No Moss; Or, The Career of a Rolling Stone

by Harry Castlemon

The chief had told Tom that the Sweepstakes could show the yacht a pretty pair of heels, and no doubt, in a fair trial of speed, she would have done so, for she was a much larger vessel than the sloop, and carried nearly twice as much canvas. But the governor forgot that the race is not always to the swift, and that the yacht had a decided advantage in being handled by a captain who understood his business. Harry Green was an excellent sailor for a boy of his age, and he was backed up by a crew who had been his competitors at the examination, and consequently they were almost as well posted as he was, and quite competent to offer advice if he needed it, while Tom had no one to consult, his men being as ignorant as himself. The first lieutenant knew what the Sweepstakes could do in the way of sailing, and he was well aware of the fact that if he expected to capture the governor and his crew he must depend more upon strategy than upon the speed of his vessel.

By the time the fight between the midshipman and the Crusoe men was ended, the Storm King had been got under way and was standing down the harbor. The first lieutenant, having just come out of the galley, was thoughtfully pacing his quarter-deck, where he was presently joined by Jackson, who looked none the worse for his battle with the fire. Of course the exciting events of the night came up for discussion. The young officers expressed unbounded astonishment at Tom's audacity, and tried in vain to determine what new idea he had got into his head. They were completely in the dark, and there they remained until they picked up the jolly-boat and her crew, and midshipman Richardson, drenched in body and exceedingly uncomfortable in mind, came aft to report the failure of his attempt to capture the incendiary. He told his story in a few words, adding a piece of information that increased Harry's astonishment, and made him believe, with Johnny Harding, that wonders would never cease.

"I saw Mr. Newcombe's night watchman on the wharf as I was coming back, sir," said Richardson, "and from him I learned that Mr. Henry's safe has been blown open and robbed of seven thousand dollars. It was done by two strangers—professional burglars undoubtedly—and they were afterward joined by Sam Barton and his band of rascals, who carried off a quantity of provisions."

"Where was the watchman, that he did not give the alarm?" asked Harry.

"The robbers knocked him down, and bound and gagged him, before they went into the store," replied the midshipman. "They also made a prisoner of Johnny Harding, one of them holding a revolver to his head while the other tied him. But the funny part of the story is, that the governor is to receive a thousand dollars for taking the robbers to sea. Sam and Tom still have Crusoe's island on the brain, according to my way of thinking, and are starting off to hunt it up."

The first lieutenant was now satisfied of this fact himself. He dismissed the midshipman after listening to his story, and turned to consult with Jackson. "I wish that Tom had taken some other vessel," said he, after they had talked the matter over, "the Sweepstakes runs like lightning, and if she was in charge of a sailor, I should never expect to see her. My only hope is that Newcombe will commit some blunder. If he does, we've got him. He can't escape, for all the tugs in the harbor will be after him as soon as they can raise steam; but I wish it might be our good fortune to capture him, alone and unaided. If we catch the whole band we'll recover the money, you know. Instruct the officer of the deck to have a bright lookout kept for the Sweepstakes."

Scarcely had this order been issued, when one of the lookouts, who had learned the particulars of the fight from the boat's crew, came aft to report that a schooner, which looked very much like the Sweepstakes, was standing across the bay toward the head of the island. The officer of the deck went forward to examine the vessel through his glass, and came back to Harry with the information that the pirate was in plain sight.

During the next quarter of an hour the first lieutenant stood on the forecastle, watching the movements of the schooner, and turning over in his mind various plans for her capture. When he saw her stop to pick up the yawl and the burglars, he called his crew to quarters, and made every preparation for boarding her. "If Tom knows any thing," said he to Jackson, "he will come back and go down on this side of the island; and if he tries that, we may be able to cut him off."

"But he's not going to try it, sir," said the second lieutenant, who was watching the schooner through his glass. "He is standing down the other side."

"Is he?" exclaimed Harry, eagerly; "so much the better. I was sure he could not take that vessel far, without making some mistake. We will go down on this side of the island and meet him. We shall reach the foot before he does, for he will have to go a long distance out of his way to avoid the shoals. If we can only catch him in the narrows, between the foot of the island and the main shore, he is our prize. We'll board him, and have a regular hand-to-hand fight with him."