“Come on. Pick him up and carry him down to the boat. Easy now, don’t shake him,” said Ralph as, after bandaging the lad’s head with his handkerchief, he issued the order to his chums, ignoring the man utterly. The fellow fumed as Percy Simmons and Harry Ware took the injured lad’s head and feet and started off for the boat.
“Put down that boy!” he screamed.
“By what authority?” demanded Ralph.
“By mine. I’m his father.”
“Then you must have married mighty early. You don’t look much over twenty-one or so.”
“Confound your impudence!” shrieked out the man. “How dare you come here and kidnap my son?”
“Oh, we’re not kidnapping. We are taking him to Dr. Chadwick on North Twin Island. He may decide that he must go to a hospital. If the doctor does order this we will inform you. Will you let us have your name?”
“I will not,” shouted the man. “I warn you that you are law-breakers. You’ll be punished for this. I’ll see to that, if it takes me the longest day I ever live!”
“Then you’ll have to wait till the time that men or boys are to be punished for saving lives,” flung back Ralph scornfully, as they made their way to the landing.
The man offered no further objections to their taking the boy. Possibly he had had his lesson already and found out that instead of three mere boys, he had tackled lads who had seen enough of peril and adventure to render them capable of rising to almost any emergency that might present itself.