CHAPTER X
THE QUEER WAYS OF BUMPUS
"There ain't a thing moving up there, Davy; and I reckon, now, you'reonly just afooling us," complained Step Hen, after they had stared ashard as anything at the crown of the rocks, which was sharply outlinedagainst the dark heavens.
As the others had met with like poor success in trying to locate theobject the scout in question claimed to have seen, they naturally turnedon Davy, to demand further explanations.
It could easily be seen, however, from his excited condition, that theboy actually believed what he said.
When Giraffe and Bumpus, and even Allan, urged him to repeat hisassertion, he not only did so, but added still more to what he had saidbefore.
"Guess I ought to know what a man's head looks like, hadn't I?" Davywent on to remark, indignantly; "cause I've seen a few in my day. Itwas there as plain as--as, well, the nose on my face, and you'll saythat's right smart in evidence, I know you will, Giraffe. Looky upyonder--see the little peak that seems to stick up above all the rest ofthe old rock pile? Well, it was alongside that it showed up; and rightwhile I was asaying it, the thing disappeared like smoke. But youbelieve me, I saw something, and it was a man's head too, no matter ifthere was a bear or a panther at the other end of the same."
Strange to say no one chuckled at these queer remarks of Davy. They sawthat he was in deadly earnest; and the possibility of a strange manspying on them seemed too serious a matter to arouse a laugh.
"Well," said Step Hen, presently, when they had strained their eyes tothe utmost without any result whatever, "seems like he saw you at thesame time, and lit out in a big hurry."
Giraffe began to recover from the first shock caused by the alarm; andwhen he was feeling himself the tall scout could nearly always think ofsomething quaint to say.
"That reminds me of the old baby book rhyme we all used to say; p'rapsyou'll remember, fellows. It's been a long time since I repeated it,but I think it runs about like this: 'I Saw Esau kissing Kate; and thefact is, we all three saw. I saw Esau, he saw me; and Kate saw I sawEsau.' How's that?"
No one answered, and for a pretty good reason; for hardly had Giraffeuttered his question when, without the slightest warning, a dazzling rayof white light suddenly fell upon the group of scouts crouching there onthe after-deck of the little hunting cabin cruiser, causing every one togasp, and fall to quivering almost as much as though a flash oflightning had darted toward them.
"Oh!" cried some one; and while the tones of the voice could hardly bedistinguished on account of the vibration caused by the speaker's alarm,no one had the least doubt but that it was Bumpus who thus betrayed hisagitated feelings.
Thad and Allan, and perhaps several of the other scouts, knew instantlythat the strong glow was caused by one of those handy little electrictorches, for they happened to have just such an alliance along withthem, and had made great use of it on numberless occasions.
This told them that after all Davy had spoken truly when he declared sovehemently that he had seen a man's head up there on the rocks.
Nobody moved, only crouched there, staring at that dazzling light, andmentally figuring what was going to happen next.
Doubtless all sorts of alarming theories flitted through their minds,for after their recent talk about smugglers and those sorts oflaw-breakers the boys were in a good state to imagine things.
They were given very little time, however, to collect their wits; for agruff voice (strange how voices are always gruff under similar conditionbut this one was very hoarse without any question) called out:
"Ahoy there, aboard the launch!"
Had it depended on Bumpus, and perhaps Step Hen also, the reply musthave been a long time coming, for they hardly dared trust their voices;but then Thad was able to hold his own, and he immediately called back:
"Hello! yourself; what d'ye want?"
"Bring that boat ashore, and be quick about it!" the deep grumbleproceeded to tell them; and somehow poor Bumpus was forcibly reminded ofthe growl of a lion he had once heard in a menagerie, as well as severalother things along the same "away down in the cellar" line.
"I suppose we might as well do it, fellows?" Thad remarked to his chums,in somewhat of a low tone; as though he meant to be influenced more orless by what decision the other scouts reached.
"Oh! can't we skip out before they get their hands on us, Thad?" Bumpuswanted to know. "We're full twenty feet and more away from the shore,and it'd take a champion sprinter and jumper to cover that distance."
"Yes, but how about running out into that storm again, eh, Bumpus? Feellike going through another experience like that?" demanded Giraffe.
"Not any for me, thank you. Thad, I say, do what he tells us. He can'teat us, I reckon; and we ain't got any reason to be afraid because ofanything we've done."
