The Cruise of the Sally D - James Otis

THE CRUISE
OF THE SALLY D

JAMES OTIS

Author of
Toby Tyler

GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK

By arrangement with Penn. Pub. Co.

PRINTED IN THE U. S. A.

The Cruise of the Sally D.

Contents

[Uncle Ben's Advice]
[The Rescue]
[War Declared]
[A Matter Of Business]
[An Unwelcome Visitor]
[A Pitched Battle]
[Uncle Ben's Arrival]
[Uncle Ben's "Plan"]
[The Stranded Schooner]
[Mr. Rowe's Proposition]
["For Sale"]
[Shipowners]
[Wrecking]
[A War Of Words]
[A New Member]
["The Baby"]
[The Launching]
[The Trial Trip]
[The First Cruise]
[Getting Even]
[At The Port]
[Freighting Lumber]
[The Family Home]
[The "Housewarming"]

The Cruise of the Sally D.

CHAPTER I

UNCLE BEN'S ADVICE

Uncle Ben picked up a bit of driftwood, and began to whittle it to a fine point. The boy looked at him anxiously.

"Well," said Uncle Ben at last, "I never allowed that a lad had the right to run away from his home, an' I've lived nigh to sixty years, man an' boy, consekently it stands to reason that I oughter know how much trouble is likely to come from sich didoes."

"Huh!" the boy broke in, "you don't call the 'Sally D.' a home, do you? I guess you wouldn't if you'd lived on her a spell."

"No," said Uncle Ben, "after what you've told me I don't. An' Cap'en Doak was only your stepfather at the best of times. Now that your mother's dead it don't appeal to me that he's any relation whatsoever, so, consekently ag'in, an' holdin' that a schooner can't be called a house, which same is necessary to the makin's of a home, what's wrong with your sneakin' off unbeknownst to Cap'en Doak before the 'Sally D.' weighs anchor?"

"But where could I go, Uncle Ben? I haven't got so much as one cent in this wide world, an' there's never a single person who would take me in. Besides, s'pose I sneaked off while the 'Sally D.' is lying here, I couldn't get away from the island, 'less you should set me across to the mainland."

"I wasn't countin' that you would leave the island, Sammy. What's to hinder your stoppin' right where you are, an' helpin' me out in the lobster fishin'? I'm allowin' that Apple Island ain't the worst place in the world, 'specially when you compare it with the 'Sally D.'s' cabin while Cap'en Doak is ragin' 'round findin' a lot of fun in knockin' you fore 'n' aft by way of exercise. Now, I don't wanter be taken as meanin' that I think lobster fishin' is a very encouragin' business for a bright little shaver like you; but it goes way ahead of the lay you've got with that stepfather of yourn. What your mother ever saw in Eliakim Doak to make her willin' to marry him, 'specially after she'd been on what you might call terms of friendly acquaintance with your father, beats me."

"Mother did it all on my account," Sam cried quickly, his eyes filling with tears as he spoke of his "best friend." "You know we had nothin' left but the house when father died, an' Cap'en Doak made her believe that he would give me a start in the world with a good education."

"All of which he perceeded to do by gettin' the little money ye had inter his own hands an' squanderin' it," Uncle Ben exclaimed as he angrily splintered the result of his handiwork. "Speakin' from your mother's end of the trade, it was a mighty good thing she died less'n a year after she hitched up with Cap'en Doak, though it come tough on you. Does he allow that you're to spend your life—or the best part of it—as cook aboard the 'Sally D.,' with never a cent in the way of wages, when you, an' he, an' everybody knows he squandered full fifteen hundred dollars of your money, for I've been told he sold the house at that figger?"

"He says that he's bound to take care of me," the lad replied, as if anger was rapidly getting the better of him.

"An' he's doin' it by keepin' you aboard that ramshackle old schooner, which is likely to drop inter pieces any minute, an' savin' what he'd otherwise have to pay as wages to a cook!"

"He'd serve me out terribly if I should try to run away from him," Sam said half to himself, with a tremor as of fear. "If I sneaked off while the 'Sally D.' laid at anchor here, he'd know just where I was."

