CHAPTER IX
A SWIMMING PARTY
Though Jack Danby, partly through his own courage and determination,and partly by reason of Dick Crawford's quick thinking, had escapedfrom the hands of the desperado who had so evidently determined tomurder him, Scout-Master Durland was anything but easy in his mindregarding his friend, as he was proud to call the young Scout who haddone so well whenever he had been put to the test.
He did not want to alarm Jack himself without cause, but to DickCrawford he spoke without hesitation.
"I'm worried about Jack, Dick," he said. "These villains are quitecapable of making another attack on him, and that would never do."
"I should say not, sir! He might not get off so lightly another time."
"That's just what I'm afraid of. If they strike against him once morethey are more than likely to realize that to have a chance against him,they must strike quickly. If that scoundrel had had the slightest ideathat the alarm had been given, or that poor Jack was conscious, I amafraid Danby would have had very little chance of his life."
"It makes me sick to think of what they might have done. That was whatI was thinking of all along as I rode for the lock."
"You made good time getting there, Dick."
"I felt as if I had to! I was helpless as long as they were out on thelake, where it was broad. Even a boat would have been useless. Ifthey had seen a boat making for them, they would have known at oncethat they were in danger, and would have either gotten rid of Jack ormade a desperate stand, with a good chance of beating off any attack.The lock was the only place to reach them--and that meant fast moving,or I would have been too late."
"Well, what I meant to say was that we ought, if it is at all possible,to take steps to see that Jack does not again expose himself to anysuch risk. He is too valuable a Scout to have him take chances thatare not necessary."
"Especially since he doesn't seem to know what fear is. He never stopsto think of the effect of anything he does upon himself. He goes aheadand trusts to luck, if he thinks that it is his duty to do anything, ifthere seems to be danger. So, when there is no need of his being inperil, it is only right to do all we can to guard him."
"Tom Binns and Pete Stubbs are devoted to him, aren't they, Dick?"
"I think either one of them would go through fire or water for him ifthere was need."
"Well, then, suppose you get hold of them quietly, without letting Jacklearn anything about what you are planning, and have them keep a closewatch on his movements. They can do it without arousing his suspicion,and, if he seems likely to do anything that would give these fellows achance to get at him, we will interfere, if possible, and spoil theirlittle plan."
"That's the idea, sir! Those two boys will be trustworthy, and they'vegot a lot of good horse sense, too."
"This may prove a very important commission for the two of them, thoughI hope, of course, that we are afraid of a shadow, and that Jack hasnothing more to fear from these men."
Tom Binns and Pete Stubbs were delighted when Dick Crawford told themwhat he wanted them to do.
"Gee, Dick," said Pete, "that makes us like a couple of sure enoughdetectives, don't it?"
"Yes--except that you're supposed to prevent anything crooked frombeing done, and not simply to find out how it was done afterward, andwho did it. We don't want any work for detectives that Jack Danby isthe centre of."
"I understand," said Tom Binns. "Pete and I are just to keep our eyesopen, and if we think Jack is running into any danger, we're to let youknow, so that you can help to keep him out of it."
"I think there's more than one person would like to see Jack out of theway," said Pete Stubbs, thoughtfully. "You know, he's told mesomething lately about this queer business of his name. It looksmighty funny to me. There are people, he says, who know who his fatherand mother were, and who are mighty angry and sorry that he's leftWoodleigh and dropped out of their sight."
"Is that so, Pete?" asked Dick, surprised, since he had heard nothingof all this.
"Yes, indeed! There was a man who has been up at Woodleigh, trying tofind out exactly where Jack had gone, and what he was doing. Jackseemed to think that this man was satisfied to have him up atWoodleigh, where people wouldn't see much of him and weren't likely tobe curious about who he was."
"And where anyone who wanted to could keep tabs on him pretty well, eh?That's easier to do in a little country place like that, where everyoneknows the business of everyone else, than it would be in a big citylike this, isn't it?"
Dick was very thoughtful.
"I've heard funny stories about Jack Danby and his name," he went on."In fact, Jack's told me himself that Danby really isn't his name atall, and that he has no idea of what his real name is. As he getsolder, naturally, it means a great deal to him that he isn't like allthe rest of us, and doesn't know all about himself. It doesn't makeany difference to his real friends, but it bothers him, naturally. Ithink we'll have to see if we can't help him solve that mystery, don'tyou?"
