CHAPTER XV.
IN WHICH ERNEST AND THE COMMISSARY VISIT CANNONDALE.
Mr. Parasyte, angry as he was, had sense enough left to see that hecould accomplish nothing by remaining longer at Camp Fair Play. Thespirit of freedom that prevailed there was unsuitable to hisconstitution.
"'I go, but I return,'" said he, in the language of Catiline to theRoman senate.
"When you return we shall receive you with all due respect, Mr.Parasyte," said Harry Vallington.
Mr. Greene chuckled, and shook his fat sides with suppressed mirth;and it was plain the principal had a very doubtful ally in the personof the deputy sheriff. And the ill-mated pair walked towards thelanding, where we saw them embark, and leave the shore.
"Mr. Parasyte has more pluck than I gave him credit for," said BobHale, after we had silently watched the departure of the boat. "Isn'tit a pity a man who knows so much, and is such a good teacher, shouldbe a tyrant?"
"He is intellectually great and morally little," added the parson,with a savor of the cloth he was destined to wear. "He has always beenpolitic, and we have felt his tyranny only in little things, which areall the more mean because they are small. He is now fully roused; heis too obstinate to back out, even when he knows and feels that he isin the wrong; and now he will lay policy aside. I tell you, fellows,you must make up your minds for a hard battle, for Mr. Parasyte is inearnest. He will leave no stone unturned to reduce us to subjection;and if I mistake not, 'breaking away' will prove to be no joke. If anyof the students feel like giving up, now is the best time to take theback track, for the farther we go the deeper in the mire we shall be.If there are any who are sick of their bargain, they had better say sonow."
"No!" "No!" "No!" shouted the boys, till the sound became a unanimousvoice.
"I see you are all of one mind," continued Vallington. "I deem itright to tell you now that, in my opinion, Mr. Parasyte is nocontemptible foe to deal with. He will make a good deal of trouble, ifhe does not cause much anxiety, perhaps suffering, in our ranks."
"What can he do?" asked one of the boys.
"I don't know. He hasn't told me what he intends to do, and probablyhe will not," replied our chief, facetiously.
"Can't you guess?" asked another boy; and there seemed to be a generaldesire to anticipate the terrible things the principal would attemptin order to reduce the rebellious pupils to subjection.
"I am no Yankee, and I can't guess. I can mention several things hemight do."
"Tell us, if you please!" called out one of the more timid of theboys.
"Very likely he will attempt to starve us out by surrounding theisland with boats, and preventing us from obtaining provisions. Hemust know that we have a very small stock of eatables on hand."
"We will trust to our commodore to break his lines, if he blockadesour camp," laughed Tom Rush.
"He may come with a force of men in the night, and take away theboats."
"You said we should keep a watch at night," suggested Fred Mason.
"We hope the commodore will be able to protect his squadron," said BobHale.
"I shall do my best to insure the safety of the boats, or to run theblockade, if one is established," I replied, with becoming modesty;and in fact I was getting so excited over the prospect, that I ratherhoped there would be an attempt to blockade us, or to carry off theboats, that I might have an opportunity to exercise my talent fornavigation and strategy.
"And Mr. Parasyte may collect a force, and come over to capture thewhole of us. He can charge us with stealing his boats, or something ofthat sort. He has already obtained a warrant for the arrest ofThornton, and to have him taken away from us would be about the worstthing that could happen," said Vallington.
"We will not let them take him," interposed a belligerent student.
"What will you do?"
"Pitch the sheriff overboard," replied the spunky speaker.
"That will not do," I added. "I hope no fellow will think of such athing as resisting an officer of the law."
"No, that wouldn't do," continued Vallington. "If Mr. Greene could notarrest Thornton because he was out of his county, Mr. Parasyte willget a sheriff from the proper county to do the job."
"That's so," said Bob Hale. "He will do his worst, you may depend uponthat."
"I have an idea!" I shouted, under the inspiration of my new thought;and it really seemed to me like a brilliant suggestion.
"What is it?" demanded our leader.
"Suppose we change our quarters?"
"Where shall we go?"
"To Pine Island. It is about seven miles from here, or nine miles anda half from Parkville," I answered.
"What shall we gain by moving?" asked Vallington, deeply interested inmy proposition.
"Several things. We are now six miles from Cannondale, where we mustprocure our provisions, while Pine Island is less than three."
"That's a decided advantage, if we are to be starved out," added thecommissary.
