CHAPTER III
A STRANGE PROPOSITION
Perhaps some of my readers may not know what the contrivance knownas a "tic-tac" is like. Those of you who have made them, ofcourse, do not need to be told. If you ever put them on anyperson's window, I hope you selected a house where there were onlyboys and girls or young people to be startled by the tic-tac. Itis no joke, though at first it may seem like one, to scare an oldperson with the affair. So if any boy or girl makes a tic-tacafter the description given here, I trust he or she will be carefulon whom the prank is played.
To make a tic-tac a long string, a pin and a small nail are allthat is required. A short piece of string is broken from thelarger piece, and to one end of this latter the pin is fastened bybeing thrust through a knot.
To the other end or the short cord is attached the nail. Then thelong string is tied to the short string a little distance above thenail.
With this contrivance all made ready Bob and Ted sneaked up underthe front window of the widow's house. It was the work of but amoment for Bob to stick the point of the pin in the wooden part ofthe window-frame so that the nail dangled against the glass. Then,holding the free end of the long string, he and Ted withdrew to theshadow of some lilac bushes.
"All ready?" asked Ted.
"Sure. Here she goes!"
Bob then gently jerked the string. This swung the nail to and fro,and it tapped on the window-pane as if some one was throwingpebbles against the glass. This was kept up for several seconds.
The widow, who was reading in the dining-room, heard the tapping atthe glass. It startled her at first, and then, thinking some onemight be at the door, she conquered her nervousness and opened theportal. Of course she saw no one, and the string was not observed.Neither were the boys, hidden in the bushes.
"We fooled her," chuckled Ted, for they could see all that happened.
"Sure we did," added Bob. "Wait till she goes in and we'll do itsome more."
Somewhat puzzled, the Widow Mooney closed the door. No sooner wasshe back in the dining-room than the tapping at the pane wasresumed. This time it was louder. The widow, who was quite timidand nervous, felt frightened. She had years before believed inspirits, and she had not altogether gotten over this.
Once more she went to the door, the boys observing her from theirhiding-place. They were so delighted with their prank, which theythought a fine "joke," that they laughed heartily, having to holdtheir hands over their mouths so as not to betray themselves.
"She don't know what it is," whispered Ted.
"Maybe she thinks it's night-hawks pecking at the window,"suggested Bob.
"Go ahead. Tap some more. She's going in."
Much puzzled by the queer noises, for no one had ever before put atic-tac on her window, Mrs. Mooney went back to her dining-room.But she could not read.
"I must find out what that is," she said to herself. "If it'sburglars, I'm going to call for help. Suppose it should be thievestrying to cut one of the window-panes? I've read of such doings."
Now, the widow was less afraid of something bodily, like burglars,than she was of "spirits," so she resolved the next time she heardthe queer tapping to run out and call for help.
In a little while Bob pulled the string again, and the danglingnail went tap! tap! tap! against the pane.
"Here she comes!" exclaimed Ted in a whisper as the door opened.
And this time, instead of contenting herself by merely lookingabout, Mrs. Mooney came out on the porch. Then she started downthe front walk toward the lilac bushes, though she did not know theboys were there.
"She's comin' after us," whispered Ted. "Come on, Bob."
Bob was aware of the danger of getting caught. He prepared to run.
Now there is this advantage to a tic-tac. Once you want to escapeyou can take it with you by the simple process of pulling on thelong string, when the pin is jerked from the window-frame, and youcan drag the nail and all with you, thus leaving no evidencebehind. This was what Bob did.
Quickly winding up the string as he pulled the pin and nail towardhim, he and Ted started to run, crouching down low so as not to beseen. But Ted, unfortunately for the success of their plan,stumbled and fell, making so much noise that Mrs. Mooney heard it.
"Thieves! Burglars! Police!" she screamed.
"Come on!" cried Bob desperately. "We'll be caught!"
Mrs. Mooney ran back into the house, slammed the front door, shutand locked it. She believed she had surprised thieves at work, forshe saw two dim forms running toward the street.
"Leg it!" whispered Bob.
"I am," replied Ted.
