CHAPTER XXIX
AN EXCITING TIME ALL AROUND
"We've got him! Down with him!" roared Sack Todd, as he leaped overthe fallen door and made a grab for Dick.
For the instant Dick did not know what to do, then he stepped backwardand at the same time attempted to draw his pistol.
"No, you don't!" yelled Gasper Pold, and aimed a blow at Dick's headwith an iron bar he carried.
Had the blow landed as intended, the eldest Rover might have had hisskull crushed in. But as the iron bar was descending Dan Baxter madea quick jump to Pold's side, gave him a shove and hurled him flat.
"Stop it!" cried the former bully of Putnam Hall. "Do you hear? Doyou want to kill somebody?"
"So you're against us, eh?" yelled Sack Todd. "Well, we'll fix you!"
He tore a pistol from his pocket and started to aim it at Baxter.But the latter was now on the alert and, whirling around, he caughtSack Todd by the coat collar with one hand and with the other raisedthe pistol up into the air. It went off, but the bullet merely plowedits way into the woodwork of the ship.
By this time Hans had managed to scramble from beneath the fallendoor. The German youth had not been hurt very much but his "Dutchblood" was up, and throwing prudence to the wind he sailed invigorously, hitting Pold a blow in the stomach with his fist, andkicking the mate of the _Dogstar_ in the shin with his heavy shoe.Then he caught hold of Pold's iron bar and began to wrestle for itspossession.
"You dink I vos noddings put a poy, hey!" he snorted. "I show you,ain't it! You pig loafer!" And he ran Pold up against a partitionand got the iron bar directly under the rascal's throat so that thefellow was in danger of strangling.
Sid Jeffers had now turned his attention to Dick, and blows weregiven and taken freely between the pair. The noise made was considerable,and this finally reached the ears of Sam and Tom.
"Something is wrong!" cried Tom. "I'll go and see. If you want meback whistle as loudly as you can." And he was off like a shot.
The sight that met Tom's gaze at first almost stupefied him. He cameupon Sack Todd and Dan Baxter fighting hand to hand in a passagewayleading to the deck. Sack Todd had fired one shot which had grazedDan's left cheek. But now the youth had the man against the wall andwas banging his head against it again and again.
"You will shoot me, eh?" cried Baxter. "You're a villain if everthere was one, Sack Todd. I am bad enough but I'm not as dirty andblack as you. Take that, and that, and that!"
"Hi! let up! You'll smash my head!" roared the ex-counterfeiter, butDan Baxter paid no attention until one blow caused Sack Todd to loseconsciousness and sink down in a heap.
Tom had already passed on and was in time to aid Dick. Coming up tothe side of Sid Jeffers he hit the mate of the _Dogstar_ a stingingblow in the ear and then another in the chin. Dick at the same timestruck the rascal in the eye, and Jeffers staggered back, trippedover the fallen door, and landed heavily on the floor. At once Tomsat down on him, pulling out his pistol as he did so.
"Now keep quiet or something worse will happen," he said, and themate of the _Dogstar_ understood and subsided.
With the fall of Sack Todd, Dan Baxter turned back to aid the others.He saw Sid Jeffers go down and then ran toward Hans.
"You might as well give up," he said to Gasper Pold. "They've gotthe best of your crowd."
"Yes, and you helped them," said Pold, sullenly. "Just wait. I'llfix you for this!"
The noise continuing, Sam had left his post and arrived on the scene.He ran off for a rope and with this Sack Todd was bound hands andfeet. Seeing this, Gasper Pold and the mate of the _Dogstar_ retreatedagain into the engine room.
"Put up that door!" cried Dick, and without delay it was raised andput in place and then fastened in such a manner that it was next toimpossible to budge it. Then they ran on deck and fastened down thehatch. After that they gave Todd their attention.
When he came to his senses the ex-counterfeiter raved wildly anddemanded that he be set free. He was particularly bitter against DanBaxter.
"I'll fix you," he said. "Wait till we get into court. I'll have afine story to tell about you." To this Baxter did not reply althoughhe turned very pale.
