CHAPTER VIII
WHAT THE WATER GAUGE SHOWED
"Well, here is a pretty kettle of fish!" grunted the disgusted Jud. "Weseem to take to sandbars and mud flats today to beat the band."
Paul had stopped the motor, since it seemed useless. But of course he didnot mean to give up trying to get the boat off.
"One thing's sure," he said, positively, when the others gathered aroundhim, as if in this emergency they looked to the scout master to inventsome method of beating the sticky mud at its own game; "every minute westay here makes it all the worse for us."
"Yes, because our weight is sure to make the boat sink deeper in hernest!" declared Little Billie, leaning far over the side, as if to seehow far down in her muddy bed the boat lay.
"Yes, that's one thing," added Paul; "but another is the fact that thecreek is falling all the time. Unless it rains, there'll soon be nothingbut mud around us. Now, every fellow crowd back here, and leave the bowas free as we can. That might loosen the grip of the mud; and when Iturn on the motor at full speed again, let's hope she'll move."
It was a sensible suggestion; and indeed, about the only thing possible,since the other boat, being in the same fix, could not come near, eitherto give a friendly tug, or take off the _Comfort's_ crew.
When he had them all as far in the stern as they could get, with awarning not to allow themselves to be shaken loose, unless they wanted amud bath, the skipper started his motor working.
When it was going at full speed the boat quivered and strained, but didnot move, so far as any one could see; and they were all eager to detectthe first sign of motion.
"No good!" sighed Jud. "Might as well look the thing in the face,fellows. Here we stay, and eat up all our grub, day after day. Ain't itfierce, though? How d'ye suppose we'll ever stand it? If anybody had apair of wings now, and could fly ashore, we might get help to pull usout. But we couldn't use our wigwag flags, even if we tried, becausewho'd see 'em? Oh! what tough luck!"
Paul may have felt somewhat discouraged himself, but he was not thefellow to betray the fact--so early in the game, at least.
"Well, Jud," he said, soberly, "perhaps we may have to stick it outhere for a while, but I hope it won't be as bad as you say. And makeup your mind that if we do, it'll be a mighty strange thing, witheighteen wide awake scouts to think up all sorts of schemes and dodgesthat we can try."
"That's the stuff, Paul!" exclaimed Phil Towns. "Every fellow ought toget right down to hard pan, and try to think up some way of beating thisold sticky mud. What's the use of being scouts, if we let a little thinglike this get the better of us? If I could only wade ashore, I'd fix ahawser to a tree back there, and then by workin' the engine p'raps wemight pull the boat off. I've seen 'em do that with a steamboat, awaydown on Indian River, when I was with my folks in Florida last winter.And it worked, too."
"Well, try the wading; it looks fine!" laughed Joe Clausin.
"Don't think of it," called out Gusty Bellows at that moment. "I stuckthis pole down in the soft slush, and my stars! it goes right through toChina, I reckon. Anyhow, I couldn't reach bottom. And if you jumped over,Phil, you'd be up to your neck at the start. Let's tie a rope under yourarms first, anyhow."
But Paul quickly put an end to all this sort of talk.
"There's no use trying anything like that," he said. "Even if you didreach the shore, we haven't got a rope long and strong enough to do thebusiness. Besides, we may have help soon."
With that all the boys began craning their necks, as if they expected tosee some kind of a queer craft that could pass over mud as easily asother boats did water, bearing down on them, with the design of draggingthem from the bank,
"Say, what does he mean? For the life of me I can't glimpse anythingworth shucks; and the blooming old _Speedwell_ seems to be sticking tightand fast, just the same way we are. Loosen up, Paul, and put us wise;won't you?" pleaded Phil.
"I didn't mean that any living thing was going to hold out a hand tous," remarked the smiling scout master; "but look aloft, boys, and seewhat's coming."
With that they followed his instructions.
A general shout went up.
"Whee! rain a-comin' down on us! Get the curtains ready to button fast,boys, or we'll have all our fine stuff soaked through and through."Little Billie called, himself setting things in motion by seizing one ofthe rolled curtains, and letting it come down, to be fastened around thecockpit by means of gummets and screws.
"But Paul meant something else," declared Jud Elderkin, wisely. "You see,if only that rain does come, and it's heavy enough, there's going to bea lot more water in this old canal than we need to pull through with. Youknow how quick the Bushkill River rises; and I guess it's the same waywith the Radway."
"Oh! don't we wish that there'll just be a little old cloud-burst!" criedGusty Bellows. "I could stand anything but staying here seven or tendays, doin' nothing, only eat, and stare at this mud, and wish I was backhome. Come on, little clouds; get a move on you, and let's hear you growllike thunder."
They had by now called the attention of the others to the prospects forrain. Indeed, as soon as the first curtain fell, some of Jack's crew tooknote of the significant fact, and they could be seen looking up at theblackening heavens. There had been very few times in the past when thoseboys had hoped it would rain. Perhaps, when they were kept home from apicnic--for reasons--some of them may have secretly wished the cloudswould let down a little flood, so that those who had been lucky enough togo, might not have such a laugh on them after all.
But certainly they never felt just as they did now, while watching theplay of those gathering storm clouds.
