"Tom," said he, as soon as he had recovered his breath, "did it never occur to you that you are getting low down in the world? What will your father say when he hears that you are running around with a lot of burglars? By gracious, old fellow, you"re done for--you"re gone up!
Where"s that money?"
"O, now, it"s half way to the island," whined Tom. "You"ll let me go, won"t you, Johnny? I"ll never do it again."
"Who"s got the money?" demanded the clerk.
"Those two robbers. They got into a yawl and started off. The governor told them to wait for us at the head of the island. Say, Johnny, are you going to release me?"
"Where did you leave the governor and his crew?"
"In a skiff, at the end of the pier. Let me go, Johnny, won"t you? I"ll never do it again, as long as I live."
"How were you going to sea?"
"In the Sweepstakes. We captured her, and she is ready and waiting now.
Say, Johnny, why don"t you answer my question?"
"Where have you been during the last two weeks?"
"On Block Island. We"ve got a harboring place there, near the shoals. O, now, Johnny, come back here and release me."
But the clerk was gone before the words were fairly out of Tom"s mouth.
He had heard enough to satisfy him, and he believed that prompt action on his part was all that was needed to insure the capture of the robbers.
"I"ll run down to the vessels, in front of the elevator, and alarm the watch," soliloquized the clerk. "I"ll ask one of the captains to send a boat"s crew after the governor and his crowd, and then I"ll raise men enough to handle the Sweepstakes. I"ll start for the island in her, and the robbers, thinking it"s all right, will come on board, and the first thing they know they"ll be prisoners, and I"ll have possession of the seven thousand dollars. That"s the way to work it."
Fully occupied with such thoughts as these, Johnny pulled open the door and sprang out into the pa.s.sage-way, where he came in violent contact with somebody. It was the governor, who, impatient at Tom"s delay, had come up to see what was the matter with him.
"h.e.l.lo, here, cap"n!" he growled. "Haint you got eyes that you can"t see nothing? If you"re all ready now, let"s be off."
The clerk, recognizing the voice, turned instantly and ran into the store, banging the door after him. He might have escaped by going out at the other end of the pa.s.sage; but his first thought was of his prisoner.
If he left the store, the governor would, of course, go in and release Tom; and that was something Johnny did not intend he should do. "A bird in the hand is worth a dozen in the bush," thought he. "It is my business to look out for Tom, now that I have got him. The other robbers can be attended to at any time."
Sam Barton was utterly confounded. He stood for a moment gazing stupidly at the door, and then turned toward his men, who had followed close at his heels, as if expecting some of them to suggest a way out of this new trouble.
"What"s the row now, governor?" whispered Xury "What"s the cap"n gone back fur?"
"That wasn"t the cap"n," replied Sam. "It was Harding; an" I"ll bet a million dollars that he"s got Tommy a prisoner in there."
"I just know he has," snarled Will Atkins. "That"s the kind of luck we"re havin" to-night. Let"s go away an" leave him. We can"t do any thing fur him."
"We can, too," replied the chief, angrily. "Now, Atkins, I don"t want to hear any more out of you about desertin" a comrade in distress, fur I haint forgot that you are a mutineer. You"re always growlin", an" I"m gettin" teetotally tired of listenin" to it. If you had any sense at all, you would know that we must get into this store fur two reasons.
We"re bound to capture Harding ag"in, fur, if we don"t, he"ll come out the minute we are gone, an" raise a yell; an" we"ll have the whole town after us in no time. An" we must get the cap"n out of there, "cause we can"t get along without him. Is there any body else in the band who knows enough to take command of the vessel? Do you, Atkins?"
"Of course not. I never was to sea in my life."
"Well, then, what are you grumblin" about? None of us haint been to sea, except Tommy. He"s been miles an" miles out of sight of land; he is the only one among us who understands the winds an" currents, an" we must release him, or give up the expedition."