Seeing they could do little with Sack Todd, the Rovers decided toput him down in the hold with the sailors and this was done. Thenthe party with Baxter gathered on deck to discuss the situation.
"Talk about a strenuous night," exclaimed Tom. "I don't think itcould be more strenuous than it has been."
"Dan, I want to say right now that you have helped us a great deal,"said Dick, turning to the big youth. "But for you we might have lostthat battle."
"Dot is so," said Hans. "You vos tone splendidly alretty!"
With two of the enemy in possession of the engine room, it was ofcourse impossible to run the machinery of the steam yacht, and thisbeing so our friends decided to wait until daylight before attemptingto make another move.
"It is after three o'clock," said Dick. "We may as well get what restwe can. We can take turns at remaining on guard," and so it wasdecided. But it must be said that nobody got much sleep, so greatwas the general excitement.
While he was on guard Dick had a long private talk with Dan Baxter,and for once the former bully of Putnam Hall opened his heartcompletely. He had been knocking around "from pillar to post" so longthat he was utterly discouraged and scarcely cared what happened.Since his father had reformed, and he had lost the companionship ofLew Flapp, he had been traveling among strangers and not a one ofthem had proved worth knowing, as he expressed it.
"I was a great big fool that I didn't turn over a new leaf when myfather did," he said. "I had a chance then to do something for myself.Now I am so deep in the mud I don't know how I'll ever get out."
"I am certainly sorry for you, Dan--especially after what you didfor our crowd to-night. If you really want to turn over a new leafI am willing to help you all I can. But you know how the law stands--wecan't let you go after what has happened in the past. If you come upfor trial, though, I'll be as easy as I can on you, and I know theothers will be easy, too. Perhaps, as you are young, you'll get offwith a light sentence, and then you'll have a chance to reform afterthat."
At this Dan Baxter hung his head.
"It's a terrible disgrace--to go to prison," he answered, in a lowtone. "But my father had to go through it, and I guess I am worsethan he is." He heaved a deep sigh. "Well, I'll try to stand it."
"If it gets as far as that, when you come out, Dan, you come straightto me and I'll help you."
"Will you do that, Dick?" asked the former bully, eagerly, and forthe instant his face brightened.
"I will, and there is my hand on it," and then the two who had beenenemies for so many years shook hands. After that Dan Baxter continuedto talk about himself. He seemed anxious to unburden his heart, andDick allowed him to proceed and listened with interest to the recital.
As soon as it was daylight the Rovers, Hans, and Baxter went on deckto decide upon the all-important question of what to do next. Dickhad inspected the sails and found them in trim for use, and presentlythey set sail and once more the steam yacht was headed for Tampa Bay.There was a stiff breeze blowing, and although the craft made no suchspeed as when under steam she went along right well, and they wereall content.
About the middle of the forenoon they heard a thumping on the hatchover the engine room. Pold and Jeffers wanted something to eat andto drink, and wanted to make terms, but they told the rascals theywould have to wait until land or some vessel was sighted. They alsogot a call from Sack Todd and the sailors who had revived from theirstupor, but decided to let these fellows wait also.
"The sailors have done us no harm," said Dick. "But a waiting spellwill do them good, after such a beastly spree."
It was one o'clock, and Hans was preparing dinner for all on deckwhen Tom gave a cry.
"A small steamer is approaching!" he said. "Hadn't we better signal her?"
"By all means," answered Dick. "Let us steer d
irectly for her, too."And this was done.
The vessel approaching proved to be nothing more than a regular gulftug, carrying eight people. As it came closer Sam, who had a spy-glass,gave a shout:
"What do you think! There are Fred and Songbird, and yes, there isHarold Bird, too! Oh, how glad I am that they are safe!"
CHAPTER XXX
HOMEWARD BOUND--CONCLUSION
The report was true, the tug contained Fred, Songbird, and HaroldBird, and as soon as these three made out who were on board of the_Mermaid_ they set up a cheer. Then the sails on the steam yacht werelowered and the tug came alongside. In a minute more Fred was scramblingon deck, followed by the others.