"Well, an' s'posen he did?" Uncle Ben asked sharply, looking down at the lad as if in anger. "S'posen he did, what good would it do him? I don't allow that I own this 'ere island; but I pay rent for it, which amounts to much the same thing, an' Eliakim Doak would soon find out that he couldn't tromp over me! Sneak off inter the bushes this very hour, lad, so's to give me a chance to talk to the old heathen in what you might call a sensible way, an' I'll guarantee he'll up anchor without raisin' any very considerable of a row."

"An' what then?" the boy asked as he looked over his shoulder apprehensively, much as if fearing his stepfather might suddenly have come within ear-shot.

"Why then me an' you'll strike out for ourselves. I own the shanty yonder, the dory on the beach, two hundred or more lobster-pots, with cars an' what lawyers call 'other appurtences,' an' you shall have a fair share of what money comes in the way of Apple Island. I'm allowin' it would be a favor to you, though that ain't the chiefest reason why I'm makin' it. I'd like to have for mate a decent lad like you, for it's lonesome here sometimes—that much I'm willin' to admit."

"Why is it that you never had a mate, Uncle Ben? I've heard lots of folks puzzle over the same question."

"I reckon you have, lad, for this 'ere coast of Maine is mightily given to gossip. I've had the question put to me time an' time ag'in; but never felt called on to answer it till now, when it may be we're likely to come together as mates. First an' foremost, why did I come off here nigh to forty years ago an' settle down to catchin' lobsters, when it seems as if a man what was put inter this world to help others as well as himself mighter done better? It was all on account of my havin' been the rankest kind of an idjut when I was young, same's you are."

"Oh, come, Uncle Ben, you don't think I'm as bad as all that," said Sam Cushing, smiling.

"Well, you got to prove it," grinned Uncle Ben. "Anyway, I couldn't figger out that book learnin' would do me any good, an' I didn't get it when I might, consekently I wasn't fitted for much of anythin' else. Howsomever, I made up my mind that even a lobster catcher might lead a clean life, an' I never run up agin any who might be willin' to go inter the business an' at the same time come to my way of thinkin'; therefore an' consekently I never took on a mate; never so much as offered so to do, till you come to me this mornin' with the story of what Eliakim Doak was doin' in his own behalf."

"But I couldn't really be a mate of yours, Uncle Ben!" the lad said with a deep indrawing of his breath, as if the honor was far too great for him.

"Why not? All I ask of a mate is that he shall live, so far as he's able, in the way the good God allowed he oughter, an' from the first time you landed on this 'ere island I've said to myself that you was a decent kind of a lad who wouldn't knowin'ly go wrong. Mark ye, Sammy, I don't set myself up as bein' any better'n my kind; but this you can go sure on: that I don't reckon on bein' worse. I've allers had an idee of considerable weight in my mind, an' you might be the beginnin' of my runnin' it out, so to speak."

"What do you mean, Uncle Ben?" the lad asked curiously.

"That's what I ain't goin' to say offhand, my boy. We'll wait an' see if there's any chance of its workin' out the way I've figgered it in my mind. The question is whether you're minded to run away from Cap'en Doak an' the 'Sally D.,' takin' your chances on Apple Island with me?"

"If you think I won't be a bother an' if you're willin' to——"

"In case I hadn't been willin', or hadn't figgered in my mind how things might turn, I wouldn't have made the offer, lad," and once more Uncle Ben fell to whittling a pine stick as if his very life depended upon fashioning it into a certain shape within the shortest possible space of time. "An' it ain't any one-sided offer, Sammy Cushing, 'cause I'm allowin' that your comin' would be a pleasure an' a profit to me, as Deacon Stubbs would put it, to say nothin' of the fact that you'd be livin' a more decent life than will ever fall to your share aboard the 'Sally D.'"

"It'll be a big thing for me," and Sam looked timidly in the direction of the slovenly schooner which lay at anchor in the little cove near by Uncle Ben's oddly-constructed dwelling. Sam was trying to screw his courage to the sticking point of running away from the selfish stepfather who had abused him sorely since that day when the grave closed over the earthly form of his mother. "It'll be a big thing for me if it can be done; but I'll smart for it if Cap'en Doak ever gets his hands on me ag'in."