"Same here, Thad," remarked Davy, quickly: he had been feeling very muchlike backing up Bumpus in his request, but what Giraffe said caused himto "take water" instantly, and Davy was as quick to make a revolution inhis mind as his body could revolve in several handsprings over theground, when he was feeling good.
"Allan, how about you?" asked Thad, feeling that much depended on whatthe one addressed thought.
"No help for it, Thad; we've got to throw up our hands that far, anyway;because, like as not they've got us covered right now with their guns,and while they can see us fairly well, everything all dark to us upthere."
"Oh! my stars!" Bumpus was heard to whisper to himself, in a horrifiedtone, as he learned about those terrible firearms that must be held withtheir muzzles projecting in the direction of the floating home of thescouts; but all the same Bumpus, "though good and scared," as heafterwards candidly confessed, did not attempt to lie down, and shieldhis round body behind any of his comrades; if they could take theconsequences surely he ought to be ready to face the music; and so heonly knelt there and quivered and looked, momentarily to see a flash,and hear a deafening report that would stagger them all.
"Well are you going to do what I told you?" the heavy bass voicedemanded, more or less, impatiently.
"Don't be so foolish as to think, you can slip away," a second unseenman told them, "because we've got you covered, and if you start up thatengine we'll give you a volley that'll make you wish you hadn't. Comeashore with that boat, you hear? We know you, Cranston! The game isup!"
Thad breathed easier, somehow. What had been said seemed to tell him itmight after all only be a case of mistaken identity; and that if theyobeyed the rough summons they would in all probability not be apt tosuffer on account of yielding.
"Get a push pole, somebody, and help me shove ashore!" Thad remarked;and then raising his voice so that the unseen enemies might hear, hecontinued: "you needn't bother wasting any of your ammunition on us,mister, because, we're willing to do what you, ask, and come to land.So hold up, and give us a chance, for we've got to raise our anchorfirst; and the water's some deep here to use the poles in."
He heard a low laugh near by, but there was no further comment fromthose who had the situation well in hand. Every scout understood,however, that a number of heavily armed men must be scrutinizing theiractions from the roll; for that strong white glow was kept closelyfocused on the boat all the time they proceeded to drag in the anchor,and start working the push poles, with which the little hunting cabinlaunch was well provided.
The water in the harbor they had found was of considerable depth, butfortunately the poles were long as well as stout, and presently the boatbegan to move slowly in response to the energetic efforts which Thad andGiraffe put forth.
Bumpus had assisted to pull in the anchor, and was now squatted like abig frog near the bow. He knew full well that his position was verymuch exposed, and that in case the unseen enemy chose to actually openfire upon the boat, he would likely be the first to suffer; but in spiteof this Bumpus refused to budge. He had gotten over his first qualms offear, and feeling ashamed of allowing himself to give way to such asensation,
and he a scout in the bargain, the boy was now going to theother extreme, and growing actually reckless.
It made him think of the time some of his mates had declared they hadseen a real boni-fide ghost in the town graveyard, and dared Bumpus tolead the way in there, late at night, when they were passing. He hadfelt his teeth rattle together, just as they had been doing now; butsummoning all his courage to the fore he had grimly said: "who'safraid?" and trembling like a leaf shaken in the wind, he had stalkedinto the cemetery, much to the admiration of his chums, who had expectedthe fat boy to back down abjectly.
The boat approached the shore slowly.
Thad could not exactly see the forms of those who were waiting for themto come in, but since the focus of light changed from spot to spot heconcluded that they were also drawing closer to the shore line, so as tobe ready to receive those whom they already counted on as theirprisoners.
And, Thad waited, in momentary expectation of hearing some sort ofexplosion, when the parties realized their mistake. In fact, he was sosure of this that he would not make the slightest effort to draw thatshotgun closer to him, though that might have seemed good policy.
Finally the nose of the cruiser came smack up against the rocks withquite a little bump; and Giraffe, having failed to fend off in time, wasalmost toppled over, but he managed to clutch hold of Bumpus to steadyhimself, and that was like seizing upon the Rock of Gibraltar, becauseit would take a derrick to move the stout scout, once he settled down.
So, when for the second time the boat came in contact with the shore,Giraffe was able to give a little leap, painter in hand, and reach land.
Just as he did so, that deep bus voice sprang up again; and this time,as Thad had expected, it told of considerable chagrin anddisappointment.
"Well, what's this? Only a bunch of kids, after all, instead ofCranston and his gang of smugglers. The joke's on us, men; it is tolaugh!"