ben," and now Mr. Rowe's tone was one
of pleading, "there ain't much difference betwixt the way I'm fixed an'
the way the boys stand; so far as I know there ain't child nor chick in
this world that wants to have any truck with me, 'cept it is in the way
of hirin' me for the smallest wages I'll take. When I get so low down
as to sail with Eliakim Doak it seems as if it was time to take a turn,
an' p'rhaps it would come if I could be one of your family, same's Sam
is."
"Look here, Reuben," and Uncle Ben spoke in a most friendly tone,
"you've got good reason to believe that I'd share whatever I had with
you so long as you keep yourself fairly clean in habits, as I've heard
you do. If so be you wanter jine our family, rememberin' that each one
works for the good of the whole, settle down here, an' we'll make things
as pleasant as we can; but don't think you're bound to stay any
pertic'lar time. Whenever the fit takes yer, pack up an' be off with
friendly feelin's all 'round."
"You're what I call a good man, Uncle Ben, an' it might s'prise yer to
know what a big favor you're doin' for me. I'll have a home for the
first time in twenty years, an' the show to feel that I'm of some use in
the world. I don't count on braggin', but at the same time I'm allowin'
I can help out a good bit."
"I know full well you can, Reuben, an' I'm glad to have you with us.
We'll build up a place here on Apple Island that a man can take pride
in, an' it'll help mightily to have you join us; but remember, when you
have an itchin' to get out with the rest of the world, don't be backward
in speakin' right out."
Mr. Rowe seemed to think it necessary to shake hands all round in token
of having thus been made a member of the "family," and, this done in the
gravest manner possible, he set about dragging his chest into the shanty
that he might make himself more fully at home expiating to Sam in the
meanwhile that all he owned was there.
"I'm here bag an' baggage, lad, an' mighty glad to be settled down for
the first time since I can remember."
That noon Sam cooked dinner, making a regular feast with roasted
lobsters, fried fish and something which looked considerably like an
apple pie, although the cook modestly confessed that he had not had
"real good luck with it."
The remainder of the day was spent catching cunners to be used as bait
for the lobster traps; mending some of the old pots, and putting tar on
the seams of the dory. Mr. Rowe worked as if the labor was sport, and
Uncle Ben no sooner tried his hand at this thing or that, than one of
his "family" insisted on doing it, until the old man said with a laugh
of content:
"I declare it does seem as if all hands were bent on drivin' me outer
business. I've allers been able to putter 'round with nobody to help,
an' it comes a little odd not to be allowed to so much as raise a
finger."
"Your part is to do hard work, bossin' the rest of us, Uncle Ben," Mr.
Rowe said cheerily. "There ain't so much to be done but that the boys
an' me can get through it without half tryin', an' it's time you did a
little loafin' so's to see how it seems."
During the afternoon Uncle Ben's family fully expected Captain Doak
would return with a steamer to pull the "Sally D." from her resting
place in the sand, and when night came without any sign from the owner
of the schooner, Mr. Rowe said, with an air of concern:
"I declare I ain't hankerin' for a sight of Eliakim; but I do wish he'd
show up with a tug, for the longer the schooner lays here the more it
will cost to get her off. Give her one week, with a southerly wind
blowin', as is likely at this season of the year, an' she'll be
smothered in sand."
"It's goin' to be a big job at the best to get her off, seein's she took
the ground at chock high water," Uncle Ben added, as if talking to
himself; "but it'll cost more'n she's worth, if the work ain't begun
mighty soon."
"How much do you allow she's worth?" Tom asked, and one might have
thought he had it in his mind to buy her, so serious and businesslike
was his air.
"Wa'al, I allow she'd fetch seven or eight hundred dollars afloat, an'
not half that where she lays," Uncle Ben replied as he looked at the
stranded schooner critically. "She must be fifteen or sixteen years
old, which ain't much if she'd had proper care; but Eliakim has allowed
her to run down terribly these last two seasons. Look at her! Oakum
hangin' out of her seams like yarn in a frayed stockin', an' you never
could tell by the hull what color she was painted last."
"If Eliakim wanted to sell her as she lays, I'm allowin' he couldn't get
four hundred cash, an' yet it wouldn't take so many dollars to put her
in good fair trim. I'd like to own her, high an' dry as she is," Mr.
Rowe said thoughtfully.
"But how would you get her into the water?" Tom asked curiously.
"I'd leave her where she is till I'd got her lookin' somethin' like a
vessel, shorin' her up so's she wouldn't really bury herself, an' then
I'd risk the launchin' part of it. She must be nigh full of water by
this time, for she leaks a good bit around the stern-post."
"Wa'al, we can't do any good by settin' here chinnin'," Uncle Ben said
abruptly as he rose to his feet. "If this 'ere family is to be kept
from starvin' we'd best turn in, so's to be ready for a good day's work
to-morrow."
Sam was the first to "turn out" next morning, as was his duty since he
had taken upon himself the task of cook, and he had no more than opened
the door than the sleepers were startled into wakefulness by hearing him
cry:
"Cap'en Doak has come back; but he's alone, an' it don't look as if he
was goin' to do anythin' toward floatin' the 'Sally,' for he's sittin'
on the sand smokin'."
"Most likely he's waitin' for the steamer to come," Uncle Ben said, as
he made a hurried toilet. "If so be he's got things ready for the
launchin' of her, we must all bear a hand."
"Are you goin' to help him after what he's tried to do against you?" Tom
asked in surprise, and the old man replied in a decided tone:
"That goes without sayin', lad. It's no reason why we should be brutes
because he makes a beast of himself at times. If there's anythin' we
can do to help another in trouble, I'm hopin' we'll be ready to do it,
without stoppin' to reckon up whether he's in our debt."
Then Uncle Ben went rapidly toward the commander of the stranded
schooner, and Tom Falonna, eager to hear what might be said, followed
close at his heels; but neither Sam nor Mr. Rowe showed any desire to
have an interview with Captain Doak.
"Wa'al, Eliakim, are you countin' on havin' a steamer over here to pull
the 'Sally' off?" Uncle Ben asked cheerily, and Captain Doak replied in
a surly tone:
"Whether I am or not is none of your affairs, Ben Johnson, an' I'll
thank you to keep your nose outer my business or there'll be
considerable trouble sich as won't be pleasant."
"Now, see here, Eliakim," and Uncle Ben spoke in a most friendly tone,
apparently giving no heed to the ill-natured words, "I ain't countin' on
meddlin' with you an' yours more'n I already have, an' what I did was
somethin' that you brought on yourself. Now if we can give you a lift in
floatin' the 'Sally,' we wanter do it, as neighbors should."
"I've seen your tracks at the Port, so let me tell you, Ben Johnson,
that if I couldn't launch the 'Sally' without your help, I'd leave her
to rot where she is!"
Uncle Ben was not so thick-headed but he could understand that it would
be worse than useless to attempt to hold friendly converse with Captain
Doak while he was in such a humor, therefore he went slowly back to the
shanty, looking as if in deep distress.