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THE CREATURE WAS LASHING ABOUT IN A DEATH STRUGGLE]
THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS
Or
Lost in a Floating Forest
BY CLARENCE YOUNG
Author of "The Racer Boys Series" and "The Jack Ranger Series."
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
BOOKS BY CLARENCE YOUNG
=THE MOTOR BOYS SERIES=
(_=Trade Mark, Reg. U. S. Pat. Of.=_)
12mo. Illustrated
THE MOTOR BOYS Or Chums Through Thick and Thin THE MOTOR BOYS OVERLAND Or A Long Trip for Fun and Fortune THE MOTOR BOYS IN MEXICO Or The Secret of the Buried City THE MOTOR BOYS ACROSS THE PLAINS Or The Hermit of Lost Lake THE MOTOR BOYS AFLOAT Or The Stirring Cruise of the Dartaway THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE ATLANTIC Or The Mystery of the Lighthouse THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS Or Lost in a Floating Forest THE MOTOR BOYS ON THE PACIFIC Or The Young Derelict Hunters THE MOTOR BOYS IN THE CLOUDS Or A Trip for Fame and Fortune
=THE JACK RANGER SERIES=
12mo. Finely Illustrated
JACK RANGER'S SCHOOLDAYS Or The Rivals of Washington Hall JACK RANGER'S WESTERN TRIP Or From Boarding School to Ranch and Range JACK RANGER'S SCHOOL VICTORIES Or Track, Gridiron and Diamond JACK RANGER'S OCEAN CRUISE Or The Wreck of the Polly Ann JACK RANGER'S GUN CLUB Or From Schoolroom to Camp and Trail
Copyright, 1909, by CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS
Printed in U. S. A.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE I. NODDY'S COCOANUT PLANTATION 1 II. PROFESSOR SNODGRASS ARRIVES 9 III. OFF FOR FLORIDA 22 IV. THE GIANT TURTLE 35 V. THE PROFESSOR'S TRICK 43 VI. BOB GETS A SCARE 50 VII. KILLING A MANATEE 59 VIII. A MISFORTUNE 69 IX. NEWS OF NODDY 77 X. AFLOAT ONCE MORE 84 XI. THE HOUSEBOAT 92 XII. JERRY IS HURT 100 XIII. THE SEMINOLE CHIEF 109 XIV. CAUGHT IN SAW GRASS 118 XV. THE BIG SNAKE 126 XVI. AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER 134 XVII. INTO A STRANGE LAKE 142 XVIII. THE WANDERER AGAIN 152 XIX. A PLOT FOILED 159 XX. BOB TAKEN ILL 168 XXI. JERRY SEEKS AID 175 XXII. THE RECEDING WATER 183 XXIII. THE PROFESSOR RETURNS 191 XXIV. IN THE FLOATING FOREST 199 XXV. A CRY FOR HELP 207 XXVI. THE PLIGHT OF THE GIRLS 215 XXVII. OTTIBY TO THE RESCUE 221 XXVIII. THE HURRICANE 229 XXIX. NODDY'S DANGER 234 XXX. THE BUTTERFLIES--CONCLUSION 242
THE MOTOR BOYS IN STRANGE WATERS
CHAPTER I
NODDY'S COCOANUT PLANTATION
"Shut your eyes," called Bob Baker to his friend Jerry Hopkins, as thetwo boys sat in the library of Bob's home.
"What for?"
"Never mind. Just shut 'em; that's all."
"No tricks now. I don't want a mouthful of salt, or find that I'm alltangled up in a folding chair."
"No, this is something on my own account. Shut your eyes."
"All right. Here goes."
Jerry accommodatingly closed his eyelids. He opened them almostimmediately as he heard a loud thump in the room.
"What was that?" he asked.
"That was yours truly," explained Bob.
"What doing?"
"I threw my Latin grammar and my algebra over there behind thebookcase."
"What in the world did you do that for?"
"Because I don't want to see 'em again until after vacation, and Ididn't want to see where they fell for fear I'd be tempted to do somestudying to work off my conditions. And I didn't want you to see wherethey went to for fear you'd tell me. So I just shut my eyes and let'em go. They're safe, and when they clean house in the fall they'llfind 'em. It'll be time enough then to begin studying. Vacation's here!Hurrah for a good time with nothing to do but have fun!"
"That's so; to-day is the last one for school for more than twomonths," remarked Jerry.
"As if you'd forgotten it!"
"Well, I wasn't thinking of it, though I'm glad we don't have to do anymore studying for a while. There'll only be the closing exercises thisafternoon and then--"
"Yes, then what?" asked Bob. "What are we going to do with ourselvesthis vacation?"
"Go somewhere in our motor boat I guess," replied Jerry. "But isn'tthat a Latin grammar I see sticking out under the edge of thebookcase?" and he pretended to start to pull forth the volume.
"Don't you dare touch it!" cried Bob. "Shut your eyes so you can't seeit!"
Jerry, however, dodging Bob's outstretched arms, reached for the book.
"It's a sea story!" he exclaimed. "Looks like a good one, too, from thepictures."
"Give it to me! I was looking all over for that. Guess I must havedislodged it when I threw my school books back there. It is a corkinggood yarn."
"Well, Chunky," went on Jerry (giving Bob the nickname fastened on himbecause of his overabundance of flesh), "are the adventures in thatanything like those we had last summer down at Harmon Beach?"