"Alive! All of you!" cried Fred. "Oh, this is the best news yet!"
"And we are glad to see you alive too," cried Tom. "We were afraidthe _Mascotte_ had been lost."
"Well, we came close to it," said Songbird. "And when we got in toport some of the passengers had the captain arrested for ill treatment.But we didn't wait for that. We were wild to know what had become ofyou, and so we chartered this tug and began a hunt. You were luckyto be picked up by such a nice craft as this."
"We weren't picked up,--we picked ourselves up," answered Dick.
"Why, what do you mean?" asked Harold Bird, in puzzled tones.
"We found this steam yacht on the water deserted--not a soul on board."
"You don't mean it!" ejaculated Fred. "What's her name?"
"The _Mermaid_."
"Creation!" shouted Harold Bird. "Why, that's the steam yacht wasadvertised in all the newspapers some weeks ago. She was missing,and the club that owns her offered a reward of five thousand dollarsfor information leading to her return."
"Well, we picked her up as a derelict," said Tom. "And we'll claimsalvage accordingly. But how did she disappear?"
"It's a long story. She was left in charge of an old man, and he wentoff and got intoxicated. Then a storm came up and they found the oldman in a rowboat and the steam yacht missing. She must have blownand drifted far away on the gulf. But it's queer she wasn't sightedbefore."
"Maybe she was, but nobody thought she was deserted," said Sam, andhis idea was probably true.
Thus far Dan Baxter had kept in the background. When he came forwardthere was more astonishment, and our friends had to tell about thearrival of Sack Todd and the others, and of what had been done since.
"I want you to understand that Dan helped us a great deal," saidDick, to Fred and Songbird. "He isn't the fellow he was. He haschanged so you would hardly know he was the same person. I think heis really on the right track at last."
"It seems too wonderful to be true," was Fred's comment.
Dan Baxter was much interested in meeting Harold Bird, and while theothers were talking in one part of the deck he called the youngSoutherner to one side.
"Mr. Bird, you know who I am, and I suppose you have no use for me,"began the former bully. "I am sorry I went in with those men whostole your gasoline launch. If I had my choice again I shouldn't dosuch a thing. I am very sorry, and I am glad you got your boat back.But I want to speak to you about something else. I was going to writeyou a letter when I got the chance, but I'd rather tell you what I know."
"What you know?" repeated Harold Bird, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes. Since I have been traveling with Gasper Pold and Sack Todd Ihave learned a great deal, and much of it concerns yourself and yourfather."
"My father!" gasped the young Southerner.
"Yes."
"What do you know of him? Is he alive?"
"I think he is--at least Gasper Pold said he was."
"Pold! What does he know about it? Where is my father?"
"As near as I know, your father is in Mexico, at a place calledTroxapocca. He is somewhat out of his mind, and Pold told Sack Toddhe was working around a hotel there, doing all sorts of odd jobs. Hegoes by the name of Bangs--why, I don't know."
"Is it possible! I must look into this without delay."
"And then there is something else I want to tell you. I heard Toddand Pold talking about it when they thought they were alone. Toddaccused Pold of having killed an old man, a hunter, in the woods,because the old hunter had vowed to expose one of Pold's lotteryswindles. It came out in the talk that Pold had really done the deedand had put the dead hunter on a rock, where he was shot at by yourfather. Your father didn't hit the body, but he thought he did, andthinking he had killed this old man was what made your father crazy."
"I know it! I know it!" cried Harold Bird. "What a vile deed to do!And did Pold admit his guilt?"
"He did, but he warned Sack Todd to keep quiet about it. That wasone of the things that turned me against that gang. They were altogethertoo bad for me. From that moment on I was sorry I had gone in with them."
"This fairly staggers me, Baxter. You--you must help me provethis--after I have found my father, or before."
"I will, Mr. Bird--I'll do all I can to make things right again,"answered Dan Baxter, earnestly.
When the others heard of Dan Baxter's revelation they were almost asmuch astonished as Harold Bird. They were glad to learn that therewas now a likelihood of clearing the young Southerner's father ofthe crime of which he had been accused, and all trusted he would soonbe able to locate Mr. Bird and nurse him back to mental and physicalhealth.
