"The fish would be better yet, if we had some oak twigs to broil them on, instead of the broiler," said Bill, whose experience in camping out made him an expert adviser, "but there doesn"t seem to be any wood around here except pine. And the flavor of that spoils the fish."
So they compromised on the dilapidated broiler, holding the fish over a fire of embers that they raked out from the main blaze. Bill busied himself with the bacon, and the appetizing odors that blended together made the hungry boys wild with antic.i.p.ation.
At last the meal was ready, and they found it a feast fit for a king.
They had no forks, but they used their knives as subst.i.tutes.
"Eating with your knife, Fred!" said Teddy, in mock horror. "What would mother say if she saw you?"
"I certainly am some sword swallower," grinned Fred. "But we"re all in the same boat, and everything goes. I don"t suppose Robinson Crusoe and Friday were very particular about their table manners. And this is certainly a Robinson Crusoe stunt we"re doing."
"Except that this isn"t an island," laughed Lester.
"And there are no cannibals ready to make us into soup," added Bill.
"And our boat hasn"t been wrecked," exulted Teddy, looking out over the water, where the _Ariel_ lay with the firelight reflected from her side.
CHAPTER IV
A STRANGE MISSION
It seemed to the boys as though they could never get enough, and Fred, as he saw one bluefish after another vanish, reminded the others that they would want something for breakfast the next morning. But at last even their ravenous appet.i.tes were satisfied, and they lay back on the sand, blissfully content.
"Easy camping," remarked Teddy lazily. "No dishes to wash, no beds to make, nothing to do till to-morrow."
"Do you think the storm will be over by that time, Lester?" asked Fred.
"I guess so," answered Lester, as he looked up at the sky where some stars showed through. "The clouds seem to be breaking away and the wind has died down a little. The surf doesn"t sound so loud on the cliffs outside, either."
"I suppose your father will be worried when we don"t get back to-night,"
remarked Bill.
"I"m afraid he will," a.s.sented Lester. "But I"ve had to stay away sometimes before when I"ve been caught in a squall, and he knows the _Ariel_ is a pretty staunch boat. Still, he can"t help feeling worried, and we"ll make sail for home the first thing in the morning."
By this time, their clothes had dried in the warmth of the fire, and the comfort that this gave, together with the hearty meal they had eaten, put the youths in a state of supreme content. They were at peace with themselves and with all the world, and their satisfaction was all the greater by contrast with their peril of the afternoon.
The stranger had eaten heartily and joined freely in the conversation, but by tacit consent they had waited till the meal was over before they discussed his narrow escape. The Rally Hall boys had had time to take the unknown one"s measure, and the general impression was favorable.
He was a clean-cut, well set up youth of about sixteen years. His form was lithe and muscular, his hair black, and his eyes frank and friendly.
His speech showed education, and his manners were easy and correct.
If there was anything about him that marked him out as peculiar, it was a certain baffled expression that came and went in his eyes. He looked like one who was always seeking for something, but never finding it. His glance had taken in the cove and the surrounding sh.o.r.e, as though to impress it on his memory, with a view to using the knowledge later on.
Now as the boys lounged around the fire, he seemed to feel that the time had come to give some account of himself.
"I can"t thank you fellows enough for having pulled me out of the water," he began.
"Here"s the fellow to thank," interrupted Lester, clapping his hand on Fred"s shoulder. "He went overboard after you."
"What?" was the surprised reply. "I thought you pulled me in from the deck. That was an awfully plucky thing for you to do," the stranger declared, as he grasped Fred"s hand warmly, "and I"ll never forget it.
With that shark swimming around there, too!"
"Oh, that was nothing," disclaimed Fred. "I had tight hold of a rope, and it was no trick at all to hold on to you until the other fellows pulled us in."
"You took your life in your hand just the same," affirmed the other. "I hope that some day I"ll be able to show you how much I appreciate it."
"What was the matter with your motor boat anyway?" asked Fred, who was always embarra.s.sed by thanks and wanted to change the subject.
"The ignition was bad, and the water that I shipped made things worse. I was tinkering away at it and had almost got it to working right, when that big wave came aboard and carried me over the side. I can just remember its. .h.i.tting me, and after that everything was blank until I came to my senses on the deck of the boat."
"I"ve seen that motor boat of yours cruising up and down the coast a good deal this last year or so," remarked Lester. "You seem to be pretty fond of the water."
The stranger shot a swift glance at the last speaker, as if he thought some hidden meaning might lurk behind the words.
"Yes," he said, "I"m never happier than when I"m out on the open sea.
Some of my ancestors must have been sailors I guess, and I have it in the blood. But that isn"t the only reason I"ve been cruising along this coast."
"What is the reason then?" asked Teddy curiously. "That is," he went on hastily, "if you care to tell us. We don"t want to pry into your affairs."
The other seemed to debate with himself. It was as if a habit of secrecy were battling with a sudden desire for expression.
"I"ll tell you," he burst out. "It"s a thing I"ve never told any one else. But you fellows have been so white to me, to say nothing of one of you having risked his life for mine, that I"m going to take a chance.
Perhaps it will be a relief anyway. Brooding over it so long and not confiding in any one, I"ve been afraid some time I might go crazy over it."
The boys were startled, but they gave no sign and the speaker went on:
"My name is Ross Montgomery. I"m looking for a chest of gold."
The effect was electric. The thrilling phrase appealed to all that was most romantic in the listeners. Visions floated before their eyes of hidden treasures, of pirate h.o.a.rds, of sunken galleons with their doubloons and "pieces of eight." These things had seemed to belong to the misty past, to distant seas. Yet here in the prosaic twentieth century, in a civilized country, on a quiet beach along the coast of Maine, this boy of their own age was talking of a quest that might well stir the most sluggish blood.
"A chest of gold!" repeated Fred, as though he could not believe his ears.
"Where do you think it"s hidden?" questioned Teddy eagerly.
"How much money is in the chest?" asked Bill.
"Perhaps it isn"t money," corrected Lester. "It may be gold dust, or it may be in bars. Have you any clue?" he asked, turning to Ross.
"What makes you think it"s on this coast?" put in Fred.
Ross raised his hand good-naturedly, as though to ward off the rain of questions.
"Easy there," he smiled, "and I"ll tell you the whole thing from the beginning. Perhaps you"ll think I"m crazy. Perhaps you"ll say I have as good a chance of finding it as the fellow who looks for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And you may be right. Anyway, I"ll give you what facts I know, and you can figure out for yourselves whether I have a chance or not."
Ross waited a moment to collect his thoughts, and the other boys disposed themselves to listen. Their blood was bounding and their eyes shining. The situation was romantic in itself. The firelight played over their eager faces, the waters of the cove lay shimmering before them, while, at the outlet, the surf thundered against the rocks. The boys might have been castaways on some desert island in the tropics. The great world outside seemed very far away.