"If he does, I'll be there to take a share in the business," Uncle Ben said mildly, his usually mild blue eyes taking on the hue of steel. "Come up to the shanty an' we'll fix you out for runnin' away, which shouldn't be necessary, seein's there's nothin' to run from."

Then the old man closed his knife with a sharp click, as if to show that the important business conference was finally closed, and went with a certain well-defined air of resolution toward that collection of shanties of which he was the proud architect, and which had served to shelter him from the storms and sunshine such as had visited the coast of Maine during the forty years just past.

The captain of the "Sally D." was stretched out at full length on the top of the cabin, apparently asleep, when the old man and the boy skirted the shore of the cove on their way to Uncle Ben's home, but that he had been keeping a watchful eye on the surroundings could be told when he cried sharply:

"Are you goin' to loaf away the whole day ashore, Sam, or do you count on comin' somewhere nigh to doin' your share of the work? It strikes me things are at a pretty pass when the cook of a schooner can spin yarns here an' there while he should be wrastlin' with dinner!"

"Don't let him rattle you," Uncle Ben said warningly to Sam, and in a louder tone he addressed the half-stupefied captain of the "Sally D." "I'm allowin' that the boy has earned the right to do pretty nigh as he pleases, while you're layin' here when the fishin' oughter be good outside."

"I'll lay here till I feel good an' ready to get under way!" Captain Doak cried angrily, and Uncle Ben replied placidly:

"Then by the same token the boy will stay ashore till he gets tired of decent company."

Captain Doak raised himself on one elbow as if thoroughly astonished that any one should dare speak to the owner and commander of the "Sally D." in such a manner; but evidently did not think it necessary to make reply, for he fell back on the deck once more, and Uncle Ben said to his young companion in a tone of disgust:

"Leave the poor, miserable creeter alone, Sam. If it wasn't for raisin' a row that wouldn't be seemly, I'd advise tellin' him offhand what you count on doin'; but the smoothest way is allers best, so you shall sneak off as has been agreed, till he leaves the cove."

"An' then?" Sam asked in a tone of fear.

"When he comes back, if so be he does, an' which seems likely, I'll be the one to deal with him, for by that time I'm allowin' we'll have the right to count you out of it. But you can make up your mind that he won't raise any great of a row, seein's he's got sense enough to know on which side his bread is buttered. I've got a lease of Apple Island, an' there's no fisherman comes ashore without my say-so, while I pay the rent."

Having thus thoroughly defined his position, Uncle Ben led the way into the odd collection of building, saying as he took from the rude cupboard a generous amount of eatables:

"Here's what'll keep you from bein' hungry for a couple of days, lad. Strike inter the bushes near the spring, an' I'll pass the word when the 'Sally D.' has weighed anchor."

In a timid manner, as if afraid of being caught in what seemed like an act of insubordination against lawful authority, Sam gathered up the food Uncle Ben had laid on the table, and then hurriedly, as if actually fleeing for his life, he ran toward the thickest of bushes which marked the centre of the island.

CHAPTER II

THE RESCUE

There was no idea in Sam Cushing's mind as he ran at full speed in the direction of the thicket which grew very nearly in the middle of the island that he was doing anything wrong in thus endeavoring to hide from his stepfather. Although the lad had not spoken, save to Uncle Ben, of the cruel treatment received from the captain of the "Sally D.," through fear lest people might think he was "whining," he knew full well that if his mother was alive she would advise him much as the old lobster catcher had done.

It was the fear of what Captain Doak might be able to do in the way of punishment that had prevented him from attempting to escape from his besotted, cruel taskmaster; but now, with Uncle Ben to aid him, the situation was changed very materially, and but for the fear that his stepfather would succeed in recapturing him, the lad would have been more nearly happy than at any time since his mother went out from this world into the beyond.

Fear of what Captain Doak would do in case he succeeded in laying hands on him once more served to lend fleetness to the lad's feet and to strengthen his courage, while he took good care not to loiter within sight of the "Sally D." and to make thorough search for the best possible hiding-place.

From a distance the thicket appeared to be dense, but once he was among the bushes there seemed to be a woeful lack of opportunities for concealment in case careful search of the place should be made. Hurrying feverishly forward without coming upon that for which he sought, he passed entirely through the clump of evergreens, finding himself on that side of the island facing the open ocean before it seemed as if he had really begun the search, and then he would have turned in alarm to gain such poor shelter as the bushes afforded, had he not seen, rising and falling on the heavy swell, that which so attracted his attention as to render him forgetful, for the moment, of what the "Sally D.'s" commander might be able to do.

