CHAPTER XII.
"ENOUGH AND TO SPARE OF BALE IS IN THY SPEECH."
We may be sure that the _Laulie's_ crew watched our hero's movementswith quite as much interest as he noted theirs, and when hisbattle-flag was seen they shouted for joy.
"He knows what we are up to. He has challenged us," Harry Mitchellexclaimed with great satisfaction. "Now, boys, we've got to nail himbefore he passes Yelholme."
"His boat goes very fast; she is light too, and he has her well inhand," Tom remarked critically as the _Osprey_ drew nearer, skimmingthe waves as airily and swiftly as any bird.
Yelholme, to which reference had been made, lay near the course Yaspardwas on. If the _Laulie_ could not intercept Yaspard before he reachedthe little island she would lose ground by being obliged to tack a gooddeal, while he, having the wind with him, would easily get ahead.
"If it becomes a chase we haven't a chance," said Harry, "so we musttry and cut him off at the holme."
But Yaspard knew pretty well what their tactics were likely to be, andacted accordingly.
It is not possible to describe with any degree of accuracy the veryclever way in which the boats tried to circumvent each other; how the_Osprey_ dodged here and there, striving to outrace the other, and howthe _Laulie_ gallantly defeated every attempt so made. At lastYaspard, seeing that nothing but a very bold effort had any chance ofsuccess, determined to try a delicate manoeuvre. His boat, beingsmaller and lighter than the _Laulie_, could venture much nearer askerry or holme. He resolved to run straight for Yelholme. He knewthat the other boat would do likewise, but approaching from anotherpoint, would be obliged to lower sail and trust to the oars. He hopedhe could keep "on wing," and round the holme in safety before the_Laulie_ had got on the same course. Accordingly he altered histactics, and sent his skiff careening toward the holme as if he meantto dash right into it.
"What on earth is he up to now?" Bill exclaimed in wonder; "he will beunder our stern in a jiffy if he holds on like that."
"If he passes astern he will reach the holme and be round it before us.We must not allow that; drop the sail, Bill," said Harry.
Down went the _Laulie's_ sail, and in a short time she was rowingswiftly for the same point that the _Osprey_ seemed bent on gaining.Yaspard did not alter his course one bit until he was within talkingdistance of the enemy, and dangerously near the holme.
"Don't be rash, man," Harry sung out. "You will be flung on the holmeby that undertow on the lee side."
Even as he spoke Yaspard saw the danger he had not considered, andpromptly dropped his sail. By that time the boats were almost withinan oar's length of each other, but the _Osprey_ was ahead. Withwondrous speed the Viking-boy had his oars out, and would soon havebeen round the holme and on his course again, but at that moment TomHoltum caught up a coil of rope lying handy, and flung it like a lassoover the _Osprey_. The bight fell over her rudder and horn, and beforethe hapless Viking could leave his seat or lift a finger to savehimself, his boat was hauled alongside of the _Laulie_, and he wascaptured.
"Fairly caught!" cried Bill, leaning over to thump him on the back,while Tom clutched the _Osprey_ with both hands, determined that sheshould not escape.
Then Yaspard struck his colours, and remarked, "You need not be soparticular with your grappling-irons, Holtum; I yield myself to thefortune of fair fight."
"Come aboard us," said Harry. "You did awfully well, and needn't mindthat Tom's dodge was more successful than yours. It was a low kind oftrick on the whole, but we were determined to make you our prisoner."
By that time Yaspard was in the _Laulie_, and his boat towing ignoblyin the rear. Thor, puzzled out of his dignity by such extraordinaryproceedings, afraid to trust himself with his master in the enemies'hands, and too tired to seek refuge in flight, then gave vent to hisfeelings in speech--
"Uncle, uncle. Croak! bad boy! croak! croak! croak! Yap! yap! yap!Pirate; hi, good dog! Dog! Uncle! oh my!"
He had never spoken so much at one time before, but the situationcalled for a supreme effort.
When he concluded his oration, amid yells of laughter, Thor turned uphis eyes till nothing but a streak of white was visible, and shoved hisbeak among the feathers on one shoulder as if he meant to go to sleep.
"What a fellow, to be sure!" exclaimed Tom. "He licks Crawbie all tonothing."
Harry explained to Yaspard that Crawbie was a hoodie crow belonging toSvein Holtum, and a great talker, but nothing like Thor in that respect.
Harry was soon on his hobby, and would have discoursed on birds for anhour if Bill had not stopped him by asking, "Well, boys, what's thenext move?"
"Home, of course," said Harry; "at least, to Collaster first, for theViking is Tom's prize, and must be taken to the Doctor's house."
