“What if they leave the motor boat and make a run for the log cabin on the raft—will you crack away at ’em, Jack, and try to hit the fellers in the legs?” was what the excited Josh wanted to know.
Jack had to laugh softly at that.
“You talk as if any one could put a load of shot just where he wanted it, without doing any serious damage,” he remarked. “If that was easy, I’d like to tickle those chaps; but there’s too serious a chance of crippling them for life, or even worse than that. We’re so close now that a load of Sevens would go just like a great big bullet. I’m not ready for that and won’t be unless they hurt one of our crowd. If that happens, they’ll have to look out.”
“There they go, heading in to the logs, just like you said, Jack!” cried Josh, more worked up than ever. “Oh! please give ’em another shot if they jump on the raft. P’raps it might scare the pair so much they’d just throw up their hands, and surrender.”
“Do you see the men who are running the logs down-stream?” demanded Jack.
“Of course I do, two of ’em, and they look like they hardly knew what all this racket means,” Josh continued. “Now, wouldn’t it be just great if they jumped our birds, and got ’em. All we’d have to do then would be to take charge of the scamps, hand over a little reward to the raftsmen, and start back. Look! Jack, there, they are going to strike the logs now. They’ve shut off the motor, you see, and that tells the story. Take it from me we’ve got the fellers bad scared right now. Whoop! George, knock ’em both over with your elephant gun! Quick! soak it to ’em, fellers!”
Of course Josh was only shouting this last in order to further alarm the two fugitives. For some reason or other the men had determined to abandon their boat. Perhaps they found it was commencing to balk, and could not be depended on. Then again, as the others had overtaken them, it was plain that they must open up some other means for escaping.
Jack still clung to his former idea that the men hoped the boys would be satisfied with recovering the stolen Saunterer; and finding that they were ready to defend themselves would withdraw. Then they could force the raftsmen to steer the clumsy craft over to whichever shore they thought safer, and in this way they might escape with their booty.
The white boat came alongside the raft, and bumped heavily.
Two flying figures were seen to leave the boat, and find a footing on the slippery logs. Immediately they did so they started headlong toward the center where the little log-cabin shelter stood; just as though their plans had all been arranged beforehand.