“Never,” denied Cole. “We just paddled past the island and saw you coming after us.”
“What made you try to get away?”
Jack hesitated, and seemed to find it difficult to answer. After a time he muttered:
“That’s none of your business! Perhaps we wanted to see if you could ketch us.”
“Well, I certain judge you found out,” said Buckhart.
“You came near drowning me!” grated Cole. “If that had happened you’d been to blame.”
“You ought to be some ashamed to talk that fashion,” said the Texan; “but I don’t opine there’s anything like shame in you. Come on, Dick, we’ll go back and make out a complaint against him. We’ll have him arrested for firing that shot.”
“Go ahead,” sneered Cole. “That’s all the good it’ll do you.”
Deciding it was useless to waste further words on the fellow, Dick stepped into the canoe as Buckhart again swung the prow close to the shore.
“You’ll have time to think it over while you’re walking round the shore to Maplewood,” said Merriwell. “Remember that Tom Fernald deserted you and left you to drown.”