Ike was thinking of but one thing—the possibilities attending the attack on young Burlein a few moments preceding the moment when he received the blow which knocked him insensible.
In the meantime the captain had kept on talking and pulling his boat, and Ike noticed quite a large catboat bearing down upon them, and soon she came within hailing distance. When the captain called to them the men on the fishing boat, a merry party, brought their boat to and the captain pulled alongside and said:
“I’ve a lad here I picked up off shore. Will you gentlemen take him aboard and land him?”
The men were in a jolly mood and bid Ike “come aboard.” The lad was glad to do so, and waved the captain an adieu as the latter, without stopping to make any further explanations, pulled away in his yawl.
The party on the fishing boat had caught one big fish, and they were, as intimated, in a very jolly mood. They asked Ike a few questions, accepted whatever he had to say, and went on with their fun.
Our hero had plenty to eat and could have had plenty to drink if he had so desired. It was well on toward noon when the men determined to head for the inlet and go ashore. It had been decided that they would catch no more fish that day.
Most of the forenoon they had bowled along under a good stiff breeze, but suddenly the wind all died out and they lay in a dead calm, and as is usual they commenced all manner of sport. Ike thought he had seen about every gambling game that had ever been played, but he learned a new one that day, and a very amusing one. The party were all gentlemen out for an excursion, and they were in for fun, and our hero determined before that boat reached shore he would give them lots of fun. Our hero was a practical joker. He just enjoyed the possession of his wonderful gifts and he never missed an opportunity to play a trick—not malignant ones but just simple little jokes. As stated he was an expert handler of cards and well up in all manner of games, and therefore he greatly enjoyed the one organized by the fishing party. There were a great number of flies buzzing in the cabin and the men all took a lump of sugar, laid their several pieces on the table before them. Then each man laid a penny by his lump, and the man who owned the sugar on which the first fly lit took the pot. The game was called by the men “hop fly loo.”
They had considerable sport over this little game, but at length got tired, and still the calm held on. They lolled around on the boat and before them lay the solitary bluefish—a big fellow, their only reward for the expense they had been to for the day.
As intimated, a dead calm prevailed and the men were listless, and, like a lot of boys, hardly knew what to do, when one of them asked:
“If that big bluefish could talk, I wonder what he would say?”