“That suits me,” said Jimmy, proceeding with considerable alacrity to climb up on the raft. “It isn’t hard to see that those fellows can swim about ten yards to my one, so if they ever took the notion to go after me, they’d probably get me.”
“And a nice, juicy meal they’d have, too,” said Herb, as he clambered up on the raft. “I know if I were a bear, Doughnuts, I’d go after you first thing.”
“Well, naturally,” retorted his friend. “No bear would waste his time going after a bean pole like you. You wouldn’t make a square meal for a cub.”
“Hey, can’t you fellows ever cut out that funny stuff?” demanded Joe. “Suppose you cut out the phony humor and get busy hooking up some wires here. It won’t be any joking matter if those brutes come for us again before we’re ready for them.”
“Oh, sure,” said Herb. “Anything to oblige. Just give me a pair of cutting pliers and watch my speed.”
Joe uttered a grunt that might mean anything, but handed him the pliers, and they all fell to work with a will. Buck came swimming back to the raft, and the boys helped him aboard, although he could do nothing useful and was only in the way. It was in times of stress such as this that the difference between boys like the Radio Boys and those of Buck Looker’s stamp became most apparent. All their lives they had engaged in clean, healthful sports and occupations that had developed their strength and resourcefulness until they were equipped to meet the emergencies in life in an efficient manner. Buck, on the other hand, had just loafed around with friends as idle as himself, killing time and jeering at the efforts of others to be of some use in the world. Then when some emergency arose demanding quick thinking and strong, active muscles, he was completely at a loss and had neither the resource to plan nor the ability to execute.
So at the present time, although he was ashamed of having been so cowardly and would have liked to help in the defense of the raft, he did not know how to do any of the necessary things, and so could only sit and watch the others as they deftly performed their tasks, doing everything quickly and efficiently without any lost motion. Buck was not so stupid as to be entirely insensible to his shortcomings, and even formed some vague resolutions to try to do better in the future.
But those on the raft were afforded little time for idle thoughts. The bears kept circling closer and closer, and, to make it still worse, their numbers had been augmented by two new arrivals who had not had a taste of the induction coil and were proportionately brave. The boys had barely made their last connection when the bears, with a chorus of growls, made for the raft, their mouths open and little eyes twinkling viciously.
The sight was a fearsome one, but there was no way of retreat open even had the boys been so minded, which was far from the case. They were resolved to save their radio outfit, and moreover were encouraged by the success of their former defense.
This time they had a harder rush to stem, as they soon found. The bears flinched away from the stream of sparks emitted by the four high tension terminals wielded by the boys, but they could attend to only four at a time, and meanwhile the other bears were attempting to get a foothold on the raft.