Even as Alex. closed the cabin door behind himself, running footsteps were heard, and the next moment two boys of about his own age, Cornelius Witters and Julian Shafer, made their appearance, racing off the pier and on to the deck of the motor boat like young colts. They dashed into the cabin and dropped down into seats at the table.
“What’s the matter with the fellow at the head of the pier?” Case Witters asked. “He called to us not to come down here! Said there was a crazy boy, a mad dog and a grizzly loose in the boat! Guess you got him peeved, didn’t you?”
“He’s too fresh!” Alex. responded. “He came on board as if he owned the boat, and then had the nerve to tell us that we’d get lost if we went down the river without a pilot! He wanted a pilot’s job! We should have given Captain Joe a bite out of him!”
“Did he say he was a pilot?” asked Jule Shafer, with a wink at Case.
“Sure thing he did!” answered Alex. “Said he was the best on the river!”
“Well,” Case began, “if he is a pilot he is out of practice! I heard him asking a man about the passage from Hickman to Reelfoot lake. When we went up-town that same man who spoke to us on the pier stood on the levee with a bunch of toughs. Their heads were together, as if they were planning mischief. I thought they looked at Jule and I in a strange way, too!”
“I don’t believe he ever came on board to get a job!” Jule broke in. “He’s a spy! That’s just what he is, and I wish Captain Joe had eaten him up!”
“But why should he come spying here?” asked Clay. “We’re not river thieves!”
“Well, there’s something odd going on at Cairo!” Case asserted. “There are crowds on the streets, and the policemen seem to be on their metal! I guess we would have been locked up as suspects if we hadn’t had on pretty good clothes!”
“Why didn’t you ask some one to tell you about it?” demanded Alex.