It was about midnight that Frank, for no reason that he could explain,
awakened with a vague feeling of uneasiness. Try as he would he could
not compose himself to sleep again, but lay awake, struggling with a
sort of intuitive suspicion that all was not well with the _Sea Eagle_.
At last, so strong did his conviction become, that, although he was
ridiculing his fears all the time, he arose and dressed himself, and
then started out for the wharf. For a moment he thought he would rouse
Harry, who slept on another bed in the same room; but in the end he
decided not to disturb his brother's repose. Perhaps he had a vague fear
of ridicule, but at any rate Frank crept out of the hotel alone and made
his way silently down the dark and empty streets.
"This is certainly a fool's errand I'm going on," he told himself; "I
suppose that my reward for my pains will be to hear some more of
Plumbo's poetry, and yet--and yet, I can't help it. I couldn't sleep
another wink unless I was sure that the _Sea Eagle_ was all right."
Musing thus, and minimizing his own fears, Frank came in due time to the
wharf. He made his way down it and was about to step forward to descend
the ladder that led to the _Sea Eagle's_ deck, when he heard something
that made him pause. He recognized the sound instantly.
It was the rasp of a file!
"My gracious! Somebody _is_ tampering with the _Sea Eagle_!" exclaimed
the boy to himself. "My fears were not as groundless as I thought them,
after all. I wonder if that rascal Duval----"
The current of his thoughts was suddenly checked at this point by
another noise near at hand. It seemed to come from behind a big pile of
boxes on the wharf.
"Goodness! What's that?" thought Frank, and then for the first time it
flashed across him that if more than one man was engaged in the
nefarious work that he was sure was going on, he was at a serious
disadvantage. He had no weapons but his hands, whereas the others were
undoubtedly well armed.
"I'll slip back uptown as quickly as I can and arouse the authorities,"
he decided, "if they are quick we can catch the rascals red-handed. I
wonder what can have become of that fellow Jumbo or whatever his name
was? I suppose he went to sleep or something. Well, it serves us right
for leaving such an eccentric fellow on guard."
Frank, who had been crouching in the shadow of the very boxes behind
which he had heard the suspicious sounds, rose quickly to his feet. He
was just slipping off, congratulating himself that he had been
unobserved when from behind the boxes a dark figure suddenly emerged.
"Hands up, Frank Chester," it exclaimed; "we've got you where we want
you this time."
"Zeb Daniels!" exclaimed Frank, dumbfounded with astonishment. He had
not supposed the rascally young fisherman within miles of the place.
"Yes; that's me. Don't move a step or you'll get hurt."
But Frank's indignation overcame his prudence.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded angrily.
"None of your business."
"It isn't, eh? Well I know that you are damaging Dr. Perkins' boat in
some way and----"
Frank stepped deftly aside as Zeb, who was a far heavier, stronger boy
than the young aviator, made a tigerish jump at him, at the same time
brandishing a thick club threateningly.
But Zeb's sudden rush proved his undoing. Before he could recover his
balance Frank had planted a clean, hard punch on the young ruffian's
jaw, and Zeb reeled back dizzily. He recovered himself almost instantly,
however, and without making a sound hurled himself at Frank once more.
In a rough and tumble fight the sturdily built fisher boy might have
been a match for Frank Chester, but Frank had already gained some
advantage and he met Zeb's frenzied charge coolly.
Zeb, as he got within reach, let loose a tremendous swing which, if it
had struck Frank's head as his burly young opponent intended, might have
laid him flat. But to his astonishment Zeb's fist met only empty air.
Frank had ducked the blow with consummate ease, and the next instant:
One! Two!--Crack! Smack! Two well-planted blows landed on Zeb's face and
body. Frank was rushing in to complete his victory when he was suddenly
seized from behind in a powerful grip and hurled to the ground with
great violence.
Zeb's father, on board the _Sea Eagle_, had heard the disturbance, and
had swiftly and silently climbed the ladder leading up on to the wharf.
Behind him, but at a prudent distance, came Duval. The Frenchman had no
love for fighting, unless the odds were all in his favor, and he was by
no means certain how many men might have attacked them.
The elder Daniels took in the situation in a flash, and pinioned Frank's
arms, just as the latter was about to put an end to the battle. Duval
saw instantly that there was no personal danger to himself, and while
the elder Daniels held a grimy, leathery paw over Frank's mouth to
prevent his shouting for aid, Duval pinioned the lad's lower limbs.
Helpless as a baby Frank lay there on his back, completely at the mercy
of three individuals whom he had no reason to suppose would handle him
gently.
While he still lay there a helpless captive, young Daniels came up, and
doubling up his fist deliberately struck the helpless boy in the face.
But the elder of the Daniels angrily checked him.
"Stow that," he muttered roughly. "What's the matter with you?"
"I wanted to get even with him," whined Zeb; "he licked me and----"
"Waal, git even some other way. Bring me that rope off them pile of
boxes while I make him fast."
Zeb said no more, but obediently fetched the rope, and before many
minutes had passed Frank was bound hand and foot. Moreover, a gag,
consisting of a dirty fragment torn from the elder Daniels' shirt, was
thrust into his mouth.
"What'll we do with him now?" demanded Zeb, when this had been done.
"Humph, I hadn't thought of that," rejoined the elder fisherman; "we
can't leave him here, for we don't want any one to find him when they
come down, as they are bound to do afore long when that idiot Plumbo
finds out that we've fooled him. What _will_ we do with the young game
cock?"
"I'd like to chuck him overboard," quoth Zeb amiably, staunching his
bleeding nose with a dirty coat sleeve.
"Don't waste time talking rubbish," angrily rejoined his parent; "see
here, Duval, kain't you think of something?"
"Yes, I can," was the eager reply; "it's just occurred to me. Ho! ho! I
guess that'll keep him quiet for a while."
"Well, what do you propose to do?" growled Daniels. "Don't stand there
like an owl. Out with it."
"Well, my friend, you see those big barrels over there?"
"Yes, what about them?"
"We'll put him in one of those and give him a sea trip."
"By Jeehosophat, but that's a notion! I reckon by the time he's picked
up, or drifts ashore, he'll be sorry he interfered with us."
"That's a great scheme," chuckled Zeb, equally delighted. "That's what I
call getting even in good shape."
"Hold on a minute; how's the tide?" murmured Daniels. "We don't want him
to be picked up too quick."
"The tide's running out, pop," said Zeb, after a minute; "I tell you,
though, what's the matter with putting the barrel in that dory there and
then loading him in it? We can row out a ways and then dump him
overside."
"That's the best idea yet," warmly approved his worthy parent; "come on,
boys, tumble the barrel into that dory. Lively, now!"
The barrel, quite a big one, which had been used for salting down fish
and was quite watertight, was lowered into the dory that Zeb's sharp
eyes had spied with some difficulty.
Frank had watched the movements of his captors as well as he could in
the darkness; but he was quite unable to guess what all this meant,
which, perhaps, was just as well. As the conversation had been carried
on in whispers, he had not overheard a syllable of the rascally plan to
set him adrift out of pure malice.
Still bound and gagged, he was lowered into the dory, unable to call out
or move, despite the now serious alarm he felt. What could the men be
going to do with him, he wondered, and was still busy speculating on his
probable fate when Zeb and his father cast off the dory and, with rapid
strokes, began to row toward the mouth of the harbor on which Bayhaven
is situated.