Go-Ahead; Or, The Fisher-Boy's Motto

by Harry Castlemon

"Jerusalem!" exclaimed Will Atkins, and, catching up an ax, he was starting to Friday's assistance, when he was checked by the stern voice of the chief.

"Hold on, there," exclaimed Sam. "If you hit that dog with that ax there'll be a big fuss here. We mustn't hurt him, fur we need him to hunt goats with."

"O, now, pull him off!" drawled Tom.

"Now, you stand back an' let him alone," said Friday, who did not seem to be at all concerned. "If I can't beat this dog in a fair tussel, I don't want a cent."

During the struggle, Friday kept a firm hold of his boat-hook; and now that the lantern was lighted, so that he could see to use it, he regained his feet, and showered his blows so fiercely upon his assailant, that, in less than half a minute, he was declared to be a badly whipped dog, and Sam was obliged to interfere in order to save his favorite from serious injury.

"You fellers needn't make up your minds to see much goat meat on the table when we get to our island," said Friday, rolling up his sleeve to examine his arm, which, Tom was very much relieved to see was scarcely scratched "We'll starve to death if we don't get no grub till that ar dog ketches it fur us."

Quiet being restored, the fisher-boy was placed in a sitting posture in the middle of the cave, with his back against the skiff; Sam seated himself on the dry-goods box, while the others of the band disposed of themselves in various attitudes, and waited for their leader to speak. Bob glanced hastily from one to the other of them, and he was satisfied, from their looks, that the new member was the only one who was prepared to say a word in his favor.

Tom was already sincerely repenting that he had ever joined the Crusoe band. He had been greatly terrified by the violence he had witnessed, his face wore a timid, frightened expression, and his mouth was twisted on one side as if he had half a mind to cry. It had been demonstrated to his satisfaction that his new friends were but very little, if any, better than so many young savages, and he trembled when he thought of what they would do to him if he should accidentally break any of the laws of the band. Boys who could stand by and see one of their number engaged in a fight with a fierce bull-dog, without raising a hand to assist him, were not likely to be possessed of very kindly feelings; and if any misfortune should befall him while in their company, he could not hope for sympathy from any of them. Another reason why Tom wished himself well out of the scrape was, because he believed that the events of the last five minutes had endangered the existence of the society. We know that he was a famous manager, and that he could see a long way ahead of him while every thing worked smoothly and to his satisfaction, and no real obstacles were encountered; but now he was sadly troubled. Had he been the chief of the band at that moment, he would not have known how to act. He had readily fallen in with the belief of the others that Bob ought to be captured, in order to prevent him from revealing the secret of their hiding-place, and thus breaking up the band and putting a stop to their cruise; but now that they had got him, he was like the man who drew the elephant in the lottery—he didn't know what ought to be done with him. Sam Barton, however, was not troubled with any gloomy foreboding. Although he had, at first, looked very serious, and imagined all sorts of terrible things that would happen to him now that his rival had discovered his secret, a hasty review of the situation had convinced him that his case was not so very desperate after all. Indeed, according to his way of thinking, some such scrape as they had just got into was needed to establish his society upon a firm basis. Although the members, without a single exception, appeared to enter heartily into all his plans, he was afraid that, when the time for action arrived, one or two of the timid ones would have some excuse for backing out. That was one reason, though not the principal one, why he had stolen Bob's skiff. As all the members of his band had assisted him in it, he had thus got a firm hold upon them; and, if any of them became restive, he could enforce obedience to his commands by threatening to expose them to Mr. Grimes, the constable. The capture of the fisher-boy would serve to convince the band that he was in earnest, and that he was determined to carry out his plans in spite of all the obstacles that could be thrown in his way.