“Over here, fellows!” he called. “And come quickly!” Then as his two friends, partly disrobed, rushed to his side, Captain Tom pointed to the water.
“Someone threw a weight at me,” he explained. “He jumped in. Watch to see him rise. Jed, you watch from the other side of the pier. Joe, take the end—and hustle!”
Thus distributed, the crew of the “Rocket” watched and listened for the rising of Tom Halstead’s recent assailant. Time went by, however, until it was certain that no human being could any longer remain under water. Yet no head showed, nor was any being heard making the shore. Then the two other boys came back to their young leader, who was looking extremely thoughtful.
“I wonder,” mused Tom, aloud, “whether I’ve had a good one played on me? You see that weight resting yonder on our gang-plank. That was thrown at me from behind this pile of freight. After yelling for you fellows, I rushed over here just in time to hear a splash. And now it has struck me that some mighty smooth chap may have pitched another weight into the water, then doubled around the freight and so got ashore and away.”
“That was the trick, I guess,” nodded Joe Dawson, thoughtfully. “But what on earth was it all about, anyway, Tom?”
“We’ll take a look over this freight tub first, and then I’ll tell you,” proposed Halstead, swinging himself on board the little steamer. But every door and hatchway on that craft had been made fast for the night, and there appeared to be no one aboard. Then the young skipper led his friends back to the “Rocket.”
“Now, let’s have the yarn,” begged Jed, who, from being sleepy ten minutes before, was suddenly very much awake.
After they had seated themselves on the top of the cabin, Halstead, in low tones, described his brief adventures of the evening.
“Whatever someone’s plan is,” he wound up, earnestly, “it seems to be a sure thing that they don’t want this boat to keep in commission. That weight, if I hadn’t jumped, would very likely have broken one of my legs. So, fellows, do you believe we’ve any right to sleep all hands at the same time, while tied to this pier?”
“Though I’m soon going to be pretty drowsy,” admitted Joe Dawson, “I honestly don’t believe we’ve any right to go below without a watch. I’m ready to stand my share of watch.”