Budd Boyd's Triumph; or, The Boy-Firm of Fox Island

by William P. Chipman

"Come on; I go by there on my way to the house, and will see that you are fairly treated," said Mr. Dane, in reply.

A few rods up the street they came to the store, and Mr. Dane himself waited upon Budd, and made a generous reduction, as the lad paid for the things.

Returning to the boat as soon as his purchases were made, Budd cast off the lines and began his return passage. The wind, blowing as it did strongly from a southern quarter, compelled him to take quite a different course from the one taken when he had come over.

Once out of Mount Hope Bay, he ran for the north of Prudence Island. Passing that on his left, he tacked down by Patience Island toward the mouth of the Potowomot River, on the main shore. His third tack, to the southeast, brought him under the lee of Hope Island, and from there he expected to make his last tack directly for home.

As he came up under Hope Island, however, he recalled the words of Tom Bagsley on the previous Saturday evening about this island being Mr. Johnson's summer residence; and remembering, also, that Tom and his companions had left Fox Island intending to make Hope Island their rendezvous for a few days, a strong desire took possession of him to land on the island and see if the burglars were still there, or had ransacked the house and left.

Like an inspiration the thought came to him that here might be his chance to bring a charge against his enemy. If the house had indeed been robbed, his own and Judd's testimony as to the declaration they had heard from the robbers' lips surely ought to be sufficient to warrant their arrest for the deed. He resolved, then, to land and make an investigation; and if he found traces of the crime, as he felt sure he would, then he would report to Mr. Johnson at once.

He knew he was running some danger of discovery by a man who would not hesitate to take his life, but he believed the risk was very slight. If the house had been robbed, he argued, then the men had already departed. He believed this all the more strongly because it was quite time for Mr. Johnson to come to the island for the summer; and the men, also knowing this, would not be apt to make a long sojourn there. So he ran in as close to the island as possible and anchored the sloop. Then, jumping into the yawl, he went on shore, and climbing up the steep bank, started boldly across the fields toward the house.

He would have hesitated long before doing this, however, had he been aware that Mr. Johnson had only that morning come to the island, bringing some men with him, to arrange for his summer sojourn; and finding that the house had indeed been robbed, and believing, from unmistakable evidences, that a gang of men were making the house a place of rendezvous, he had left everything just as it had been found, and was lying in wait with his men for the burglars' return.

Unconscious of all this, Budd went directly on to the house, and found the shutters torn off from one window and the window open. Listening a moment, and hearing no sound of anyone within the house, he leaped into the window and began his search of the rooms.

On every side were the signs of the robbers' presence. The table was covered with unwashed dishes, beds had been slept in, and drawers and closets torn open. Budd of course could not tell what had been carried off, but he felt sure that many things had been taken.