CHAPTER XXII
THE LONG NIGHT
"Good for you, Giraffe!" exclaimed Bumpus, ready to seize upon the ideawithout stopping to examine the same in order to find out whether or notit were possible to carry it out.
"It ain't half bad," admitted Step Hen.
"But how about starting to sea in this blow?" asked Allan, quietly,after he and Thad had exchanged winks.
"Oh! hang the luck, I clean forgot all about that!" admitted the tallscout, his smile of triumph disappearing immediately.
"Whew! I should say we couldn't!" Bumpus hastened to add, showing thatit was possible for a boy to change his opinion almost as speedily as ashift of wind causes the weather vane to turn around, and point toward anew quarter.
"And," added Thad, "that will all have to be left to the morning,anyway. If we should find a half-way chance to do something along thoselines, why, we'll gladly give Giraffe the credit for thinking up thescheme. But it's time we settled down for the night now; so let's fixour blankets and be as comfy as we can, even if we do expect to keepawake."
"And don't you think it'd be a good plan, Thad," suggested Step Hen, "toalways keep that gun in evidence? If we could make them believe we allof us carried the same kind of weapons, we'd be more apt to see sun-upwithout any trouble happening; and that's what I think."
"Well, now, there's some meat in that idea of yours, Step Hen," thescout-master told him; "and it wouldn't be a bad scheme for those whohave clubs, to carry them more or less this way under your arm, just asyou would your gun if tramping, or on a hunt. In the firelight they maythink that's what they are, and the effect will be worth something tous, as you say."
All of the boys started to settling down. Policy might have told themthat if they made themselves too comfortable the chances of theirremaining awake were rather slim.
Bumpus was a lad of good resolutions. No doubt he meant to stay awakejust as firmly as Thad himself could have done. But sleeping was one ofthe fat boy's weak points, and it was not long before he found himselfnodding.
Twice he was jabbed in the leg with the point of a pin, once by Giraffe,and the second time by Davy; for the other boys, took his requestliterally, and doubtless enjoyed having the chance to "do him a tofavor."
Each time he was thus punctured the fat scout would start up hurriedly,and open his mouth to give a yell, perhaps under the impression that hehad been bitten by a snake, which reptiles he despised, and feared verymuch.
Discovering where he was in time, however, he had managed to hold histongue, and muttered to himself that they "needn't go it quite sostrong," as he ruefully rubbed his limb where the pin had entered.
After each sudden awakening Bumpus would sit sternly up straight, asthough he had taken a solemn vow not to be caught napping again; but asthe minutes dragged along he would begin to sink lower and lower again,for sleep was once more getting a firm grip upon him.
When the fat boy reeled for a third time Thad, who was watchingoperations with more or less amusement, noticed that neither Step Hennor Davy offered to make any use of their pins; the truth being thatboth of them had meanwhile gone fast asleep, and hence there were allthree in the same boat.
It happened that Bumpus managed to arouse himself presently with astart; as if a sudden consciousness had come upon him. Perhaps heimagined he felt another jab with a pin, and the sensation electrifiedhim.
First he looked on one side and then on the other. When he discoveredthat his persecutors were both sound asleep, a wide grin came over thegood-natured red face of the stout youth. Thad could see himindustriously hunting along the lapels of his khaki jacket, as if for aweapon in the shape of a pin; and having secured what he wanted Bumpuscarefully reached out both hands, one toward Step Hen and the other inthe direction of Davy Jones.
Then, with a low squeal of delight, he gave an outward motion with eachhand. There instantly broke forth a chorus of yells that could be heardabove the noise of the breakers on the rocks, and the wind rattling thebranches of the low oak trees.
"Tit for tat," exclaimed. Bumpus; "what's sauce for the goose is saucefor the gander. After this we'll call it off, fellows, remember. Itwas give and take, and now the slate's wiped clean."
Davy Jones and Step Hen, quite tired out from their exertions, sleptpeacefully, one on either side of Bumpus; while Giraffe dozed, andwhenever he happened to arouse himself he would wave that hatchetvigorously, as if to call attention to the fact that he was "on deck,"and doing full duty.
The long night dragged on.
Once Thad had some good news to communicate.
"Clouds seem to be getting lighter," he announced, pointing overhead.
"Yes," added the other, "and there's a sure enough break, I reckon,p'raps now we'll see something of that old moon before the peep of daycomes."
At any rate the fact of the khaki-clad denizens of the camp under theledge being constantly on guard must have impressed itself upon theminds of the poachers, for they made no hostile move while darknessheld sway.
Of course though, both sentries were glad to see the first peep of dawnin the far east. The wind had died down, and there seemed to be somechance that the wild waves would subside by noon, at least sufficientlyto allow them to go forth if by any good luck they were given theopportunity to leave the island upon which they had been marooned by sostrange a freak of fate.
The others were soon aroused, and made out to have just allowedthemselves a few winks of sleep toward morning, though they castsuspicious looks toward each other, Thad noticed. However, neither henor Allen said a word about the hours that they had been by themselveson guard. The dreaded night had passed, and nothing out of the way hadhappened, so what was the use of rubbing it in, and making some of theirgood chums feel badly.
"I think it would be possible to see the place where we left our boat,if I went out on that point there," Thad remarked, while some of therest were busying themselves in getting breakfast ready, as thoughmeaning to make all the amends possible for their lack of sentry duty.
As though he wished to make sure concerning this matter the scout-masterleft them, and made his way to the lookout he had indicated. He cameback later on, and his face did not seem to show any signs of good news.
"No boat in sight, I take it, Thad?" asked Giraffe, rightly interpretinghis lack of enthusiasm.
"It's sure enough gone, and look as hard as I could there didn't seem tobe the first sign of the poor Chippeway Belle. Dr. Hobbs' friend willhave to buy him another cruising boat, that's sure," Thad told them.
"Well, he can do that, all right, out of the insurance money he collectsfrom that old tub," declared Giraffe, indignantly. "Let me tell youhe's been hoping we might sink the thing, somehow or other."
Breakfast was a bountiful meal, because Giraffe happened to be a fellowwho disdained half-way measures, when it came to feeding time. The ideaof going around half starved so long as there was the smallest amount offood in camp did not suit him at all.
So they ate until every one, even Giraffe, announced that he had hadenough; but by that time the frying-pans were empty, and the coffee-potditto, so perhaps it may have been this condition of things thatinfluenced some of them to confess to being filled.
The face of the tall boy had become clouded more or less, and it wasevident to the scout leader that Giraffe was busily engaged in ponderingover something that did not look just right to him.
"What's the matter, Giraffe?" he asked, as they lounged around, enjoyingthe fire, because the morning had opened quite cool after the blow ofthe previous night.
"I don't like this thing of an empty pantry, that's what!" observed theother, who could not forget that in less than five hours there was boundto be a demand from somewhere inside that he get busy, and supplyanother ration; and where was he to get the material to carry out thisinjunction when their supplies were practically exhausted.
"Well, we can't do anything about it, can we?" demanded Step Hen,trembling in the hopes that the tal
l scout might have thought of a plan.
"That's just like some fellows," remarked Giraffe, disdainfully; "readyto throw up the sponge at the first show of trouble. Now, I ain 'tbuilt that way; and say, I've thought up a plan by which we might getsome grub."
"Yes, what might it be?" asked Thad, seeing that the other was waitingfor a little encouragement before bursting out into a display ofconfidence; for he knew Giraffe's ways to a fraction.
"I tell you what we ought to do," the other suddenly explained; "marchon that cabin in a bunch, looking mighty determined, and then demandthat they supply us with what grub we need to tide us over. There youare; and how about it?"