As the governor said this he tried the door, but found it fastened. He stooped down and looked through the hole the burglars had cut over the lock, and by the light of the lantern, which was standing on the table in the office, he could see Johnny with an uplifted poker, ready to strike the first hand that was put in to raise the hasp. The chief explained the state of affairs to his men, adding, that they must determine upon some plan to attack Johnny in the rear, or to get him away from the door long enough for them to open it.
"Hold on a minute, governor!" exclaimed Xury, suddenly; "I"ll fix that.
Lend a hand here, Friday."
The mate ran off, followed by Friday, and in a few minutes they returned, bringing a ladder which they had found behind the elevator, and which they began to raise against the side of the store.
"Do you see that winder up there?" asked Xury. "Well, give me one man an" we will go in there, an" come down the stairs. If Harding pitches into us, you can open the door an" come in; an" if he stands by to defend the door, me an" my man will soon fix him."
"That"s a good idea," said the chief. "Friday, you go with Xury. Jack Spaniard, run down to the skiff an" bring up the oars. Harding has got an iron poker, you know, an" you will need something to make you even with him. But mebbe the winder is fastened, Xury."
"I know it is, "cause I"ve looked at it a hundred times before to-night.
It is fastened with a stick; but the gla.s.s is broke, an" I can soon throw the stick down."
The two Crusoe men mounted the ladder, and by the time the window was raised Jack Spaniard returned with the oars, which Sam pa.s.sed up to the mate, saying:
"Don"t be no ways backward about usin" "em if you get a chance. Punch him hard, fur he is a s.p.u.n.ky feller."
Xury and his companion disappeared, and the governor waited impatiently for them to begin the attack. All these movements had been accomplished so quietly that Johnny, wholly intent upon watching the door, had no suspicions of what was going on until he heard the Crusoe men coming down the stairs behind him. Before he could think of flight they rushed upon him, and, although he resisted manfully, he was speedily brought to terms by a savage thrust in the ribs from Friday"s oar, which made him double up like a jackknife; and, at the same moment, the governor and the rest of his men entered through the side door. In less time than it takes to tell it, Tom and Johnny changed places, and the former, boiling over with rage, would have been mean enough to revenge himself upon the helpless clerk if he had not been restrained by the chief.
"Hold on, cap"n," cried Sam, catching Tom"s hand as it was about to descend, with savage force, upon the prisoner"s face; "it aint fair to strike a man when he"s down, an" we haint got no time to waste in nonsense, neither. Now, Harding, I reckon you"ll stay there fur awhile.
Come on, fellers."
The Crusoe men hurried back to their skiff, and in a few minutes more were pulling up the harbor as if nothing had happened. Friday sat in the bow with his boat-hook; Will Atkins and Jack Spaniard handled the oars; Sam managed the helm; and Tom thought over the events of the night, and enjoyed his antic.i.p.ated triumph over the students. None of the band had any thing to say about his adventure with Johnny Harding; in fact, they soon forgot it, and thought only of the dangers attending the work they had yet to perform. The governor glanced at Tom"s face a good many times while they were moving up the harbor, and was surprised that he did not discover some signs of fear. But that sentiment had no place in Tom"s mind just then. He grew bolder and more reckless the nearer they approached to the Storm King. He did not even tremble; his nerves were as firm as a rock, and his determination to attempt the destruction of the yacht was stronger than it had ever been before.
"Didn"t I tell Harry Green, when he had me locked up in that state-room, that if he did not release me at once I would square yards with him some day?" said Tom to himself. "I suppose he thinks I have forgotten all about it, but I"ll show him that I never forget. The sight of that yacht in flames will amply repay me for all the misery she has caused me."
