CHAPTER XI
FIRE-FACES ON THE ISLAND
"What are they squatting there watching the boat for?" queried Jule,as the prow light fell full on the group of negroes on the island."They don't look good to me!"
"If we keep away from them," Case suggested, "and don't try to starethem out of countenance, they'll probably keep away from us. They dolook fierce, though!"
While the boys discussed the matter the negroes moved away from theshore of the island, where they were under the boat lights, andsecreted themselves behind a patch of willows which fringed the"tow-head," for the place where they were was little else.
"I don't believe they have any idea of letting us alone, if they canmanage to get on board the _Rambler_," Clay declared. "I have oftenread that lawless negroes and whites are alike alert for plunderduring flood seasons, and it is floating goods those fellows areafter, unless I am much mistaken. We'll have to keep a sharp watchto-night."
"Wouldn't it be wiser to drive them away?" asked Alex., with one ofhis grins.
"We have no right to drive them away," Case suggested. "We may getinto trouble if we try it. I'll watch half the night and not mind itat all."
Alex. nudged Jule in the side and whispered in his ear for a moment.
"Jule and I will watch the first half," he then said. "Perhaps theywill go off home by midnight, and Case won't have to watch at all."
"Alex.," Clay exclaimed, "you've got some mischief in your mind.Heretofore you've come out of your scrapes with whole bones, butsometime you'll get into serious trouble if you don't stop running outnights. I strongly advise you to let those levee negroes alone! You goto bed early, and I'll watch the boat!"
"Who's got mischief in the mind?" grinned Alex. "I guess I can stay upuntil midnight without gettin' into trouble! You see if I don't makethe dandy watchman to-night! When it comes to keeping guard, I'm thecandy boy!"
"You usually manage to get into trouble when you are left alone!"laughed Clay.
"If I can't be good to-night," grinned Alex., "I'll be careful."
Nothing more was seen of the negroes at that time, although the boyswere satisfied that they were still on the island, as no boat had beenseen to leave it.
After a time Clay, Case and Mose went to bed, leaving Alex., Jule,Captain Joe, and Teddy on deck. The dog seemed particularly wideawake, moving about as if he scented danger, while the cub sat lookingtoward the island with twitching nostrils.
"Seems as if the dog and the cub know there's something coming offhere to-night," Jule remarked, as Captain Joe put his paw on thegunwale and sniffed the air. "Do you really think they have a way ofdiscovering approaching peril which human beings have not? Captain Joecertainly looks as if he saw something unpleasant coming."
"I often think dogs have an instinct which warns them of danger,"Alex. replied.
"Well," Jule went on, "we'll soon see what comes of the signals ofdanger he is now handing out to us! Whatever he sees or senses is onthat island."
The boys watched for a long time, but there came no sounds of lifefrom the island.
"You're like the dog," Jule said to Alex., presently. "You are gettingready for a break of some sort! Suppose you loosen up and tell me whatit is?"
"You remember that night on the Amazon, when we scared the life out ofa couple of renegade Englishmen and a native Indian?" asked Alex.
"Sure I do!" was the reply. "That was the funniest ever!"
"Well," Alex. explained, "I'm goin' to try something like that onthese negroes."
"Better let 'em alone!" advised Jule. "They are wise to tricks!"
"Shucks!" Alex. laughed. "I'll have them walking on their heads, andwalking the water at that. I wish I had a boat, so I wouldn't have toswim to the island!"
"We've lost a rowboat every trip!" Jule exclaimed. "I wonder why wedidn't pick the one we had off the raft and fix it up. It wasn't badlysmashed."
"We may find it yet," Alex. said, hopefully. "We have come down just alittle faster than the current, and so it is probably behind us. Whenit comes down we'll get it and make it as good as new."
"Yes, when we get it!" laughed Jule. "There's a thousand people alongthe island beaches and mainland levees watching for boats! Just likethese negroes are watching for anything at all that seems worthpicking out of the water!"
"It won't do any harm to keep a lookout for it," Alex. decided. "Now,"he added, turning out the lights and throwing off his coat, "do youwant to go to the shore with me? If you will go I'll show you a racethat will beat anything you ever saw."
"And leave the boat alone?" demanded Jule. "I should say not. I'llremain here and see that your retreat is properly covered. You'll wantsome one here to hold a gun on the negroes you seem determined to stirup."
"Now don't get a grouch on," pleaded Alex. "I'm doing this purely inthe interest of science! I want to see how far the emancipationproclamation has relieved the negroes of the south from the old-timesuperstitions of the race! Not to put too fine a point upon it, kid, Iwant to see what a good healthy ghost will do to a lot of riverthieves! Do you get me?"
"Going to play ghost, are you," laughed Jule. "Then I'll be a ghost,too!"
Alex. listened at the cabin door for a moment, but heard no soundsindicating the lack of sleep on the inside. Then he crept in, fumbledaround in the darkness until he found two old bathing suits and asquare package which smelled of sulphur.
