CHAPTER X
OFF ON THE TRIP
For a few seconds both the cook and the hired man, whose feet Susanhad knocked from under him, did not move. The suddenness of it allwas too much for them. Then Dent arose after a struggle.
"Did you do that on purpose?" he asked Susan, an angry look comingover his face.
"Do what on purpose? What do you mean?"
"Did you upset my ladder?"
"Upset your ladder? Well, I guess not! But I'd like to know whyyou tried to throw that pail of water over me. If it was meant fora joke, I think it was a pretty poor one."
The woman started to arise, but found herself somewhat tangled upin the cord and ladder.
"Throw water on you?" repeated Dent with a puzzled look. "I didn'tthrow any water. It got on me as much as it did on you."
This was as near to a quarrel as these two had ever approached.Bob, listening around the corner of the house, was holding hissides to keep from bursting into laughter, though my own opinion isthat he should have felt sorry for his "joke." It might haveresulted disastrously, for either Susan or the hired man might havebroken a leg or an arm. But Bob never thought of that. His soleidea was to create a laugh for himself.
Dent and Susan, dripping wet, looked at each other. Then the cook,wiping some of the water from her face, got up. As she did so thecord tied to her apron strings became tightened, and as Dent waspartly standing on the step-ladder, Susan's progress was suddenlystopped.
"There!" she exclaimed, "That's what did it. My apron string gottangled in the ladder."
Dent examined the cord.
"No, it didn't get tangled," he announced. "It was tied there bysome one, and I know who did it."
"Who?"
"Bob Henderson. Wait till I catch him! He did this for a joke.The young rascal! pretending he wanted some rheumatism medicine forhis father! I'll fix him!"
Bob thought it was time to be moving on. He did not like the toneof Dent's voice.
But if the boy hoped to get off unseen he was disappointed. As hestarted to run he slipped and fell. Dent heard the noise the ladmade, and while Susan was loosening the cord from her apron the manran forward.
Bob, however, was up like a flash and ran off, but not before Denthad nearly caught him. Then the hired man knew it would be of nouse to chase the mischievous lad, as Bob was very fleet of foot.
"You wait!" cried Dent, shaking his fist at Bob. "I'll fix you!"
"You can't!" was the answer. "I'm going on a voyage!"
"I hope you never come back here!" said Dent angrily. "I hope youget lost on a desert island where there's nothing to eat butseaweed!"
"That would serve him right," added the cook "The idea of hintingfor some of my doughnuts! I'll tell his mother on him."
"And I'll tell his father," added Dent.
Bob was a little afraid lest Mrs. Dodson might come out, and seeingthe state her employees were in, would know the lad had had a handin it. The effects might be more unpleasant than they now promisedto be. So Bob hastened his pace, and was soon out of sight of thebig house on the hill. He left behind him two very angry persons,yet when they glanced at each other neither Susan nor Dent couldhelp laughing. They looked as if they had been through a cycloneand cloud-burst, both at the same time, as the hired man expressedit.
Bob's father did hear of the trick, but not in the way the ladexpected he would. On cooling down neither the hired man nor thecook felt like going and making a complaint about what Bob haddone. The trick, however, had been witnessed by the coachman, andhe told some friends in the village. In this way it became knownto several persons, and Mr. Henderson heard of it.
"Bob," he said to his son very sternly that night, "I thought youhad given up such foolishness as playing those tricks."
"I thought I had, too, dad, but I couldn't help doing this. Herapron strings came just in the right place."
"Do you think it was a nice thing to do?"
"No, sir. I s'pose not."
Mr. Henderson sighed. Bob was so frank to acknowledge a fault thatit was hard to punish him.
"I don't know what's going to become of you," he said.
"Well, that was my last land joke, dad."
"Your last land joke? What do you mean?"
"I'm going to sail with Captain Spark soon, and I'll not have timefor any more."
"That's so, and I'm glad of it. If you try any jokes on thesailors you may find they know a trick or two themselves."
"Oh, I'm going to turn over a new leaf."
"It's about time."
Bob really intended to mend his ways. This, perhaps, was due asmuch to a fear of what the sailors on the ship might do to him ifhe played any pranks on them as it was to a desire to reform.
That same night Captain Spark arrived at the Henderson home alittle ahead of time. He announced that his ship was ready tosail, and that he and Bob would depart the next morning for theseaport town.
"All ready, Bob?" he asked.
"Aye, aye, sir."
"That's the way to talk. We may have to lay at the dock for acouple of days longer than I calculated on, but that will give youa chance to get acquainted with the ship before we strike bluewater."
"That will be good."
With the return of the captain, Bob's visions of a life on theocean wave were redoubled.
Mrs. Henderson cried a little when it came time to part the nextmorning, and there was a suspicious dampness in the eyes of Mr.Henderson. Bob also, in spite of the happy life he thought laybefore him, was not altogether devoid of emotion. He felt theseparation more than he thought he would.
"Now be a good boy, Bob," counseled his mother.
"I will." "It's your first long trip, and it certainly is a bigone," spoke his father. "Prove yourself a man, Bob."
"I'll try, sir."
Bob felt new responsibilities now, and made any number of goodresolutions.
"Ahoy, my hearties!" called the bluff, cheerful voice of CaptainSpark. "Heave up the anchor, brace around the yards, for we've gota good wind, a free course and a fair sky!"
And with a chorus of good-bys the two started off toward the depot.The trip was begun.