"And Dora Stanhope has signed her name too," added d.i.c.k. "I know her signature well."
"Of course you do," put in Fred, dryly, but n.o.body paid attention to the sally.
"They are on the houseboat, and the craft is hidden up s.h.a.ggam Creek,"
put in Sam. He turned to the captain of the tug. "Where is s.h.a.ggam Creek?"
"This ere is s.h.a.ggam Creek, an" I"m Jake s.h.a.ggam," answered the hermit. "But you-uns said you"d pay me thet twenty-five dollars."
"I will," said Tom, and brought out the amount at once.
"Thank you very much."
"If you"ll take us to that houseboat without delay I"ll give you another five dollars," put in d.i.c.k.
"I"ll do it. But I don"t want them fellers on the houseboat to see me."
"Why not?"
"Cos Pick Loring and Hamp Gouch thinks I am their friend. Ef they knowed as how I give "em away they"d plug me full o" lead."
"Then the two horse thieves are with Baxter and Flapp," said Songbird.
"If we bag the lot we"ll be killing two birds with one stone, as the saying goes."
"Come on!" cried Paul Livingstone. "I want to get those two horse thieves by all means. Why, there is a reward of one thousand dollars for their capture, dead or alive."
"By golly, I"se out fo" dat reward!" came from Aleck, and he pulled out a horse pistol which he was carrying. "Jess let me see dem willains." And he flourished the weapon wildly.
The steam tug was led up the creek by Jake s.h.a.ggam for a distance of two miles.
"See that air turn yonder?" he said.
"Yes," said Captain Carson.
"Thet houseboat is behind the trees and bushes around the p"int. Now whar"s the five dollars?"
"There you are," said d.i.c.k, and paid him.
"Much obliged. Now I reckon I"ll go home an" let you-uns fight it out," added Jake s.h.a.ggam, and tying up his rowboat he stalked off, just as if he had accomplished nothing out of the ordinary.
"We had better approach with caution," said Paul Livingstone. "Those horse thieves are desperate characters. They would not be above shooting us down rather than give up to the law."
In the meantime Baxter and Flapp were much disturbed by the condition of affairs on board the houseboat. Both Loring and Gouch had been drinking more or less all night and were in far from a sober condition.
"I don"t mind a drink myself, but those chaps make me sick," growled Dan Baxter.
"I guess we made a mistake to take them into our scheme," said Lew Flapp. "Look how Gouch blabbed to that old man last night."
"Where are they now?"
"In the captain"s stateroom opening a new bottle of liquor. Neither of them can stand up straight."
"For two pins I"d pitch them overboard. Where is Sculley?"
"He is with them, drinking hard, too."
"If we only knew how to run that launch we could leave them behind and sail out of here."
"Perhaps we"ll have to do that--if the three keep on drinking."
Baxter and Flapp were on deck. They had had their breakfast, but had given nothing more to the girls.
"I"m going to tame "em," grumbled Flapp, who had not forgotten how the door had been slammed in his face.
"That"s right, we"ll make "em come to terms," added Baxter. "We"ll have "em on their knees to us before we get through."
Presently both walked to the window of the stateroom Dora and Nellie occupied.
"Well, how do you feel--pretty hungry?" questioned Baxter.
"Not so very hungry?" said Dora, as lightly as she could.
"Don"t you want a nice hot breakfast?"
"I"d rather have some fruit."
"Oh, by the way, we"ve got some nice harvest apples on board--and some berries. Wouldn"t you like some berries, with sugar and cream?"
"And some fresh breakfast rolls?" put in Flapp.
"Not if you baked them," came from Nellie. "You can have a good breakfast, if you"ll be a little more civil to us," resumed Dan Baxter.
"We are more civil than you deserve," said Dora.
"Do you want to be starved?"
At this both girls turned a trifle pale.
"Would you dare to starve us?" cried Nellie.
"Why not--if you won"t be friendly?" asked Lew Flapp. "You"ve been treating us as if we were dogs."
"Yes, and we--" began Dan Baxter, when he chanced to look through the bushes and down the creek. "Great Scott, Flapp!" he yelled.
"What"s up?"
"The game is up! Here comes a tug with the Rovers and a lot of other people on board!"
"The Rovers!" faltered Lew Flapp, and for the instant he shivered from head to feet.