“I’d go along, only I can’t spare the time,” said Darrow.
Five minutes later I was on board my sloop, and speeding for Rock Island in search of the Catch Me, which I was now certain had been stolen.
The large sloop had become my property, and as the craft was worth at least three hundred dollars it is no wonder that I was anxious to find her. The sum of money represented a good deal to me, especially in my present situation.
Mr. Norton, my newly appointed guardian, had told me to take my time about getting back to the mill, so I considered that I had at least several hours of my own before me. This was long enough, I calculated, to take a run up to Rock Island, make an investigation, and get back to the mouth of the Torrent Bend River.
I let the mainsail out full, and also the jib. This was all the small sloop could carry in the present wind, and even then I found I had a lively time whenever it came to changing the tack.
I stowed away the stuff I had bought in the cuddy, where it would not get wet, and then took things easy in the stern-sheets.
It was a beautiful day, and had my mind been free I would have enjoyed the outing thoroughly. But the clouds of sorrow and perplexity were upon me, and I paid scant attention to the fair blue sky above and the rippling water beneath.
At length I came within a quarter of a mile of the island, and then began to keep my eyes wide open for whatever might come to view.
Rock Island was half a mile wide by nearly a mile long, and on all sides were a number of coves and inlets, some well hidden by the masses of bushes and trees that grew along the shores.
I decided to make my investigation as systematic as possible, knowing that it would be folly to sail about in a haphazard fashion. I ran into the first cove I came to, looked around in every direction, and continued this until I had visited the entire south and east shores.