Tom Newcombe; Or, the Boy of Bad Habits

by Harry Castlemon

NEVER before had the gallant little sloop been manned by such an excited and delighted crew as the runaways were at that moment. They had escaped the examination, and instead of remaining at the academy, under arrest, while their companions were enjoying themselves in camp, they would soon be miles at sea, and beyond the control of the principal. The danger, they imagined, was over, at least until morning, when their absence would be discovered, and the pursuit commenced. That they would be followed, none of them, for a moment, doubted; for they knew that the principal was not the man to permit his authority to be set at defiance with impunity. He would make every effort to capture them, and his former exploits in this line had shown that he was very expert at catching deserters. Besides, although they had paid the captain of the Swallow for the use of his boat for two weeks, they did not expect that he would be altogether satisfied with the arrangement. Tom and Johnny had assured their companions that he “wouldn’t grumble,” but they had said that merely to silence the fears of the timid members of the society, for they knew that the captain, unless he was different from most men, would be very angry when he discovered that a “lot of green boys” had run away with his sloop; and he, also, would leave no stone unturned to insure their speedy capture. In addition to this, there were seven boys on board who lived in the village; and, when their parents learned that they were among the runaways, it was very probable that they, too, would make every exertion to bring the cruise to an end as soon as possible. In short, as soon as their escape became known, the whole village would be aroused, and Captain Rich would be given ample opportunity to prove himself worthy of the confidence his friends had reposed in him. The deserters realized the fact that their chances for continuing their cruise for two weeks, were very slim indeed; but there were very few among them who were troubled with any gloomy forebodings. True, some of them thought of the guard-house, with extra duty at night, but the majority of them did not look so far into the future. They thought only of the fine time they expected to enjoy during their cruise, and laughed when they pictured to themselves the consternation that would prevail at the academy when their absence was first discovered. Tom, especially, was in the best of spirits. He had been the projector and manager of the most daring exploit ever attempted by the village boys, and he felt proud of it. There was one thing that was beginning to trouble him, however, and that was, he was sorry that he had used his influence to make Rich the captain of the vessel. He ought to have had that position himself. He had done most of the work, run all the risk, and he certainly ought to have been given a higher office than that of first mate. But it was too late to remedy the matter, and Tom was obliged to be satisfied with the glory he had already won.

When the sloop had cleared the harbor, and got well out into the bay, the first mate walked to the head of the companion-way and called out, “All right, now, fellows. You may come on deck;” whereupon, the boys who had been sent into the cabin, clambered up the ladder, and, unable longer to restrain their enthusiasm, gave vent to their jubilant feelings in terrific whoops and yells.

“Silence!” commanded Johnny. “Are you tired of your cruise already? Wait until you know that we are safe from pursuit before you begin your dancing and shouting.”

“Why, I thought that if we once got outside the harbor, we were all right,” said one of the “landlubbers.”

The boys who had never been to sea were called “landlubbers,” and this name clung to them during the voyage.

“That’s by no means certain,” replied the third mate. “The Philistines will be after us as soon as our escape is discovered, and our only chance is to get well out to sea before daylight. If we are followed by sailing vessels, we can show a clean pair of heels; but if our pursuers come in a steamer, you academy fellows may begin to prepare yourselves for the guard-house. So you see—”

“Swallow, ahoy!” came a hail, in stentorian tones, interrupting Johnny’s speech, and filling the runaways with dismay.

The astonished deserters looked toward the light-house, which they were at that moment passing, and whence the hail came, and saw a man standing on the pier, waving his hat to them, while two others were hoisting the sails of a small schooner, evidently with the intention of following them. A third had got into a skiff, and was pulling toward the village with all possible speed. In the excitement of getting safely out of the harbor, they had not thought of looking for enemies on the light-house pier, and a hasty glance at the men in the schooner showed them that the pursuit was to commence much sooner than they had expected.

“O, now, we’re caught already!” drawled Tom. “It’s all up with us. I knew all the while just how it would turn out.”