In ten minutes after leaving the pier the Crusoe men had arrived within sight of the Storm King. The governor raised his hand, and Atkins and Jack Spaniard became more cautious in their movements. They handled the oars so carefully, and sent the skiff along so quietly, that not a ripple was heard in the water. Nearer and nearer the pirate crew approached the devoted vessel, holding themselves in readiness to seek safety in instant flight, should occasion require it, and presently Friday fastened into the fore-chains with his boat-hook, and Tom drew himself up and looked over the rail. He heard a few words of the story which one of the anchor-watch was relating to his companion, and could just discern the forms of the quartermaster and officer on watch, who paced the deck in blissful ignorance of the danger that menaced their vessel. Tom drew his breath more rapidly than usual, as he crawled noiselessly over the rail and across the deck, and when he crouched at the head of the ladder and listened to that conversation between the anchor-watch, which we have already recorded, his heart thumped against his ribs with a noise that frightened him. But, fortunately for the captain of the Crusoe band, the students believed him to be miles away at that moment, and, thinking that the noise that had attracted his attention was only imaginary, the young tar resumed his story, his companion settled into a comfortable position to listen, and Tom slipped down into the galley.
He was now in a dangerous situation. The ladder ran down between the galley and the forecastle, where slept half a dozen students, and if one of them should chance to awake while he was there his capture was certain. Tom thought of this, but if there had been no one within a hundred miles of him, he could not have gone about his work with more deliberation. He first looked for the kindling, which he had told Sam he should find under the stove. It was there, and the wood-box was filled also. He moved the wood-box under the shelves that supported the dishes, piled the kindling-wood around it, and then, pulling out his bottle, threw the coal-oil upon it and upon the shelves and bulkhead. It was but the work of a moment more to light a match and apply it to the kindling, and in an instant the wood was in a blaze.
"I think these fellows will find out what sort of a boy I am now,"
chuckled the captain of the Crusoe band, as he made his way up the ladder. "This is the grandest idea I ever had, and I have carried it out, too. There"ll be nothing left of the Storm King in fifteen minutes."
"Hallo! Boat--ship--I mean, man ahoy!" came the hail, breaking in upon his reverie, and scattering all his courage to the winds in an instant.
It was well for Tom that he was close to the rail, for, had he been discovered a few seconds sooner, his retreat would have been cut off, and he would have fallen into the hands of the students, who, in their rage, might have treated him very roughly. Hearing the footsteps of the watch close behind him, he threw himself headlong over the rail and landed on his hands and knees in the skiff, which, in a moment more, was flying down the harbor with the speed of the wind. He heard the anchor-watch p.r.o.nounce his name. He knew when the officer of the deck came forward, and he would have been willing to give any thing he possessed could he have been in a position to see the lieutenant"s face and hear what he had to say about it. He knew when the order was given to lower the jolly-boat, and distinctly heard the rattle calling the crew to quarters. On the whole, he was well satisfied with what he had done. He had caused a great commotion among the students and thoroughly alarmed them, even if the fire he had kindled in the galley failed to destroy the yacht.
"You had better hurry up, governor," said Tom, with a calmness that astonished his companions. "That jolly-boat will be after us almost immediately."
"Give way, strong," commanded the chief. "Cap"n, there"s my hand. I have put you down fur a coward more "n once since I made your acquaintance, but I confess that I didn"t know any thing about you."
Tom accepted the governor"s hand, and proudly listened to the congratulations of the Crusoe men. He laughed when he thought how nicely and easily he had accomplished his work, snapped his fingers in the air, and acted altogether like one demented. He listened for the sounds of pursuit, and presently heard the measured dip of oars behind.
"The jolly-boat is coming, Sam," said he. "And there goes the fire-alarm," he added, as the yacht"s bell began tolling rapidly. "They can"t save her, for there"s too much coal-oil in the galley. Now, men, listen to me. When we reach the vessel Xury will go to the wheel; Jack Spaniard will make the skiff fast to the stern; Friday will cast off the line; and Atkins and the governor will shove off. Be lively, now, for the sooner we get out of Newport the better it will be for us."
The Crusoe men were well aware of that fact, and Tom"s orders being strictly carried out, the Sweepstakes was got under way very speedily.
But, just as the wind filled the sails, and she began to move through the water, Xury discovered their pursuers.
"Stand by, governor," he exclaimed. "Here comes them spooneys."