"Your boat! Why would I be out in your boat?" and Mr. Jackson removed his pipe from his mouth and stared at the young inventor.
"Because it"s gone!"
"Gone!" repeated the engineer, and then Tom told him. The two hurried down to the dock, but the addition of another pair of eyes was of no a.s.sistance in locating the ARROW. The trim little motor craft was nowhere to be seen.
"I can"t understand it," said Tom helplessly. "I wasn"t gone more than an hour at dinner, and yet--"
"It doesn"t take long to steal a motor-boat," commented the engineer.
"But I think I would have heard them start it," went on the lad.
"Maybe it drifted off, though I"m sure I tied it securely."
"No, there"s not much likelihood of that. There"s no wind to-day and no currents in the lake. But it could easily have been towed off by some one in a rowboat and then you would not have heard the motor start."
"That"s so," agreed the youth. "That"s probably how they did it. They sneaked up here in a rowboat and towed the ARROW off. I"m sure of it."
"And I"ll wager I know who did it," exclaimed Mr. Jackson energetically.
"Who?" demanded Tom quickly.
"Those men who were sneaking around--Happy Harry and his gang. They stole the boat once and they"d do it again. Those men took your boat, Tom."
The young inventor shook his head.
"No," he answered, "I don"t believe they did."
"Why not?"
"Well, because they wouldn"t dare come back here when they knew we"re on the lookout for them. It would be too risky."
"Oh, those fellows don"t care for risk," was the opinion of Mr.
Jackson. "Take my word for it, they have your boat. They have been keeping watch, and as soon as they saw the dock unprotected they sneaked up and stole the ARROW."
"I don"t think so," repeated Mr. Swift"s son.
"Who do you think took it then?"
"Andy Foger!" was the quick response. "I believe he and his cronies did it to annoy me. They have been trying to get even with me-or at least Andy has--for outbidding him on this boat. He"s tried several times, but he hasn"t succeeded--until now. I"m sure Andy Foger has my boat," and Tom, with a grim tightening of his lips, swung around as though to start in instant pursuit.
"Where are you going?" asked Mr. Jackson.
"To find Andy and his cronies. When I locate them I"ll make them tell me where my boat is."
"Hadn"t you better send some word to your father? You can hardly get to Sandport now, and he"ll be worried about you."
"That"s so, I will. I"ll telephone dad that the boat--no, I"ll not do that either, for he"d only worry and maybe get sick. I"ll just tell him I"ve had a little accident, that Andy ran into me and that I can"t come back to the hotel for a day or two. Maybe I"ll be lucky to find my boat in that time. But dad won"t worry then, and, when I see him, I can explain. That"s what I"ll do," and Tom was soon talking to Mr.
Swift by telephone.
The inventor was very sorry his son could not come back to rejoin him and Ned, but there was no help for it, and, with as cheerful voice as he could a.s.sume, the lad promised to start for Sandport at the earliest opportunity.
"Now to find Andy and my boat!" Tom exclaimed as he hung up the telephone receiver.
CHAPTER XV
A DISMAYING STATEMENT
Trouble is sometimes good in a way; it makes a person resourceful. Tom Swift had had his share of annoyances of late, but they had served a purpose. He had learned to think clearly and quickly. Now, when he found his boat stolen, he at once began to map out a plan of action.
"What will you do first?" asked Mr. Jackson as he saw his employer"s son hesitating.
"First I"m going to Andy Foger"s house," declared the young inventor.
"If he"s home I"m going to tell him what I think of him. If he"s not, I"m going to find him."
"Why don"t you take your sailboat and run down to his dock?" suggested the engineer. "It isn"t as quick as your motor-boat, but it"s better than walking."
"So it is," exclaimed the lad. "I will use my catboat. I had forgotten all about it of late. I"m glad you spoke."
He was soon sailing down the lake in the direction of the boathouse on the waterfront of Mr. Foger"s property. It needed but a glance around the dock to show him that the RED STREAK was not there, but Tom recollected the accident to the steering gear and thought perhaps Andy had taken his boat to some wharf where there was a repair shop and there left it to return home himself. But inquiry of Mrs. Foger, who was as nice a woman as her son was a mean lad, gave Tom the information that his enemy was not at home.
"He telephoned to me that his boat was damaged," said Mrs. Foger gently, "and that he had taken it to get fixed. Then, he said, he and some friends were going on a little cruise and might not be back to-night."
"Did he say where he was going?" asked our hero, who did not tell Andy"s mother why he wanted to see her son.
"No, and I"m worried about him. Sometimes I think Andy is too--well, too impetuous, and I"m afraid he will get into trouble."
Tom, in spite of his trouble, could hardly forbear smiling. Andy"s mother was totally unaware of the mean traits of her son and thought him a very fine chap. Tom was not going to undeceive her.
"I"m afraid something will happen to him," she went on. "Do you think there is any danger being out on the lake in a motor-boat, Mr. Swift?
I understand you have one."
"Yes, I have one," answered Tom. He was going to say he had once had one, but thought better of it. "No, there is very little danger this time of year," he added.
"I am very glad to hear you say so," went on Mrs. Foger with a sigh.
"I shall feel more at ease when Andy is away now. When he returns home, I shall tell him you called upon him and he will return your visit. I am glad to see that the custom of paying calls has not died out among the present generation. It is a pleasant habit, and I am glad to have my son conform to it. He shall return your kind visit."
"Oh, no, it"s of no consequence," replied Tom quickly, thinking grimly that his visit was far from a friendly one. "There is no need to tell your son I was here. I will probably see him in a day or two.
"Oh, but I shall tell him," insisted Mrs. Foger with a kind smile.
"I"m sure he will appreciate your call."
There was much doubt concerning this in the mind of the young inventor, but he did not express it and soon took his leave. Up and down the lake for the rest of the day he cruised, looking in vain for a sight of Andy Foger in the RED STREAK, but the racing boat appeared to be well hidden.
"If I only could find where they"ve taken mine," mused Tom. "Hang it all, this is rotten luck!" and for the first time he began to feel discouraged.
"Maybe you"d better notify the police," suggested Mr. Jackson when Tom returned to the Swift house that night. "They might help locate it."