"Couldn't touch 'em! Those were 'adventures as were adventures,' asSalt-Water Sam would say," remarked Bob, giving his trousers a nauticalhitch in memory of the odd character to which he referred. "I only hopewe are as lucky in striking a good time this summer as we were on theAtlantic coast."
"We generally have been pretty fortunate in that respect," said Jerry."I haven't thought much about it this year. I studied rather hard towin the prize scholarship."
"Yes, and you got it, which is more to the point, Jerry. As for me, theharder I bone away the less I seem to know. I don't want to hear schoolmentioned again for three months. What do you say to having somethingto eat?"
"Just had my breakfast. Besides it's most time to go to--Oh, I forgot,you don't want me to mention school. Well, I'll call it the place oflearning."
"Nobody will be on time this last day," responded Bob. "I had breakfastmyself, but it was an early one, and I can eat again."
"Never saw the time when you couldn't," observed Jerry, taking care toget beyond the reach of Bob's fist.
"Have a glass of milk, Jerry."
"Well, I don't mind that."
"I'm going to have some and a bit of bread and jam," went on Bob, as hedisappeared in the direction of the kitchen.
He came back presently with what looked like enough for a substantialmeal for two hungry boys. Jerry said nothing, as he was familiar withthe eating capacity of his chum.
"Here comes Ned!" exclaimed Jerry as he finished his glass of milk."Better get some more jam, Bob."
"I will," and before Jerry could stop him Bob had hurried off again. Hereturned with more refreshments just as Ned Slade came in.
"Are you fellows going to school to-day?" asked the newcomer. "It'salmost nine o'clock."
"Breakfast is now being served in the dining car!" cried Jerry,imitating the porters on the Pullman coaches. "It's Bob's secondattempt," he explained.
"You did your share," retorted Bob. "Have some, Ned?"
"No, thanks. Three meals a day are enough for me," and Ned sat down ina chair to watch Bob eat.
"What's the matter?" asked Jerry. "You look excited
."
"I met Noddy Nixon, on my way here."
"You don't mean it! So he's back in town again. Did you have a quarrelwith him?"
"Not exactly,--but we had a discussion. I can't stand him. He makes memad every time I meet him, and when I thought of how he and Bill Berrytried to wreck that vessel down on the coast,--though I guess Noddydidn't realize what a game Bill was playing--why I feel as though Iwanted to thrash Noddy."
"Don't blame you," said Bob, finishing the last of the jam and breadand butter. "What did he have to say?"
"Oh, a lot of things, but principally that he was going down to Floridato take possession of a cocoanut plantation he's purchased, or which hethinks he's bought. I think it's all in his mind."
"Cocoanut plantation!" exclaimed Bob.
"Down in Florida?" inquired Jerry.
"Yes. This is how he happened to mention it," went on Ned. "I was goingpast him on the street without speaking, though I was so surprised atseeing him that I wanted to ask where he came from. However, he savedme the trouble. He hailed me and, in that sneering way of his, hesaid he had something that was better than the gold mine in which weown shares. I didn't ask him what it was, but he told me. Said he hadbought a cocoanut grove or farm, or whatever they call 'em, and wasgoing to get rich. He said he was going down in a week or so to live onthe land and be a wealthy man."
"Do you s'pose he meant it?" asked Bob. "I'm very fond of cocoanut pie."
"Go ahead," remarked Jerry with a laugh. "You've got Chunky interested,Ned, as soon as you mention something good to eat."
"I guess Noddy was in earnest all right," went on Ned. "He insistedon showing me a lot of papers. It appears he bought the land throughseeing an advertisement in a magazine. You pay so much down and somuch a month, and the advertisement says you can make enough raisingcocoanuts to meet all your monthly installments. Noddy said he hadsecured a big tract down there."
"Where'd he get the money?" asked Bob.
"From his father, I s'pose. Mr. Nixon is rich, and Noddy is the onlychild. That's what makes him spoiled."
"When's he going down to the land of the everglades?" inquired Jerry.
"He starts in a week."
"In what part of Florida is his cocoanut plantation located?" asked Bob.
"Near Lake Okeechobee."
"I'd like to go to Florida," observed Bob. "It's a nice place to readabout. Lovely climate, nothing to do but gather oranges, bananas andcocoanuts, watch the manatees and turtles, lie in the shade and--and--"
"Get eaten up with sand fleas," put in Jerry. "They have 'em down thereas big as sparrows."
"I guess if we're going anywhere we'd better be starting for school!"exclaimed Ned. "It's after nine o'clock."
The three chums left Bob's house and strolled along the street in thedirection of the academy they attended. Ned continued his recitalof his encounter with Noddy, the town bully who, on more than oneoccasion, had proved himself the enemy of the three friends.
"Oh, he talked a lot about how rich he was going to be," went on Ned."He thinks his cocoanut grove is going to put our gold mine in theshade. Says he'll buy us out in a few months. He was so excited that Iguess he forgot all about how he acted down at Harmon Beach last summeruntil I asked him if he calculated to wreck any steamers on the Floridacoast. That made him mad and we had quite a discussion. That's whatruffled me up. I left him spouting about what he expected to do withhis cocoanuts."
"I guess all the cocoanuts he'll raise wouldn't make enough pies tosatisfy Bob's appetite," remarked Jerry. "But we'd better hurry, if wewant to get to school before noon."
None of the chums realized what a part Noddy and his cocoanutplantation were to play in their experiences that summer, nor in whatan unexpected manner they were to render the bully a service.