A MYSTERIOUS NIGHT JOURNEY
Billy Gordon got aboard the launch and paddled it out to where Captain Baker sat examining the rope, the end of which he had picked up from the water.
"What have you found? More mystery?" shouted Crazy Jane.
"Yes. I'll tell you when I get ashore. What kind of an anchor have you down here?"
"Just an anchor, that's all," answered Harriet. "Why?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering."
George climbed over into the launch, tying the rowboat behind it. Then the two lads hauled the anchor aboard the power boat. After examining the anchor, they paddled the launch ashore, towing the smaller boat behind them.
"We have the old anchor. It's a good one too," announced Billy, stepping ashore. "I take back all I said. George has some questions to ask you."
"Yes," nodded young Baker. "Was the anchor rope in good condition when you put out the anchor, Miss Burrell?"
"So far as I know. Did it break?"
"It broke, all right. Will you show me where you made it fast last night?"
Harriet led the way to the forward deck of the "Red Rover," pointing to a hard wood cleat.
"I made a loop in the rope and slipped it over the cleat, drawing it tight. I do not see how it would be possible for the loop to slip off, nor, in fact, for the rope to break."
"Hm-m-m-m!" pondered George, feeling the cleat with critical fingers. "Smooth. No chance for it to have worn through. There is something to be explained in this affair, Miss Burrell."
Harriet gazed searchingly at him, but said nothing.
"I wish you would have a look at the rope. It's there on the shore. Then, after you have examined it, tell me what you think about the matter, but tell me just whatever you wish to. I'm not going to question you about something you don't wish me to know."
"What do you mean, Captain?"
"Have you any enemies up here?"
"I do not know of any. I have a rival here, though."
"Eh? Who?"
"You," answered Harriet, with a smile.
"Oh!" Captain Baker flushed, then he laughed heartily. "That was last summer. You beat us fairly. Of course we wanted to win the race home, and so did you, but you won it fairly and squarely, and that's all there was about it. We got you into trouble by stealing the melons and giving them to you, but honestly, we didn't mean to have the farmer hold you responsible."
"We owe you something for telling George's fortune," laughed Sam.
"Then pay your debts," retorted Harriet.
"Don't you do anything of the sort, boys," warned Jane. "You know what will happen to you, if you do."
"What will happen?" demanded Baker, turning to Crazy Jane.
"Oh, that would be telling. We should be even with you before we had finished, you know. Girls are always more resourceful than boys."
"I don't agree with you," retorted George Baker.
"Do you wish us to prove it to you?" asked Harriet laughingly.
"I'll give you a chance to fail," returned George. "As long as we're going to spend our vacations on this lake we'll give you girls a chance to prove your superiority as strategists. I'll wager you a No. 2 Brownie Camera, to be the joint property of whichever side wins it, that the Tramp Club can completely outwit the Meadow-Brook Girls three times inside of three weeks. What do you say?"
"Shall we accept the challenge, Miss Elting?" asked Harriet. "What do you say, girls?"
"Done!" chorused the girls and their guardian.
"Very well," smiled Harriet. "The contest begins now, and of course all unfair tricks are to be barred out by both sides."
"Of course," agreed George. "But come along and have a look at the rope."
Harriet stepped briskly ashore, followed by Jane and the two boys. She went directly to where the rope and the anchor lay. Picking up the former she ran it through her hands until she came to the loop that had been drawn about the cleat on the deck when the boat had been anchored on the previous afternoon. The Meadow-Brook Girl held the loop on the palm of her left hand, gazing at the rope reflectively. She frowned slightly as she looked at it.
"Well, what do you find?" questioned the captain briskly.
Harriet glanced up at him quickly.
"I understand," she said.
"What is it, Harriet, dear?" asked Miss Elting.
"Oh, what a mess!" muttered Jane, who had been looking over Harriet's shoulder. "Here's more trouble for the Meadow-Brook Girls, and trouble for somebody besides them, too."
"You can see for yourself," replied Harriet, handing the end of the rope to the guardian.
"The loop has been cut!" exclaimed Miss Elting.
Harriet nodded.
