Swiftly he dragged the helpless animal by the way he had come, till he arrived at the raft. It was the work of but a minute to haul it on board, tear up the “anchor,” and shove off. When fairly afloat, the door of the cage was opened, and Carlo ignominiously thrust in.
Thus the reader perceives that this mysterious cage was to do duty as a prison. Had not its manufacturer been perusing some of the “literature” of the present day when he contrived his plot? Only, he varied the stereotyped form by abducting an heroic dog instead of an heroic fool.
Stephen gave up his whole attention to the delightful and thoroughly boyish pastime of swimming. In all probability he thought no more of his dog, believing him to be in full pursuit of the “squirrel.” But Bob had no sooner got under way than Stephen spied him.
Contrary to all the laws which regulate the actions of the heroes of romance, he engaged in conversation with the depraved youth. A hero in a book would have looked the other way in dignified silence when such a wretch came in sight, but not so Steve.
“Hollo!” he called out. “Why, Bob, I haven’t seen you since the night you yelled so bravely, and fell overboard into this very river. Have you got the plasters off your bruises yet? You ought to be as tender as pounded beef-steak after all your tumbles that night.
“But I say,” in a quarrelsome tone, “what are you doing with our raft? That raft isn’t common property; it belongs to us.”
“Who is ‘us’?” asked Bob, mockingly.
Now that he was on the raft, all his impudence returned. He knew that he could work his way into deep water before Stephen could reach him; for, unlike most rafts built by boys, this one was managed with ease, and propelled with something like swiftness.
“Who is ‘us’?” Steve echoed in amazement. “You know well enough that that raft belongs to us four—Will, and me, and Charley, and George, and Marmaduke, and myself—”
Bob could not deny the justness of Steve’s claim on the raft, so he waived the question, and cut him short, saying derisively, “Steve, I reckon you’d better stop, if you can’t count straighter’n that.”