They reached the gate together, but that was as far as they got,for just as they arrived at it they collided with a large man whowas running toward the house. He was so large that the combinedimpact of Bob and Ted against him never staggered him, but italmost threw them off their feet. They were running, head down,and had not seen him.
"Hold hard there, my hearties!" exclaimed the man in a gruff butnot unpleasant voice. "What are you trying to cross my bows for inthis fashion? That's no way to run, not showing a masthead lightor even blowing a whistle. Avast and belay! You might have sunkme if I didn't happen to be a heavier craft than you."
As the man spoke he instinctively grasped the two boys, preventingthem from continuing their flight.
"What's the trouble?" he went on. "I heard a femalecrying--sounding a distress signal like. Where are the burglars?Are you going for the police?"
"No, sir. It was us, playing tic-tac," explained Bob, thinking itbest to make a clean breast of the affair.
"Tic-tac, eh? I haven't heard that since I was a boy. On whosewindow?"
"The Widow Mooney's, sir."
"And it was the widow, I presume, who was signaling for aid. Well,I'll stand by and see what's wanted. You'd better come back also."
"Aw, we don't want to," spoke Ted.
"No, I suppose not. Still you're coming."
The man had both boys firmly by their arms, and he turned in thegateway with them. As he did so, Mrs. Mooney, hearing voices,ventured to open her door. The light streamed out and showed theface of the man. At the sight of it Bob uttered an exclamation.
"Why, it's Captain Spark!" he cried.
"That's what. You read my signals right, my lad, and if I'm notmistaken, you're Bob Henderson."
"Yes, sir."
Captain Jeremiah Spark was an old seafaring man. He was a distantrelative of Bob's mother, and, in fact, he was on his way to callon her, having just returned from a long voyage, when he ran intothe boys, or, rather, they collided with him.
"So you're playing tricks on a poor, lone widow woman, are you?"asked the captain in no very pleasant tones.
"We--we didn't mean any harm," said Bob.
"No, I suppose not. Boys never do, but the harm comes. Now I'mgoing to march you two lads right up before the mast; and you'regoing to apologize to the widow. If you don't, why, I reckon acat-o'-nine-tails will fit the case pretty well."
Mrs. Mooney was standing in her door as the captain led the twoboys up to her.
"Here's the burglars you were shouting about, ma'am," he said."One of 'em a relative of mine, I'm sorry to say. They've cometo beg your pardon. Go ahead, boys."
"I'm sorry about the tic-tac," said Bob in a low voice.
"We didn't mean nothin'," added Ted.
"Was it you boys?" asked the widow. "I was so frightened. Ithought burglars were trying to cut out a pane of glass."
"I don't believe they'll do it again," remarked Captain Spark."Will you, boys?"
"No, sir," they chorused.
"That's right. Now come on, Bob. I'm going to your house."
The captain was warmly welcomed by Mr. and Mrs. Henderson a littlelater. Bob was wondering whether the captain would say anythingabout the recent prank, but the old seaman said nothing, though hiseyes twinkled when, in response to a question from Mr. Henderson asto
where the captain had met Bob, the former replied that there hadbeen a collision in the dark.
That night, after Bob had gone to bed, Mrs. Henderson had a talkwith her relative.
"I don't know what to do with Bob," she said. "He is alwaysgetting into mischief. He is not a bad boy at heart, but he isthoughtless."
"Yes, that he is," agreed Captain Spark.
"I am almost sure he was up to some prank tonight," went on Bob'smother. "I shall probably hear about it in the morning, when someof the neighbors call to make a complaint. Oh, dear, I wish I knewwhat to do!"
"I'll tell you what," suddenly exclaimed the captain, banging hisfist down on the table with emphasis. "Let me take him to sea withme aboard the Eagle."
"Take him to sea? Take Bob on a voyage?" asked Mrs. Henderson.
"That's it! You let me take him, and I'll guarantee I'll make aman of him. The land is no place for a boy, anyhow. He needs abit of ocean travel to broaden his views."
"That is a strange proposition," said Mr. Henderson. "We mustthink it over."