"It has, indeed," agreed Jane.
Miss Elting and Harriet Burrell exchanged significant glances. George Baker observed the looks. He nodded to Billy. Larry Goheen winked wisely.
"There is something behind this business then, Miss Elting?" asked the captain.
"I don't mind admitting that there is, Mr. Baker," answered the guardian. "What do you say, girls, shall we tell the boys?" she inquired, turning to her wards.
"If you think best," agreed Harriet.
"Surely. Tell them. Maybe they'll be able to catch the rascal," urged Jane McCarthy.
"This is not the first time we have been troubled by some person who wishes to annoy us," Miss Elting informed the Tramp Club. "Before we began to live on the boat, and while we were getting it ready for occupancy, some person did the same thing. That is, he cut the rope and cast the boat adrift. It was anchored at Johnson's dock. Perhaps you do not know where that is."
"I know," spoke up Billy. "It's about two miles above here. That's where we landed to-day, George."
Captain Baker nodded.
"How do you know they cast the 'Red Rover' adrift?" he asked.
"The rope had been cut," replied Harriet Burrell. "It was just as Miss Elting has told you. The anchor rope had been cut cleanly with a sharp knife. This time the loop, instead of the rope, has been cut."
"I thought you said you had no enemies," observed Sam Crocker.
"Nor have we, as far as we know," answered the guardian.
"I don't know what you would call the person who did this, then. This is all the more reason why you should anchor near our camp."
"Oh, no. We are perfectly able to take care of ourselves," smiled Miss Elting. "Experiences such as these aid in making us self-reliant."
"Have you a revolver on board?" questioned Gordon.
"Miss Elting has a revolver," answered Jane.
"We hope never to be forced to use it, however. The trouble is that our friend doesn't show himself. But just wait. One of these fine nights we'll catch him, then he'll take a bath in the lake."
"You have no idea who he is?"
"I can't say that we have," replied the guardian slowly.
"Do you know Mr. Dickinson?" asked Harriet, looking sharply at Gordon.
"Dee? Yes."
"What sort of person is he?"
"Oh, Dee's all right. He doesn't amount to a whole lot, but he is a good fellow. Why?" He shot a suspicious glance at Harriet.
"Nothing, except that he was looking after the boat for Miss Elting's brother before we came down here."
George put an end to the conversation by announcing that it was time they got the "Red Rover" out. The motor boat was paddled out into deeper water, then the houseboat was fastened to the motor boat and the power started, while all the boys save two pulled and hauled on the heavy houseboat. It floated slowly out into deeper water, while the girls cheered the efforts of the Tramp Club.
The anchor, in the meantime, had been put on board and a new loop made at the end of the rope. The girls now climbed into the rowboat and were rowed out to the "Red Rover," after which the motor boat began towing the "Red Rover" into the lake, with Captain George Baker at the helm. He had remained aboard to give further assistance, if needed.
"This is the worst old tub to steer that ever I took hold of," he declared.
"We found it so," agreed Harriet. "You will get the knack of it soon. When you do, you will find steering it rather easy."
They reached a cove farther up the lake, shortly after noon. Here the Meadow-Brook Girls decided to anchor, as there was a farmhouse on a bluff a little way inland, where they thought they would be able to get milk, eggs and vegetables. George decided that he would call in the motor boat and return to camp, promising to come over and see them later to get their orders for the following day.
Miss Elting and her girls expressed their appreciation of the kindness of Captain Baker and his friends.
"We haven't done anything worth while yet," retorted Captain Baker. "Perhaps we may give you a real opportunity to thank us, later on. On the other hand, you may not wish to thank us," he added, with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.
"Now, I wonder what the boy meant by that?" thought Crazy Jane, regarding George shrewdly through half-closed eyes.
Captain Baker went over the side, boarding the motor boat after he had cast anchor for the girls and made everything snug. Then, with many good-byes on both sides, the power boat chugged away toward the Tramp Club camp, the Meadow-Brook Girls turning to the duties of the day.