"Now," he explained to Jule, as he came out, "we'll put on thesebathing suits, so as to have dry clothes ready when we return from theisland! You take a part of the matches, for we may become separated inthe thicket. We won't do the Mephisto act until we get to the island,then rub the sulphur on thick--on your hands and face."
"I guess I know how!" Jule remonstrated.
The boys placed their clothing in two piles on the deck and donned thebathing suits--much to the wonder of Captain Joe, who wrinkled hisnose and looked suspiciously at the boys. His remarks on the subjectof bathing in a swift river in the night time were not in favor of theexperiment. However, he crouched down by Alex.'s feet and expressedhimself as willing to share in the doubtful expedition.
"When we get into the willows," Alex. explained, "I'll let out a yellwhich will put Mose's efforts in that direction away to the bad! Thenyou run at them on the right and I'll close in on the left, and we'llsee a race that will put the Greek events out on a blind siding withfires banked. When you are ready, drop in and swim for the bunch ofwillows straight ahead. Swim slow and don't make any noise."
The boys left the dark deck of the _Rambler_ and entered the water.There was little current where the boat lay, and they had nodifficulty in making the willows pointed out by the promoter of themidnight excursion. The lights of Memphis made a faint haze in the skyto the south. The wash of the river drowned all individual noises. Inthe distance the caving of a bank sent down a heavy sound.
Believing that they had left the boat without awakening any of thesleepers and landed on the island without attracting the attention ofthe negroes, the boys crouched down in a thicket and listened.
The moon, which would set about midnight, was low down in the west,and gave a fitful light at rare intervals. There was a heavy mass ofthunderheads in the sky, and few stars showed through. There were noindications of a light or fire on the island.
The boys, however, were much mistaken in their understanding of thesituation. When they dropped off the deck of the _Rambler_, Clay pokedhis head out of the cabin and watched them as far as the darknesswould permit. Then he returned to the cabin, put on a bathing suit andtook a square box from the cupboard.
The box contained the reserve weapons and flashlights of the party andwas waterproof. With this in his hand, and leaving Captain Joe onguard, with strict orders not to leave the deck, he entered the waterand swam toward the shore, turning away from the bunch of willowswhere the two boys had landed.
Of course he did not know that Alex. and Jule had left the waterthere, but it seemed to him that they would naturally sel
ect thenearest point as their landing place. Once on shore he sat down toawait developments.
He was certain that Alex. and Jule had entered upon a dangerousexpedition. The river negroes of the south are by no means assuperstitious as is generally believed, and Clay knew it. He doubtedif they would run far at sight of a face blazing with sulphur. It washis opinion that the boys would be the ones to start the race!
The negroes were sure to be armed, and they might be drunk, in whichcase they would not be likely to permit the outer spirits to bluff theinner spirits! Besides, they might have valuable plunder on theisland, and some would be brave enough to remain and fight for it.
Of course, if Clay had gravely asked the boys to give over theirproposed joy visit to the island, they would undoubtedly have done so,but he did not care to do that. His thought was that he ought not toattempt to control the actions of he boys, as they all stood equal onthe trip, no one having authority over the others.
Besides, if the truth must be told, Clay, himself, was not averse to alittle excitement! In addition, he was anxious to know what was doingon the island, and why the negroes were assembled there.
Another feature of the situation was that a watcher on the beach sawall three forms in the water as they left the boat! When the ladslanded, Alex. and Jule at the clump of willows and Clay farther to thewest, this watcher lost no time in communicating with his fellows intheir rough-and-ready camp near the center of the little "tow-head."
The noise made by the negroes in getting ready to meet whatever attackmight be made upon them gave the location of their camp to Clay, andhe pressed as close to it as it was possible for him to do withoutadvancing into the open, where he might have been seen during anymoment of moonlight.
It was a chill night, and there was a wind blowing from the west whichseemed to cut into his bones, but Clay sat down not far from the campand awaited the opening of the drama! He could hear the campers movingabout, but could not distinguish the words spoken. The moon sank outof sight for good before any movement was made.
Then Clay saw a figure fit to frighten the most courageous leave thefringe of willows and advance deliberately toward the center of theisland. He had hard work to make himself understand that the thing hesaw was only one of the boys. If the very Old Scratch himself had setfoot on the "tow-head" he could not have presented a more sinisterappearance. Clay watched the advance of the figure with bated breath.
In a second after the figure appeared, flaming of face and pointinghands, with a great cross of fire on what appeared to be a nakedbreast, a long, wavering cry went up from the camp, and then therecame a rush of feet. Clay could not tell at first which way the feetwere going, but a moment convinced him that they were putting a swiftdistance between the camp and the devil-figure approaching.
When a second figure, marked like the first, appeared the shrieks ofalarm, the running of frightened feet, were drowned by the commands ofa bull-like voice to stop the panic-stricken flight and use revolverand knife!