"I'd give anything if I could make Jack happy by telling him all abouthimself!" cried little Tom Binns, full of love and loyalty for thefriend who had always done so much for him.
"Well, we'll see," said Dick. "Meantime, if Jack has the best name inthe world, it wouldn't do him much good if it had to be carved on atombstone before he's had a chance to use it at all, and if that fellowthat carried him off from our camp ever gets another chance at him,that's what he'll be needing."
It wasn't like Dick Crawford to be alarmed by anything as a rule, andthe two Scouts were mightily impressed by his solemn tone and thewarning he gave, as he meant them to be. He didn't want them to gointo the work of guarding Jack as if he were simply a figure in a newand fascinating game. He wanted them to take the task very seriously,and give their best efforts to it. And, after such a speech, he had nodoubt that they would carry out his intentions, and that if there wereany way of making Jack safe from future attacks they would find it.
Jack himself suffered no ill effects worth mentioning from his roughexperience, unpleasant as it had been.
"Gee, Jack," said Pete Stubbs, when he saw his chum the morning afterhis rescue, "one would think, just to look at you, that you likedhaving a chap chloroform you and kick you around a little bit of aboat. You look great!"
"I had a good night's sleep, Pete. That's why. Look at the time--it'sthe middle of the afternoon, isn't it? I felt a lot more tired the dayafter that baseball double header than I do right now. They didn'treally hurt me, you see. And that swim in the cold water was just whatI needed to make me feel fine after it, too. That chased the headachethe drug gave me, and set me up in fine shape."
"I tell you why, Jack. It's because you always take a lot of exerciseand look after yourself all the time, that things like that don't upsetyou."
"Say, Pete, Tom Binns is coming around here again, later. I feel sogood that I think I'd like to go and do something this afternoon. Whatdo you say? I think it would be fine to go down to the lake and have agreat old swim. Summer don't last so long that I want to miss any ofthe swimming while it's as good as it is now."
"I'll go you!" said Pete, never thinking that it might be just suchexpeditions that Dick Crawford was afraid of. "Say, wouldn't it befine to live in a place where you can go swimming all the year round,like Florida, or California, or some place like that?"
"I don't know that it would, Pete. I think all the seasons are good,in their own time. You wouldn't like never to see the snow, or to bein a place where it never froze and made ice for skating, would you?"
"Say, Jack, I never thought of that! That's a funny thing about you.You never go off the way the rest of us do, without thinking aboutthings. You think of all sides of anything. I wish I was like that.I wouldn't make so many fool breaks!"
"Old Dan used to catch me up every time I said anything in a hurry,"explained Jack, with a smile. "I guess that's the reason I'm that way,if I really am, Pete. It isn't that
I'm any more likely to think ofthings than you, but that I've been trained that way. Whenever I saidanything reckless, or quick, Old Dan used to ask me why I said it, andmake me try to prove it. So I got to thinking about everything I saidbefore I let myself say it, and I've sort of kept up the habit."
"I'm going to try to be like that, too, Jack. I think it's a good wayto be."
"Well, here's Tom Binns! Want to go swimming with us, Tom?"
"You bet I do, Jack! Sure you feel well enough, though? You don'twant to take any chances on being sick after what you were up againstlast night, you know."
"No. I'll be all right. Come on."
So they went off. The day was warm, but overcast, and there was athreat of a thunderstorm in the sultriness of it. But they caredlittle for that.
"If we're going to get wet," said Pete, "we might as well do itcomfortably. We won't be any wetter for a thunderstorm than if the sunwere shining if we're in swimming."
They changed their clothes in a little hut at the camping place, andwent in from the little sandy beach there, the presence of which wasone of the reasons the Scouts had favored it for a camping ground.
They had not been in the water very long before great drops of water,began to fall, and then, with a howling of wind, the threatened stormcame down. They laughed and enjoyed the novelty of being in the waterin such weather, since they were in a sheltered cove. Presently thewind died down and furious thunder and lightning came to take itsplace, but that didn't bother them, either. It was not until, after avivid flash and an immediate roar of thunder, cries of distress camefrom the lake, that they were aroused. They looked out, and saw aburning launch.
"Gee," cried Pete Stubbs, his face white, "the lightning must havefired their gasolene tank! Let's get out there and see if we can'thelp."
At once they swam to the rescue.