The first task was to get their clothing in condition. There was now no one to interfere with them. Flatirons were put on the oil stove, which was once more in working order, and the work of pressing out their wrinkled clothing was begun. Harriet and Jane handled the irons. Miss Elting took down the curtains, which also were sadly in need of ironing, while Margery and Hazel prepared the noon meal. Tommy perched herself on the rail of the upper deck, and caroled forth a lisping ditty.
After dinner, Harriet and Jane rowed ashore and purchased supplies from the farmhouse that they had observed on their way to the present anchorage. The day passed all too quickly. Twilight was upon them almost before they realized it. Supper was late that night, and ere they had finished the dishes the motor boat drew up to them and the Tramp Club swarmed over the side of the houseboat with merry greetings.
"It is almost like being boarded by pirates," laughed Harriet. "In this case the pirates are welcome."
The boys had brought with them a bag of early apples, which Captain Baker gravely assured them had been duly bought and paid for. The boys also had brought their harmonicas, and later in the evening there was a harmonica concert on the upper deck of the "Red Rover." Later on the girls served their guests with cake and coffee. Larry Goheen, who, like Jane McCarthy, was gifted with true Irish wit, was the life of the party. He and Crazy Jane bandied words and said witty things to each other to the delight of the rest of the company.
The boys took their leave at ten o'clock. First, they left a lantern for the houseboat, which George Baker lighted and set in place at the stern. The anchor light of the houseboat had been lost in the storm of the previous night, or else it had been stolen, which latter they doubted. The girls were quite ready to retire, and lost no time in turning in after the departure of their guests. Then quiet settled down upon the "Red Rover." A gentle swell on the water lulled the girls into deep, peaceful slumber, until after sunrise next morning.
Tommy, for a wonder, was the first to get out of bed in the morning. Half-asleep she staggered, blinking, to the after deck, and then leaned over to wash the last of the sleep out of her eyes. There followed a sudden, sharp splash, and a moment later the blonde head of Tommy Thompson appeared from out of the lake. Tommy had fallen in again. This time she did not scream. She climbed aboard the boat, grumbling to herself, and proceeded to dress without further delay.
"For goodness' sake, Tommy, what is the matter?" demanded Harriet, sitting up in bed, rubbing her blinking eyes. "Did you fall into the lake again?"
"I gueth I had a bath thith morning," answered Tommy.
"An impromptu plunge, I should call it," answered Harriet smiling. Then she glanced sharply out through the rear door of the cabin. Her eyes narrowed as she gazed. She rose from her cot and walked to the door, looking over the water towards the opposite shore, her forehead wrinkling into a perplexed frown. "Girls! Get up! Come out and view the scenery. I promise you it is well worth seeing this morning. Oh, Miss Elting, do you know where you are?"
"Why—why, what does it mean?" gasped the girls who had hurriedly tumbled out following Harriet's summons.
The guardian could scarcely believe her eyes. They were not in the cove where the boat had been anchored the day before. The scenery on the shore near them was strange and new.
"What does it mean, Harriet?" demanded the guardian.
"I think a fairy must have touched the world with her wand and changed it into something else during the night," replied Harriet. "But don't you know where you are, Miss Elting?"
"I do not. Do you?"
"I think I do."
"I know," piped Tommy. "We are on the water. I wath in it earlier thith morning."
No one gave any heed to Tommy's pleasantry. They were too amazed and perplexed to give thought to anything but the strangeness of their surroundings.
"Then I will tell you," said Harriet, "We are on the other side of the lake. Do you see that white house on the bluff across the lake? Well, that is the farmhouse where we got our milk yesterday."
"But—but——" gasped Miss Elting.
"We are now where we wanted to be, across the lake near the beautiful islands and the pretty wooded shores."
"But how did we get here?" finished Miss Elting.
"I don't know. I know only that we're here. Somehow we must have made a mysterious journey across the lake during the night, or else the fairy that I spoke of has turned the lake around in the night and left us standing exactly as we were. But I can't think on an empty stomach. Let's dress and get breakfast; then we will consider what has happened to us. We are anchored all right, so there is no occasion for worry. The weather is fine too. Our unknown enemy did us a good turn, this time, if he only knew it. Come along, girls."