CHAPTER XIX
A STARTLING MEETING
Tess and Dot, sitting in the middle of a brush clump on Wild GooseIsland, never saw the blue motorboat with their sisters and NealeO'Neil in it, fly past.
But the dark-faced girl, dressed in her bedraggled Gypsy finery, sawthe _Nimble Shanks_, for she was on the watch at one side or the otherof the island, all the time.
She observed the motorboat overtake the drifting craft, and saw Nealecarry a line aboard the latter and then start up the engine of thepower boat again. The two boats went up the lake at a fair pace; butthe searching party could not travel so fast now, for fear of swampingthe towed boat.
"I don't think this is much fun," said Dot, plaintively, when the biggirl came back to them. "It's hot here--and I'm hungry--and myAlice-doll has lost one of her shoes."
"We'll go up into the woods and pick some berries," said the strangegirl, not unkindly. "I know where there are some strawberries--andthey're just as sweet."
"Oh! that will be fine. I _do_ love strawberries," declared Dot,easily appeased.
Tess was more troubled than her sister by this strange situation. Shefelt, somehow, as though the big girl were holding them prisoners. Yetshe could not understand _why_.
She got up from the ground and at once Tom Jonah started up, barkingand bounding about.
"Stop that dog!" exclaimed the big girl, crossly. "Make him walkbeside you. I'll tie him up," she threatened.
"Then he'll howl _awful_," cried Dot. "We tried that once at home.Don't you 'member, Tess?"
"Well, you keep him still," snapped the big girl.
At a word from Tess the old dog drooped his tail and fell in behindthem, in a most subdued manner. They went up through the thick woodsto the higher part of the island. At no point could the littleprocession have been seen from the water.
There was a hillock up there, bare of trees, the southern side ofwhich was sown thickly with strawberries. The bed was rich in berries,and how sweet and delicate was their flavor!
"Oh, _so_ much nicer than boughten berries!" Tess declared, forgettingfor the time all her anxiety.
Indeed, both of the Corner House girls were so busy satisfying theirappetites with strawberries that they forgot about the unpleasant sideto their adventure. Nor did they see the girl who had helped themashore from the boat, creep over the knoll to watch the motorboat andits tow going down the river again, by way of the northern channel.
It was fully half past one. While Tess and Dot feasted in the wildstrawberry patch, their sisters and Neale O'Neil munched cold, friedcrabs on the _Nimble Shanks_.
It took a lot of berries to satisfy the healthy appetites of two girlslike Tess and Dot whose dinner had been indefinitely postponed. Dotfinally rolled right over in the shade, fast asleep, her dress andfingers berry-stained and the last plump one she had picked betweenher rosy lips!
The big girl came back and Tess whispered: "We'd best not wake her,for she usually takes a nap afternoons. When she wakes up, I guesswe'd best be going. Ruth and Agnes will be _awfully_ scared for us.And we've lost Ruth's boat, too," she added, disconsolately.
"How do you expect to get off this island?" demanded the strange girl.
"Why! how did you get _on_?" returned Tess.
"I paddled myself over on a raft of logs, early this morning beforeanybody else was up," said the girl, after a minute. "I wasn't goingback till night. But if I keep you children all day there'll be a bigrow, I s'pose," she added, sullenly.
"I expect there will," was Tess' calm response.
"They'd get me for kidnapping, like enough," said the girl, as thoughtalking to herself. "Wish I hadn't taken you out of that boat. But youand the dog were raising an awful noise."
"I'm sorry," said Tess, politely, "if we have been a nuisance. But ofcourse we've got to get back to the tent before dark."
"I s'pose so," admitted the older girl.
"It's funny Ruth hasn't been up here before now looking for us," Tessobserved.
The big girl turned her head so Tess should not see her face. "Supposeshe did not know you went sailing in the boat?" she said.
"Why! perhaps that is the reason," Tess agreed. "They couldn't haveseen us; for if they had, Ruth would have been after the boat in ahurry."
"Well," said the strange girl, "I'll have to get you across to theriver bank. I wasn't going till night. But----"
"We are very much obliged to you," Tess hastened to say. "But we_couldn't_ stay that long."
"Oh, well! I'll leave you children at a farmer's over there. They'llhave a telephone and they'll get word to your sisters. You'll get backby suppertime."
"Thank you," Tess said, simply.
But she was more than a little disturbed in her mind. A raft of logsdid not encourage her to look forward to the trip to the mainland withmuch pleasure.
Besides, the mystery regarding this pretty girl made Tess feel_un_comfortable. Tess Kenway was quite old enough to know thedifference between right and wrong; and there was something about thestrange girl that was decidedly wrong!
Why had she come out here to Wild Goose Island in the earlymorning--before anybody in the neighborhood was up? Was she a runaway?Had she done something really _naughty_? and was she afraid to haveher folks find her?
