“It will send a man pretty high up in the air if he drinks enough of it,” the mountaineer chuckled.
“Why don’t you quit it and play fair with the Government?” asked Clay.
“Sho’, boys,” answered the mountaineer, “I wouldn’t enjoy life if it wasn’t for the skirmishes I have with the Government officers. Besides, there ain’t nothing else a man can do in this country. When a man can make a hundred dollars’ worth of moonshine out of ten dollars’ worth of corn, and do it with mighty little trouble, what’s the use of his coming down into the valley and shoveling coal into a steamer for a dollar and a half a day?”
The argument was never completed, for at that moment the boys saw the cabin door open and Teddy, standing erect in a boxing attitude, move out. He was getting to be quite a good-sized bear now, and he bulked fierce and heavy against the lights. At first, neither one of the river thieves on board the Rambler saw him.
In fact, the first indication Mike had of his presence was when he felt a sharp claw laid on the arm lying across the gunwale. He turned quickly, looked for one instant into the pig-like eyes of the bear, and with a cry which echoed down the river, sprang into the stream.
“I guess he thought the bear was going to eat him!” Case observed.
The mountaineer now lay rolling and tumbling on the bank of the river. The scene had opened so unexpectedly; the bear’s appearance had been so fierce and intimidating, that he had at first felt a little shiver of fear, but now he saw that the bear was merely performing tricks he had been taught While he chuckled, Gid also leaped into the river, and then he saw Case and Clay, followed by Captain Joe, swimming lustily toward the Rambler.
CHAPTER IX.—THE THREE BLUE LIGHTS.
The entire situation on board the Rambler had not been observed from the shore. The boys and the mountaineer had seen only Teddy in the center of the stage, so they had naturally supposed that the swift departure of the pirates had been occasioned by the sudden appearance of the grizzly. Had they been in a little different position, they would have seen Alex and Jule standing in the open doorway of the cabin with threatening automatics in their hands.
“Now, that’s a funny proposition,” the mountaineer deliberated, as Clay and Case clambered to the after deck. “Them pirates are watching the Rambler, and yet they don’t see that the boys are getting possession of her. They must be a stupid lot.”