"And the best of the joke is," commented Jud, with a grin, "that lots ofthe good folks at home right now are looking up at those same blackclouds, and pitying us boys. They don't realize how we're just prayingthat the rain won't turn out a fizzle, after all. Wasn't that a drop Ifelt?"
[Transcriber's note: Beginning of sentence missing from original text]till that gray gets nearly overhead," remarked Paul, pointing upat a line marked across the heavens about half-way toward the horizon,and in the direction of the wind.
"It's getting dark, anyway," remarked Nuthin, rather timidly; for truthto tell, the small boy had never ceased to remember how, earlier in theseason, when in camp up near Rattlesnake Mountain, a terrible storm hadstruck them and as he clung desperately to the tent they were trying tohold down, he had actually been carried up into the branches of a tree,from which position only the prompt work of his fellow scouts had finallyrescued him.
"And look at that flash of lightning, would you?" echoed Joe Clausin."Wow! that was a heavy bang; wasn't it? Tell you now, that bolt must 'astruck somethin'! Always does, they say, when it comes quick like that."
"How's the cover; just as snug as you can make it, boys?" demanded Paul;"because we'll likely get a bit of a blow first, before the rain comes,and it'd be a bad job if we lost this whole business. Stand by to grabhold wherever you can. After that, if we weather it all right, there'llbe no trouble."
"And say, she's coming licketty-split, believe me," called Jud. "I c'nhear it hummin' through the trees over there like the mischief. Takehold, everybody; and don't let it get away from you!"
"We'll all go up together this time, then!" muttered little Nuthin; butwith the grit that seemed a part of his nature, once he started in to doanything, he also seized the canvas covering at the bottom, and set histeeth hard.
With a roar the wind struck them. Had it come from the right quarter Paulbelieved it might have helped work them loose; but it happenedunfortunately that just the reverse was the case. If anything, they weredriven on the mud-bank all the harder.
But at any rate the tarpaulin canopy did not break loose, and that wassomething to be satisfied with.
The wind whooped and howled for perhaps three minutes. Then it died down,as if giving up the attempt to tear the boat's top out of the hands ofthe determined boys.
"The worst's over, fellows
!" called Paul, breathing hard.
"Hurrah! that's better'n saying it is yet to come. How'd the _Speedwell_make out?" Jud asked, sinking back on a thwart, the better to find someplace to peep out.
"Seems to be all there," replied Nuthin, who had been quicker to lookthan the more clumsy Jud. "She's got her cover on, and I guess that meansthey're safe and sound; but she don't seem to be floatin' worth a cent.
"No more are we; but listen, there comes the rain. Now for it," observedPaul, as with a rush the water began to descend, rattling on the roof ofthe canopy cover.
"Fine! Keep right along that way for a while, and something's boundto get a move on it, which I hope will be our two boats!" criedGusty Bellows.
"Did you ever hear it come down heavier than that?" demanded Old DanTucker, as he looked anxiously around to see that none of the cargo wasexposed to the flood.
"Wonder if this old thing sheds water?" suggested Jud, looking up at theheavy canopy as though he fancied that he felt a stream trickling downthe back of his neck.
"You can bank on it," declared Joe Clausin. "Anything Mr. Everett ownshas got to be gilt-edged. And he'd never stand for a leaky canopy.What're you lookin' at out there, Paul?" for the scout master was leaninga little out on the side away from their companion boat in misery.
"Why, you see," replied the scout master, drawing his head back, "Ifixed a little contrivance here, just before the storm broke, and I'mlooking now to see whether it shows the least gain in water. I markedthis pole with inches, and rammed it just so far in the mud. If the waterstarts to rising any, I can tell as soon as I look."
"And is she going up yet?" asked Jud, eagerly,
"Well, it wouldn't be fair to expect that for some time yet," repliedPaul. "At the best I expect we'll have to stay here an hour or so, untilthe water up-stream has a chance to come down. I hope it may surprise me,and get here quicker than that. And boys, if we have to spend all thattime doing nothing, why we might try that little oil stove Mr. Everetthas, and see how it can get us a pot of coffee, with our cold lunch."
"What time is it now?" asked Jud; while Old Dan Tucker pricked up hisears, at the prospect of "something doing" along his favorite line.
"Going on eleven; and I had my breakfast awful early!" remarkedLittle Billie.
"And I had hardly a bite--reckon I was too much excited to eat--so I'mmighty near starved right now," declared Dan Tucker; but then the boyshad known him to put up that same sort of a plea only an hour afterdevouring the biggest meal possible, so they did not expect to see himcollapse yet awhile from weakness through lack of food.
All the same, Paul agreed that it might serve to distract their minds ifthey did have lunch. He also asked Jud to get in communication with thoseon the other boat, if the rain had let up enough for them to exchangesignals, and by means of the flag, tell them what those on the _Comfort_meant to do.
Just as Bobolink, who answered, had informed them that those under Jackwere about to follow the same course, Paul took another glance at hisrude water gauge.
When he drew in his head, Jud, who had been waiting to tell what theothers reported, saw that Paul was smiling as though pleased.
"What's doing, Commodore?" he asked.
"The water has risen half an inch, and is still going up," replied Paul.
At that there was a roar of delight--only Old Dan Tucker was so busywatching the lunch being got ready, he did not seem to hear thejoyous news.