Hardly more than a hundred yards outside the long line of creamy foam which marked the eastern ledge, was what appeared to be a partially shattered boat.

"She's wrecked," said Sam. "I wonder where she came from. Hullo!"

The boy gave a start of surprise, and looked intently at a dark spot among the wreckage. "There's some one there!" But it was not possible for Sam to gain a very good view of the shipwrecked person, because nothing save his head could be seen above the surface, and even that was hidden now and then as a curling wave submerged it.

Now indeed had Sam forgotten that such a man as Captain Doak ever had an existence. He understood in a twinkling that unless immediate aid could be given, the sufferer would be beaten to death upon the jagged rocks, if indeed any life yet remained.

Dropping the food Uncle Ben had given him, he ran swiftly seaward until arriving at the water's edge, and then, throwing off his clothing, he made ready for what must necessarily be a struggle. By wading just inside the reef he came to the point where it seemed most probable the shattered boat would be cast ashore.

By this time it was possible for him to see that he who had fallen into such a sore plight was a lad of about his own age, who waved his hand feebly once, as if imploring aid.

"I'll bring you ashore, never fear!" Sam cried, hoping by such words to animate the boy, who was evidently on the verge of exhaustion. "Don't let go the boat till I've got a good grip on you!"

Once more the lad waved his hand, and even though he had been inclined to speak, there was no opportunity, for by this time his frail support had been caught up by the green waves as they made a dash for the rocks.

"Keep your wits about you!" Sam cried cheerily as he ventured a few paces further into the sea, and the words were hardly more than spoken before the stranger lad was lifted high in the air.

Accustomed as he was to the surf, Sam knew exactly what should be done, and he performed his task as well as Uncle Ben, skilful surfman though he was, could have done it. Bending his body until he was very nearly in a stooping posture, and at the same time taking good care that he had a secure foothold, Sam allowed the wall of water to pass entirely over him, when he stood erect once more, ready to meet the receding wave as it drew back the half-drowned boy.

Deftly he seized him by the collar of his woolen shirt, which, fortunately, was unbuttoned at the throat, and then came the struggle for life, when the treacherous undertow tugged at his legs and the weight of the lad he was bent on rescuing, flung seaward by the heavy wave, threatened to overwhelm him. It was no slight task Sam had undertaken; but thanks to his experience in battling against the surf, he finally succeeded in dragging the stranger beyond reach of the next hungry wave, and then fell on the sand beside him, with not sufficient strength remaining to stand upright.

No longer than while one might have counted thirty did Sam remain thus inactive, and then, still panting from his recent struggle, the lad gave all his attention to the boy whose life he had saved.

"I reckon you're all right now," he said, with an effort to speak cheerily, "an' the sooner you move around a bit so's to get rid of the salt-water cargo you must have taken aboard, the better you'll feel."

"It don't seem as if I'd ever get back the use of my legs," the lad said, but without making any effort to follow the advice given, and Sam replied with a hearty laugh which had in it more of relief than mirth:

"This ain't the time to give in beaten, when you're out of your troubles. 'Cordin' to the looks of that boat you must have been washin' 'round quite a spell."

"Since jest before daylight this mornin', an' it's pretty hard work to make myself believe that I haven't been overboard a whole week."

"How did it happen?"

"My boat was run down by the Boston steamer—leastways, I believe it must have been that. I went out alone to bait trawls, 'cause we was short-handed aboard the 'Flyin' Fish,' an' there was no dory-mate for me——"

"Who sent you out alone in the night baitin' trawls?" Sam cried indignantly.

"Why, Cap'en Moses, of course; he allowed, seein's how it was good weather, that I might do the job."

"How long have you been sailin' with sich a cap'en as that? He'd make a good mate for Cap'en Doak!"

"This was my first voyage, an' I ain't much of a sailor, 'cause I've never been to sea before."

"What's your name?"

"Tom Falonna."

"Where do you live?"