"I should like that hugely," said the captive; "but may I beg you toremember my anxious and sorrowing relations, who will strain dim eyesin vain and all the rest of that sort of thing. They'll be horriblyfrightened at Moolapund if I am not back there tonight, and it's latenow."
A long discussion followed as to how the Boden folk were to be informedof the Viking's position. One suggestion was that a Manse boy was toreturn to Boden in the _Osprey_, tell the tale, and bring Gloy away;but that plan was rejected, because Yaspard declared that his"followers" would seize the messenger, and hold both him and Gloy ashostages for their captain.
Then a brilliant idea occurred to Harry, who had always been the mostreflecting boy of the lot.
"I'll tell you what to do. Send Thor with a message tied to his leg.That was what Svein did once, when he was hurt and in Vega. Crawbiehad gone after him; and he carved two words on the cover of hispocket-book, tied it to Crawbie, and Crawbie went to Collaster with it."
"Splendid! Yes, the very thing!" the others cried.
So a hard-boiled egg was taken from the ferdimet, and laid temptinglyon Yaspard's hand as a lure for Thor, who was evidently averse totrusting himself in the _Laulie_. But his weakness was an egg, and hesoon flopped across to his master's knee, where he was detained for"further orders."
"Will he go home?" was the next debatable point. Yaspard thought Thorwould, if they made it sufficiently plain to his corvidaeous intellectthat he must not remain with the boats.
"He has often followed me, poor old chap!" said Yaspard. "I dare sayhe was coming on my tracks when the shooies fell foul of him; he willreturn to Moolapund if I drive him off. He won't halt by the way now,for it is near his roosting time, and he is tired to boot."
They did as Svein Holtum had shown them how, and tearing the cover froma pocket-book, tied it securely to Thor's leg. To make assurancedoubly sure, a duplicate was fixed around his neck. Yaspard wrote onthese boards--
"Captured on the high seas; taken in chains to Collaster.--THE VIKING."
Then he tossed Thor up from his hand, crying, "Shoo! off with you!Home now!" But Thor flitted no farther than the _Osprey_, and,settling in his favourite place at the bow, began to pull viciously atthe book-boards.
Bill hauled the smaller boat alongside and clambered into her, makingnoise and demonstration enough, as he did so, to scare any ordinarybird; but Thor did not stir from the spot until Bill's hands werealmost on him. Then he merely hopped from the one boat to the other,remarking as he did it, "Just so!" which of course sent the boys offyelling as before with wild laughter.
Now, no self-respecting raven will endure to be laughed at, especiallywhen he is merely repeating a boy's pet phrase. Nor will he tamelysubmit to being chased from stem to stern with shouts of "Shoo! shoo!"Thor felt trebly insulted just then; possibly he believed that "Shoo!shoo!" had something to do with shooies, and the allusion was ill-timedhe considered.
After much noise and hustling, and what Thor looked upon as unseemlyaction, he came to the conclusion that a boat is not always an ark ofrefuge, nor is one's master always to be depended upon as a sure helpin time of need. With these thoughts came a recollection of thecomforts of Moolapund and the mor
e fit companionship of Mr. Adiesen.That settled the point in Thor's mind.
"Bad boy! Shoo!" he burst forth wrathfully, and then screeching out,"Uncle, Pirate, uncle, uncle, uncle!" he spread his great wings andtook a bee-line for Moolapund.
Loud hurrahs followed him; but Thor never looked back once, neverturned to the right or the left, but, swift as possible in his cumberedcondition, flew home, and alighting on the parlour window-sill, beganto jabber every word he knew, without the least attention to eithergrammar or construction of words, and in such excited tones that Mr.Adiesen's attention was drawn to him. Thor was admitted at once, andfreed from his burden. Then the message was read; and while the Lairdread, Miss Osla and Signy waited in fear and trembling, but never aword spoke the old man.
"What has that boy been doing?" the boy's aunt asked at length.
"Taking his turn at being captive, as I warned him might happen."
"Oh, Uncle Brues, have they taken Yaspard?" Signy cried in greatexcitement.
"'Captured on the high seas; taken in chains to Collaster.--THEVIKING,'" Mr. Adiesen read with impressive solemnity; and Miss Osla,scarcely understanding what was the state of the case, or whether herbrother was joking, or the reverse, exclaimed--
"Dear, dear! whatever has he been about now? He is the very strangestboy. To Collaster! in chains! What a foolish, foolish boy! He musthave been interfering with some of those young Mitchells. Of courseMr. Garson has nothing to do with his nonsense!"
Mr. Adiesen had walked out of the room long before she stopped; and herbewilderment was much increased by Signy saying delightedly--
"Captured! and taken to Collaster! Oh, how pleased brodhor must be!"