It was all a great puzzle and Tess sighed and shook her head. Finallyshe asked: "If you please, where _is_ the raft of logs?"
"Right down there," said the girl, pointing to the southern side ofthe island. "You can't see it. I dragged it into shallow water andcovered it up with branches and brush."
"Is--is it safe?" queried Tess.
"Well, it didn't drown me coming over," said the girl, with a short,hard laugh. "But the logs came near parting."
"Oh!"
"I'll fix 'em before we start back. That painter off your boat willhelp. We will be all right," said the big girl, carelessly.
Dot awoke after a little, and so did Tom Jonah. The whole party wentdown to the brush-fringed shore. Tess saw that the girl had hidden herraft very ingeniously. And it was evident, too, that she hated toleave the island so long before evening.
"Got myself in a nice mess!" the Corner House girl heard her mutter,as she went about binding the three logs together more tightly withthe strong rope from the cedar boat.
She worked hard for half an hour, standing almost waist deep in thewater as she made the logs secure. It was not a heavy raft--nor was itvery safe looking, to Tess' mind.
But fortunately Dot thought it would be great fun to ride on such acraft, and Tess was too brave to say anything that would reallyfrighten Dorothy.
Tom Jonah became restless and wanted to wander about; but the big girlwas very sharp with him. "If he were my dog I'd make him mind better!"she threatened. "If anything gives us away, it will be that dog."
Tess did not understand this; and like Dot she felt hurt when anybodycriticised Tom Jonah. "Love me, love my dog" was the motto of theyounger Kenway sisters.
Finally the big girl pronounced the raft strong enough, and she wadedout of the water and put on her skirts again. "Now, get aboard there,"she commanded. "If we've got to go, we might as well start. The tidewill be less strong now."
Dot skipped aboard the raft with her Alice-doll, in great glee; Tessfollowed more slowly. But when Tom Jonah tried to come, too, the biggirl, with the broken oar she used for a paddle, drove him back.
"It won't hold him up, too!" she cried. "Get out!"
"Oh! don't hurt Tom Jonah!" wailed Dot, shrilly. "Don't!"
"You look out!" warned Tess. "He'll grab you!"
Tom Jonah certainly _did_ grab the paddle. And he nearly wrenched itfrom the hands of the big girl, strong as she was.
"He'll tip us all over!" declared the girl, angrily, flushed andbreathing heavily. "Don't you see how deep in the water we are? Anylittle wave will come right over the logs and wet us."
"Well!" cried Tess. "We're barefooted. And we can't leave Tom Jonahbehind."
"He can swim, can't he? Sill
y!" exclaimed the big girl. She pushed offthe raft suddenly, leaving the troubled dog on the bank. The currentcaught the raft instantly and headed it down stream. The big girlhurried to dip her paddle in the water on the lower side and swervethe head of the raft around.
"Oh, Tom Jonah! Come! Come!" cried Dot, fearful that the dog would belost.
He plunged right in and swam to the rear of the raft. He did not tryto climb aboard, but he rested his nose on the logs and paddledquietly behind. The big girl paid him no further attention. She hadher hands full as it was, keeping the raft from being swept downstream.
The current of the river had now conquered the inflowing tide. Theforce of the latter was spent; but the channel on this side of theisland was not rough. The little waves did not break over their feetas yet.
The passage of the river was not, however, so hard. The handsome darkgirl was strong, and she plied the broken oar with vigor. In half anhour they drew near to the tree-fringed southern bank.
The girls saw nobody along the shore, nor had any boat put out to meetthem. It was a day when all the farmers seemed to be busy in theirfields, and this was a wild spot toward which the raft had been aimed.
At last the end of the logs touched a shelving, narrow beach. The biggirl leaped off and commanded Tess and Dot to follow immediately.Already Tom Jonah had scrambled ashore and was shaking himself, as adog will.
Suddenly the big dog uttered a throaty growl. None of the three girlspaid any attention. The strange girl was busy helping Tess and Dot toland.
Again Tom Jonah uttered his warning, and then barked sharply.
"Shut up!" commanded the big girl, turning on him fiercely.
At that moment a man walked out of the wood. He was a fierce littlefellow with a black mustache and a dirty red tie. His velveteen suitwas worn and greasy and his hat broken.
The strange girl turned suddenly and saw him. She uttered a stifledscream and the fellow folded his arms and said something to hersternly in a language that afterwards Tess said "sounded likepowder-crackers exploding!"
The girl was terrified in the extreme. She looked from side to side asthough contemplating escape. The fellow took another stride towardher.
And then Tom Jonah intervened. The big dog sprang with an awful growl,hurling himself straight at the man's chest. The fellow went overbackward and Tom Jonah held him down with both paws on his chest andhis bared teeth at the victim's brown throat!