"That's what I don't rightly know, since I cut loose from Mother Sharkey's place. You see, I did chores there for my board, but it seemed as if I oughter earn more'n that, so I got a chance to ship on the 'Flyin' Fish' for a short cruise. I was to get ten dollars a month, if I turned to in good shape, so that's why it seemed all right for me to try my first at runnin' trawls alone. Now I'm afraid I shan't find Cap'en Moses again. Where am I?"

"On Apple Island, with the best man, except my father, who ever lived. He'll see to it that you don't take any more chances of bein' run down in the night by a steamer, but——"

Sam ceased speaking very suddenly. For the first time since sighting the young fisherman he remembered that Captain Doak had an existence, and a disagreeable memory it was indeed.

Hurriedly he told Thomas Falonna of all that had happened within the past four or five hours, concluding by saying as he looked around timidly:

"I've got to hide somewhere till the 'Sally D.' weighs anchor, an' there's no tellin' but that Cap'en Doak is close at hand this very minute!"

The rescued lad sprang to his feet, but with some little difficulty, apparently putting from his mind all thoughts of self as he realized that the boy who had rendered him such great service was in sore need of aid, and followed to the best of his ability when Sam ran back to where he had left the food given him by their Uncle Ben.

"I couldn't find a place to hide in the bushes, an' it's lucky I didn't, else I wouldn't have seen you," Sam said hurriedly when the two were together once more. "It won't do for me to hang 'round here very long!"

"Why don't you go up behind them big rocks? I reckon you could keep out of sight by dodging from one to the other, even if the old brute was pretty close to your heels," Falonna suggested as he pointed to several huge boulders just under the break of the land, and Sam caught at the idea without delay.

Five minutes later the two lads were hidden fairly well, save in event of a systematic search, and it was Tom Falonna who ate the food with which Uncle Ben had provided Sam, for the rescued lad had not tasted even water since the night previous.

"I tell you this stuff is mighty good; but you needn't be afraid I'll take more'n a fair share, 'cause it may be quite a spell before your stepfather gives over huntin' after you."

"Take what you want; I'll get along all right if I don't have another mouthful till to-morrow, for it hasn't been so very long since I had dinner, an' you're needin' twice as much as we've got here. Tell me where your folks are?"

Tom's story was not a long one. He had been born in Bavaria, and when only a few weeks old was taken aboard ship by his parents, who were emigrating to this country. Both father and mother brought from their native land the germs of fever; were taken sick during the voyage, and died in the quarantine hospital very shortly after having been brought ashore. Tom did not have a very clear idea of how he, as a small baby, contrived to live; his first memories were of the woman he called "Mother Sharkey," with whom he found a home, such as it was, until a few days before being cast up on Apple Island, when he had shipped as a green hand aboard the "Flying Fish."

Although the recital did not occupy more than two or three minutes, it had hardly come to an end when Sam started up in alarm as if to take to his heels; but Tom forced him back behind the rocks as he asked in a whisper:

"What's the matter now? You'll be seen unless you're more careful!"

"Don't you hear that man talkin'?" Sam whispered in a tremulous voice. "That's Cap'en Doak, an' he's after me!"

"There's somebody with him."

"Yes, it's Uncle Ben."

"Then what makes you jump around so much? If the old lobster catcher is half as good a man as you think, he'll see to it your stepfather won't kick up too much of a row."

"I don't know whether he can stop Cap'en Doak when he gets goin' right strong, for he's terrible sometimes."

"Well, keep behind the rock, an' don't leave this place till you're certain he's got his eye on you. I've hid from Mother Sharkey so many times that I know how it oughter be done."

By this time the lads could hear plainly the voices of the two men, and but few words were needed to explain why Uncle Ben was in such bad company.

"I know he's somewhere on the island, an' I'll hunt him out if I stay here a week!" Captain Doak was saying angrily.

"You'll do nothin' of the kind, Eliakim Doak, an' that I'm tellin' you for a fact. I've allowed you to come across here rather'n have an up an' down row; but even if you got your hands on the boy you shouldn't take him away, an' that you can count on. As for stoppin' ashore here any length of time, that's for me to say. So long as I pay the rent, this 'ere island is my private property, an' if you're on it an hour from this time I'll bring suit agin you for trespass as sure as my name's Ben Johnson!"