"It is so far from Parkville that our movements could not be observedfrom the shore," I continued. "And Pine Island is at least four timesas large as Cleaver Island, which would make it four times asdifficult to blockade."
"Pine Island! Pine Island!" shouted the rebels, in concert, as theybegan to perceive the advantages of the proposed location.
"If the fellows don't object to working a part or the whole of thenight, we might be in our new quarters before morning; and if we keepa good lookout, we may stay there two or three days before Mr.Parasyte finds out where we are."
"Pine Island! Pine Island!" was the chorus which came from the throngof boys, all of whom had gathered near the bluff.
"Those in favor of moving to-night, say ay," continued Vallington.
"Ay!" shouted the students, with one voice.
"Those opposed, say no."
There was not a dissenting voice.
"It is a unanimous vote," added the leader. "Commodore Thornton, youare charged with the execution of this order, and you will make yourpreparations accordingly."
"But what shall we do for provisions?" asked the commissary, troubledabout the proper administration of the affairs of his department. "Wemust have something to eat before dinner-time to-morrow; and if we areto keep out of sight, I don't see how we are to get anything."
"Perhaps Commodore Thornton can afford us some information on thatsubject," said Vallington. "Our safety and success depend mainly uponthe vulgar things which the stomach requires."
"There is a good breeze now, General Vallington, and--"
The students interrupted me with a hearty laugh at the new title I hadgiven to the parson.
"A truce to titles," laughed our leader.
"You call me commodore, and I think it is no more than fair that Ishould give you your proper title."
"But you were duly elected commodore of our squadron."
"Mr. Chairman, I move that Henry Vallington be createdgeneral-in-chief of all our forces, by sea and by land," I continued.
"Second the motion," added Bob Hale. "I call upon the secretary to putthe question."
The question was put by Fred Mason, and carried, unanimously.
"I am very much obliged to you for the honor you have conferred uponme; but we can hardly afford the time now to talk about titles. Youwere going to say something about the breeze, Commodore Thornton."
"I say that there is a good breeze now, General Vallington; and Ithink, if the commissary is ready, we can reach Cannondale in theSplash by nine o'clock. It is half past seven now," I replied, lookingat my watch.
"The commissary is all ready," said Tom Rush.
"What time shall you return?" asked the general.
"By eleven or twelve. I think the fellows had better turn in, andsleep till we return," I suggested. "There will be time enough then toload the scow, and reach the island by daylight."
The general approved of this idea, but was afraid the boys were toomuch excited to sleep. I called those who had been detailed to serve
as boatmen to assist in putting the Splash into the water, and, withTom Rush alone, started for Cannondale. The breeze was fresh, andbefore the time I had mentioned we landed at our destination.
Since I had owned the Splash, I had spent all my vacations andholidays, and indeed all my spare time every week day when boating waspracticable, on the lake. A spirit of adventure had prompted me tomake long trips, and I had sometimes spent half the night in my lonelycruises. The darkness, therefore, was not an obstacle with me to thenavigation of those familiar waters. I knew every point, headland,bay, and inlet, at midnight as well as noonday.
Lake Adieno, though a fresh-water lake, was not always the smoothestof navigation. Its shores were nearly level land, and there wasnothing to shelter it from the blasts when the wind blew; and, withan uninterrupted reach of twenty miles from east to west, old Boreashad room enough to kick up quite a heavy sea. In a strong north-westor south-west wind, boating on the lake was no child's play.
We landed at Cannondale, and secured the Splash at the steamboat pier.For several years I had purchased the groceries for the cottage of myuncle; and since I had owned the sail-boat, I had as often procuredthem at Cannondale as at Parkville, and I was nearly as familiar withthe streets of the former as with those of the latter.
We found a grocer and a provision-dealer, of whom Tom Rush purchasedthe supplies we needed. Of the former the commissary purchased tenkegs of crackers, and a variety of small stores, and of the lattersixteen hams, twenty pounds of salt pork, and twelve bushels ofpotatoes. At the baker's we obtained all the soft bread on hand--abouta hundred loaves. These articles amounted to more than the assessmentslevied on the members, but Tom and I made up the balance. Theprovision-dealer harnessed his horse and carted the stores down to thepier; and, grateful for the patronage we had given him, and the cashpaid him, he asked no troublesome questions; and we simply told himthat the goods were for the school, which was then camping out.
The Splash was loaded to her utmost capacity, and we decided to landthe stores at Pine Island before we returned to our companions.