"Never mind what I'm goin' to do; ye'll find that out in plenty of
time. It's not a bad place to stay, after all. Yez won't starve, and
I shan't shoot so long as yez behave yerselves. Hurry up, and give
Pete his orders!"
The engineer had heard every word which had been spoken. At first he was tempted to steam away, and leave his companions to their fate. But he knew that he could not very well steer the tug and handle the engine at the same time. He, therefore, decided to remain. It took him only a few minutes to run out the anchor, and join his companions, as they backed their boat to the stern of the tug.
"Now pull fer the shore," the captain ordered. "Don't try to git away from me. At the first sign I'll shoot."
Rod rowed the tender, while the captain with his rifle across his knees kept his eyes fixed upon the three men in the other boat. When a short distance from the shore, the captain commanded them to stop, and hand over their oars. This they reluctantly did, and waited to see what would happen next.
"Got an anchor on board?" the captain asked.
"Yes, a small one," was the reply.
"Well, out with it then, and don't pull it up till yez receive orders."
CHAPTER XXVI
THE BEST "GOOD TURN"
There was great excitement throughout Hillcrest over the capture of the log-stealers. In a short time everybody knew how the scouts had kept watch during the night, and how the three tug-boatmen were forced to remain in their anchored boat, with the captain guarding them while the scouts went for the magistrate and constable. There was a feeling of satisfaction that this had been so successfully accomplished, as it would no doubt put an end to such contemptible business in the future.