"I'm allowin' to do pretty nigh as I please," Captain Doak cried in a rage, and Uncle Ben replied in a placid tone as he turned to retrace his steps:

"'Cordin' to my way of thinkin', Eliakim, you're makin' the biggest kind of a mistake, an' I'm goin' to take the trouble to prove it before another half hour goes over our heads."

The lobster catcher was some distance on his way to the opposite shore before he ceased speaking, and then, peering cautiously out from behind the rock, Tom could see that the master of the "Sally D." was decidedly disturbed in mind, for he stood irresolutely, shifting from one foot to the other as if uncertain exactly what course to pursue.

"What can your Uncle Ben do if the cap'en turns real rusty?" Tom asked in the softest of whispers, and Sam replied with a sigh of anxiety:

"It seems to me as if he can't do anythin', for there's nobody else on the island."

"Well, he's made a right good bluff of it, anyway, an' has got this pirate of yours guessin' mighty hard," Tom whispered in a tone of satisfaction, after which he turned his attention to spying upon the commander of the "Sally D."

CHAPTER III

WAR DECLARED

Captain Eliakim Doak remained as if in deep thought for several moments after Uncle Ben left him with what, from such a placid man as the old lobster catcher, was a most emphatic threat. Bluster as he might, and even Deacon Stubbs had been heard to say that the commander of the "Sally D." was stronger at blustering than he was at fighting, he understood full well that it would be in the power of Uncle Ben to make matters very inconvenient, if not absolutely disagreeable for him.

As a matter of course Uncle Ben as the owner or lessee of the island had no right to forbid vessels to anchor in the coves; but it was for him to say who should be permitted to come ashore, and the fisherman who could not take aboard his water supply from this particular place would be put to great inconvenience. Until to-day Uncle Ben had welcomed any who pleased to visit the island, and was ever ready to lend a hand when it was needed, therefore it can readily be seen that for business reasons, if for no other, Captain Doak could not well afford to seriously offend the old lobster catcher.

The question to be decided in Captain Doak's mind was as to which would be the greater loss, Sam's services, which did not cost him anything in the way of money, or Uncle Ben's friendship, which really meant the shutting out of Apple Island's conveniences from the "Sally D." and her commander.

It was evident that Captain Doak decided he could get along without the lobster catcher's friendship better than he could the cook to whom he paid nothing, for after a brief time of hesitation and thought he said sufficiently loud to be heard by those who were hiding behind the rocks:

"If that old lobster thinks I'm dependin' on him for fresh water, he'll soon find he's mistaken, an' as for his standin' up with Sam agin me, I'll let him know that it's a job he'd better not tackle!"

Then, as if having forgotten that he had crossed the island in search of the runaway, Captain Doak followed rapidly in Uncle Ben's footsteps, and Sam whispered to his new-made friend:

"There's goin' to be a big row now for sure. The cap'en has got his back up, an' I'm afraid Uncle Ben will get the worst of it."

"It kinder strikes me that we're bound to take a hand in it, 'cordin' to all you've said 'bout both of 'em," Tom replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "If your boss gets the upper hand things are likely to be warm for you, so the play is to put in what licks we can for the other one."

"We couldn't do anything!" Sam exclaimed with a long-drawn sigh. "Cap'en Doak would chew us all up before we'd even winked."

"I ain't so certain of that. I've never seen a row yet, an' I've been mixed up with a lot of 'em in my day, when a boy didn't have a chance to make considerable of a showin', if he was willin' to pitch in. Come on before it's too late! Your boss has got inter the bushes by this time an' won't be likely to know what we're up to if we keep our wits about us."

Sam, not believing it would be possible to lend aid to Uncle Ben, and not eager to come any nearer his stepfather than might be absolutely necessary, would have refused to leave his place of concealment, but Tom had stepped out from behind the rocks as he spoke, setting off at once in the same direction as that taken by Captain Doak.

"Keep close behind me an' I'll show you how to work a trick or two," Tom said, as if to show that he had taken command of the party, and then he walked at such a rapid pace that Sam could not have taken the lead even had he been so disposed.

It was not difficult to follow the commander of the "Sally D." without attracting his attention; the threat made by Uncle Ben had aroused Captain Doak's anger to such an extent that he appeared to have forgotten Sam entirely.

