With this piece of advice Flint went out, and Guy, having placed his valise close at hand, walked impatiently up and down the locker, waiting for the propeller to make the landing.
Time moves on laggard wings when one is in a hurry, and Guy thought he had never passed so long an hour before; but at last the engineer’s bell rang, the jarring and rocking of the boat subsided into a gentle, gliding motion, the capstan overhead began to groan and rattle, and finally a heavy bump or two announced that the wharf had been reached. Guy heard the men come down to shove out the gang-plank, and at the same moment one of the engineers pushed open the door of the locker and nodded to him—a signal previously agreed upon between him and Flint that the coast was clear.
Guy picked up his valise and ran quickly through the engine-room, but when he came within sight of the gangway he saw that the propeller was still moving ahead, and that the gang-plank had not yet been pushed out. More than that, his own enemy, the steward, was coming slowly down the stairs, and Guy caught sight of him just in time to avoid discovery by dodging into a dark passage-way.
As soon as the steamer’s headway was checked by the lines the gang-plank was shoved out, and a man on the pier, who had been waiting for an opportunity to come on board, ran up and was cordially greeted by the steward.
“Halloo, Boyle!” exclaimed the officer as the two met at the foot of the stairs, “what do you want here? Are you looking for anybody?”
“Yes, I am,” replied the man.
“It isn’t me, is it?” asked the steward with a laugh.
“No, not this time. I am after a couple of boys who are supposed to have taken passage on this steamer from Norwall. Good-looking young fellows they are, I judge from the description I have of them. One is tall and slender, with light hair and blue eyes, is dressed in black and wears a straw hat. His name is Guy Harris.”
“Great Scott!” thought the listening runaway, “it is all over with me now.”
“I don’t know any boy of that name,” replied the steward, “but we certainly had one aboard who answered to that description. He got off at Saginaw, or rather, we put him off because he had no money. What is the matter?”