Those on the tug were called on board and then Sack Todd was allowedto come on deck, followered by the two sailors. All were made prisoners.Then Gasper Pold and Sid Jeffers came up and were handcuffed.
Gasper Pold was amazed to find himself confronted by Harold Bird,and when accused of the shooting of the old hunter broke down utterly.He thought Sack Todd had exposed him, and a bitter war of wordsbetween the pair followed.
"You have done me a splendid service, Baxter," said the youngSoutherner, after the excitement was over. "I shall not forget you.When the proper time comes, if you need legal aid, I'll see to itthat you have a first-class lawyer."
"Thank you," answered the former bully, humbly. "I only did my duty,which I should have done long ago."
It was found that the _Mermaid_ belonged to persons living at Mobile,and accordingly the steam yacht and the tug were headed for thatport. The run did not take more than twenty-four hours and when the_Mermaid_ appeared she created considerable excitement. One of theowners, James Morrison, soon came to take charge, in the name of theyacht club, and he assured Dick and the others that the club wouldpay anything that was fair for the return of the vessel.
"We have found one thing that bothered us," said Dick. "Perhaps youcan explain it. In a locker we found a picture of Harold Bird andalso a picture of his father."
"I know nothing of them. I did not know Mr. Bird at all."
"I will have Harold show you his father's photograph. Perhaps you'llrecognize him."
The picture was shown and James Morrison uttered a cry of astonishment.
"I know that man, but his name was not Bird. It was Bangs. He workedon the yacht for awhile--queer sort of stick--and he left rathersuddenly."
"It was Mr. Bird. He went crazy over some personal trouble, and Haroldhas been looking all over for him. He was last heard of in Mexico.But this clears up the mystery of the photographs," Dick added.
And now let me add a few words more and then bring to a close thistale of "The Rover Boys in Southern Waters."
As soon as they arrived at Mobile the Rover boys sent telegrams totheir folks at home and also to the ladies and girls at the Birdplantation, telling of the safety of the entire party.
Sack Todd, Gasper Pold, Sid Jeffers, and the two sailors were lockedup. Nobody attempted to have Dan Baxter arrested, nor did the formerbully of Putnam Hall try to run away.
"I have made up my mind to take my medicine and I am going to do it,"he said, almost stubbornly.
"What a change in him!" was Tom's comment. "The fellows at PutnamHall won't believe it when we tell them."
"Here is the whole thing in a nutshell," said Sam. "Dan has foundout that th
ere is absolutely no happiness or satisfaction in beingdishonest. Even when he had money he didn't enjoy it--he told me sohimself. He said there was many a day when he would have preferredbeing with the old crowd, even without a cent in his pocket."
As soon as he could Harold Bird set off for Mexico. A week later hesent Dick Rover a telegram stating that he had found his father andwas taking him home. It may be added here that, cleared of thesuspicion that had hung over his name, Mr. Bird speedily recoveredfrom his insanity, and became the prosperous planter he had been inyears gone by.
When Sack Todd, Gasper Pold, and Sid Jeffers were brought to trialDan Baxter was a witness against each one. For the shooting of theold hunter Pold received a life sentence in prison, and for theirvarious misdeeds Todd and the mate of the _Dogstar_ received ten andtwenty years respectively. Solly Jackson was also a witness againstTodd and Pold and was not prosecuted.
"What are you going to do about Dan Baxter?" asked Songbird of Dick,one day.
"I am going to do nothing," answered Dick, firmly. "If you want toprosecute him you can do so."
"He expects to be placed on trial."
"Well, he'll have to find somebody else to prosecute him."
"I shan't do anything, Dick. Why, he isn't the same chap he used tobe. He's as meek as any fellow I ever met."
In the end nobody prosecuted Dan Baxter, and he was allowed to gohis own way. The Rovers talked the matter over and one day they sentfor the former bully and asked him how much money he had on hand.
"I've got exactly two dollars and a quarter," was the answer. "I amlooking for work, but I haven't found anything yet," and Baxter'sface grew red and he hung his head.
