*CHAPTER X.*
*BOYS IN A TRAP.*
Meanwhile the other boys, having disposed of their lunch, and hearingnothing from Joe and David, became more anxious, and set off for thelighthouse.
There they learned from Mrs. Kramer that John had reported Walter andNed surrounded by the tide, and that the boat was to be launched to goto the rescue.
In great excitement the crowd of boys rushed down over the rocks to theplace where the men had just pushed off in their boat.
There were two pairs of oars and two strong boat-hooks in the skiff, andthe three men were ready to do all they could for the castaways.
The boat was soon out of sight beyond the spur of the cliff that helpedto form the trap in which Walter and Ned were caught, and the crowdrushed back to their lunch-place, to see if they could get a glimpse ofthe boat there; but another spur, around which the boys had gone tohide, shut off the view.
When they reached their fishing-ground, they found, to their disgust,that the tide had risen over much of their lunch, and had carried offmany of their nice, jointed rods, that were still floating provokinglynear, but just out of reach.
The baskets had been tipped over by the waves, spilling all the finefish they had caught in the morning.
"Did you ever see such luck?" cried Clifford Davis--"everything at sixesand sevens."
"This is the result of too much freedom, eh?" asked Don.
"That's so, Don," said Joe. "I wish we were all safe out of thisscrape."
Some of the boys had taken the precaution to throw their rods well up onthe rocks, and with these they tried to rescue the floating baskets androds, but with a limited success; only a few could be recovered.
It was a great temptation to Joe and Dave, knowing of the look-out onthe edge of the cliff and yet keeping away from it; but they understoodtoo well the risk that would be run by a crowd of careless, venturesomeboys, who would never believe that they could come to harm by justlooking over the edge of the cliff, however steep it might be.
The time seemed very long as they waited for Mr. Kramer's return, orsome tidings from the missing boys.
"Pretty near high tide," exclaimed Joe soberly, as he held his watch forDave to see.
"The boat is around there by this time, and the question is now whetherthey are to be taken off that way or left to wait for the tide to get aslow as it was when they dodged around that place."
"Why, isn't Mr. Kramer going to take them off anyway?" asked LewisGermaine.
"Not if he finds they are safe without it. He won't risk his boat inthere if they can be saved any other way. The water rushes in therelike a mill-race, and sweeps out again the same way."
"Then we may have to wait two or three hours yet before we can see theboys!" exclaimed Don.
"Yes," said Joe, "all that time."
He presently whispered to David, "I can't stand it, boy. You stay here,so the others won't suspect. I am going to look, if I can steal offwithout their knowing it. Don't you say that I'm gone."
"All right," said Dave. "Get back as quick as you can."
Joe began skipping stones lazily, and, moving slowly away from the restof the party, disappeared behind some rocks, beyond which he droppedsuddenly, and crept on hands and knees up the bank where the bushes werethickest.
Once out of sight of his companions, he arose and hurried out to thepoint on the cliff overlooking the prison-house of his two friends.There he crept carefully to the edge and looked over.
"Good! they are safe, and there's the boat."
"How are you there? All right?" he heard the mate of the wrecked vesselshout.
"All right! No, sir--not by a good deal. The water is still comingup," shouted Walter.
As the boat was pulled within speaking distance the frightened boysbecame more and more alarmed, it plunged about so wildly on the roughwater; and they thought, perilous as their position was, it waspreferable to a change to the boat.
"We'll drown getting into that skiff, Walt," said Ned, paler than everat the dilemma.
"Yes, if there is any chance here, I would rather stay till the tidegoes down; wouldn't you?"
"Yes, I would."
"Say, Mr. Kramer, just lie off there, and wait; perhaps the water won'tcome up here."
"That's just what I'm doing. You don't catch me risk my boat in thereunless you are ready to go under."
"When is it high tide?" shouted Walter.
"Five minutes before twelve."
Walter looked at his watch eagerly. "I believe it won't reach us, Ned.It is ten minutes off high now, and unless the last few waves are extrahigh we will have a standing-place in this cleft in the rock."
Ten minutes dragged slowly away, and the angry waves had not reachedthem. They waited a little longer, to be sure, and then cried joyfully,"It is twelve o'clock and after, and we are all right."
"Good! Then all you've got to do is to wait, and learn wisdom againstanother time. The tide will be down low enough to let you out of thattrap in about two hours and a half, or three, at most."
The boys groaned, and then Ned said dolefully, "We'll starve to death.I didn't know I was hungry until the danger was over."
"You'll be hungrier before you get off," shouted the hard-heartedKramer, laughing provokingly.--"A good lesson for the young scamps. Itseems they made a fuss about having a teacher go along with 'em to lookafter them, so the head man, Mr. Bernard, let 'em off alone to-day.That little chap, Joe, he owned they'd got enough of it."
"I'll lower them something with a line when we get ashore," said themate, glancing up at the perpendicular face of the cliff. "It isn'tlong ago that I was wrecked myself and wanted help."
Joe had seen enough to gladden his heart as he lay looking over the edgeof his high perch. The boys were safe at high tide, and the boat wascoming back without them, so he went back toward his companions, andwhen within hailing distance, cried, "Come on, boys; let's go over tothe boat-landing, and wait till Mr. Kramer gets back."
The boys were ready for anything that would help to pass away the time,and they rushed away in time to see the boat rounding the rocky pointthat had hidden it from view.
"Whew! there they come, but no Walt or Ned," exclaimed Cliff Davis.
"What did you find out, Joe?" whispered David, locking arms with hisfriend.
"The boys are all right: the water won't come any higher. But won't itseem a long time before they get back?"
When the boat reached the landing the mate called cheerily, "Boys, yourmessmates are all right, but very hungry; have you got any dinner withyou?"
"Yes; we saved some for them, but the tide carried off a lot."
"Well, bring it along, and I'll get a line and lower it to them."
"Hurrah for you, sir!" shouted the boys. "Oh how glad they'll be!"
Joe and Dave ran for the lunch, while John scampered to the house for along line.
Going out on the cliff, the mate tied the basket to the line, andprepared to drop it over.
"Stand back," he shouted, as the boys crowded forward. "I shan't do itunless you all stand back."
"Are they down there? Can you see them?" asked the boys eagerly.
"Yes, I see them."
"My! just think, we might have been here watching them just as well asnot," exclaimed Lewis.
Joe and Dave exchanged wise glances at this, and Mr. Kramer said, "Luckyyou didn't know it, for a crowd of you boys jiggling and pushing andfooling, as boys do, would have gone over. Stand back there!"
"Hullo, below!" shouted the mate. "Here's some food for you."
Walter and Ned, looking up, saw the basket slowly descending, and theboys listening heard a faint cheer above the roar of the sea.
"Got it?"
"Yes, all right!" shouted Walter, taking the basket from the line.
"There! that's all I can do for them," said the mate, reeling in theline. "Now, boys, I'll give you some advice for nothing: G
o back to asafer place, and wait for your friends. They will be prisoners for overtwo hours yet, and if you stay here some of the rest of you will bepretty likely to tumble over to keep them company; only I reckon yourcompany wouldn't be good for much after you got down there."
"All right, sir," said Joe, glad to have some one speakauthoritatively.--"Come on, boys! Let's go back and lie around on therocks and tell stories."
"Agreed, if you will be the teller," cried several, knowing that he hadRobinson Crusoe and the Arabian Nights at his tongue's end.
Away went the crowd back to the fishing-place; and Mr. Kramer and theother two men returned to the lighthouse.