"We have made up a purse for you, Dan," said Dick, kindly. "Thosefolks who owned the yacht gave us ten thousand dollars for bringingher in safely. I have had a talk with our crowd, and we are going tostake you for a fresh start."
So speaking, Dick handed out a new pocketbook. But Dan Baxter puthis hands behind him.
"Thank you very, very much," he said, huskily, "but I don't want youto--to give me a cent--not a cent, understand? If you want to makeme a loan, well and good. But I shan't take it if it's a gift."
"Well, we'll call it a loan then," said Tom, who stood by.
"And you can pay up whenever you please," added Sam.
Dan Baxter took the pocketbook and opened it.
"Why, ifs full of bills!" he gasped.
"Yes, a thousand dollars, Dan. We want you to make a good start whileyou are at it," explained Dick.
The face of the former bully became a study. His eyes grew moist andhis lips quivered. He had to turn away for a moment, for he couldnot control himself.
"You're the best fellows in the world--the very best," he murmured,presently. "A thousand dollars! And you were going to give it tome--not loan it to me! I'll never forget that, never, if I live tobe a hundred. But I am not going to take all that money--it's toomuch of a temptation. Let me have a hundred as a loan, and that's all."
This he stuck to, and in the end the hundred dollars was counted outand Baxter placed it in his pocket.
"This will take me to Philadelphia," he said. "There I can get holdof some money that is rightfully mine, and then I'll return the loan.After that--well, after that I am going far away, to try to make aman of myself."
"We wish you luck, Dan," answered Dick, gravely.
"Indeed we do," added Sam and Tom.
There was an awkward silence. Then Dan Baxter pulled himself up,hesitated, and held out his hand.
"I don't know when we'll meet again," he said. "Good-by."
"Good-by," said each of the others and shook hands warmly.
The former bully walked to the doorway and there hesitated again.
"Please do me one favor," he said, his face growing red. "When youmeet the Stanhopes and the Lanings tell them I am very sorry for whatI did, and that I wouldn't do it again for the whole world. And tellCaptain Putnam that, too." And then he went out, closing the doorsoftly behind him. They listened to his footsteps, and as they diedaway each heaved a deep sigh.
"I am sorry for him," said Dick.
"I pity him from the bottom of my heart," came from Sam.
"And so do I," added Tom. "Poor chap, I hope he does make a man ofhimself." It was a long time before they saw Dan Baxter again.
What to do with the houseboat they did not know, but soon came amessage from their Uncle Randolph, stating they might sell the craft.They found a ready purchaser at a fair price, and then joined theStanhopes and the Lanings at the Bird plantation.
"Oh, how glad I am that you are safe!" cried Dora to Dick, when theymet. "It seems an age since you went away."
"So it does--with so much happening," answered the eldest of theRover boys.
"Are we going home now?" asked Sam.
"We'll have to," answered Tom. "We ought to be at our studies thisminute."
"Yes, because you love study so!" cried Nellie, mischievously.
Two days later found them on a river steamer that was to take themup the Mississippi as far as St. Louis, where they were to take theLimited Express for New York.
"Well, I suppose our good times and our adventures are over now,"said Sam. But he was mistaken. Good times and strange adventuresstill awaited them, and what some of these were will be told in thenext volume of this series, to be entitled "The Rover Boys on theFarm; or, Last Days at Putnam Hall."
The whole party remained in St. Louis one day. Then they sped eastwardon the Limited, and the following evening found them on their way toValley Brook farm, the Stanhopes and Lanings having decided to stopoff there for at least a day or two.
"It will feel fine to get home again," said Sam, as the train rolledinto the Oak Run station. "Hurrah! here we are at last!"
"And there are father, Aunt Martha, and Uncle Randolph to meet us!"exclaimed Tom.
"Hullo, everybody!" called out Dick, and tumbled out of the train,to kiss his aunt and shake hands all around. "Home again, and gladof it!"
"And we are glad to see you all!" answered his father. And then therewas general rejoicing, and here we will take our leave.
THE END
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