Until the angry fisherman had passed through the thicket Tom kept reasonably close to his heels, but when he came out into the open, on the slope which led to the cove, it became necessary for the boys to hang back until quite a distance in the rear. Therefore, when he turned sharply to the left around the shed in which Uncle Ben stored his fuel, the lads no longer had him in view.

In order to advance with the least danger of being seen Tom had made a wide detour to gain the shelter of a stack of lobster-pots, with no idea in mind that there was any necessity for moving rapidly. But suddenly he heard the voice of Captain Doak, raised high as if in anger.

"Now there will be a row, an' if we don't take a hand Uncle Ben is bound to get the worst of it!" Sam cried, as he urged Tom forward by gripping his arm firmly. "Come on! We've got to help Uncle Ben!"

His own fears were forgotten in the desire to aid the old man who had been so kind to him.

The boys arrived on the scene at the exact moment when their services were most needed by Uncle Ben, for the master of the "Sally D.," apparently half crazed by anger, was rushing toward the lobster catcher with clenched fists.

"I reckon here's where we get our work in!" Tom cried, as if delighted by the evidences of trouble, and catching up the first missile that came to his hand, which proved to be a lobster-pot buoy, with a half-inch rope made fast to one end, he ran between the two men, swinging the heavy weapon in a threatening manner.

So blinded by his rage was Captain Doak that he apparently did not see the newcomers until Sam, armed with a heavy stake, pressed close by the side of his friend, and then, suddenly recognizing the truant cook, the commander of the "Sally D." sprang forward to seize him.

"None of that, or I'll let this 'ere buoy come agin your head!" Tom cried threateningly. He swung his improvised weapon yet more vigorously, and Captain Doak fell back a few paces, for a single blow from the heavy missile would have inflicted a serious wound.

"Why didn't you stay in the bushes?" Uncle Ben asked sharply of Sam, and before the latter could reply Captain Doak shouted:

"Get aboard the schooner, you young idler, an' when I've settled with this Ben Johnson I'll 'tend to your case in sich a way that you won't try to give me the slip ag'in!"

"He'll stay where he is! An' if you raise your hand against him we'll see what the law can do toward makin' you pay over to the lad the money what belongs to him from the sellin' of his mother's house!" Uncle Ben cried, as he pulled Sam toward him, at the same time looking in bewilderment at Tom, as if wondering where he had dropped from.

Angry though Captain Doak was, he could understand without too great a mental effort that the odds were against him.

"If you think you can carry matters with sich a high hand, Ben Johnson, keep on tryin', an' before you're many days older I'll show you what claim I've got on that idle, worthless Sam. You've run agin the wrong man when you tackle me, an' I'll straighten out things on this 'ere island if I never wet another line this season."

"An' I'm tellin' you, Eliakim Doak, that you shall answer to the law for trespass. I've warned you off this place, an' you've stayed to threaten, so it's time I found out who's master here," Uncle Ben replied, his face pale with anger, but his voice calm and low.

Just for one moment Captain Doak lingered, as if to decide whether there was yet a possibility of his overcoming the small army opposed to him, and then, shaking his fist in impotent rage, he walked slowly away to where the "Sally D.'s" dory lay with her bow on the beach.

Uncle Ben followed slowly, the boys trailing on behind him, and not until the fisherman had pulled off to the schooner was any word spoken by those on the island. Then the old lobster catcher said with a sigh, which might have been one of regret:

"I've lived here nigh to thirty years, off an' on, an' this is the first time I've had a hard word with man or boy. I reckon Eliakim an' I have declared war now, though, an' it stands me in hand to keep my weather eye open, for he ain't the kind of a man who's given to fair fightin'." Then, turning suddenly upon Sam, he asked, pointing toward Tom, "Where did that lad come from, an' what made you try to take a hand in the row?"

"We couldn't stand still an' see Cap'en Doak jump on you," Sam replied quickly, and then, in the fewest possible words, he told of Tom's rescue, giving to himself very little credit for what had been done in the way of saving life.

"It begins to look as if the good Lord was bound I should carry out the plan I've been turnin' over in my mind these many years," Uncle Ben said slowly, as if thinking aloud, and when Sam asked for an explanation of the words he added: "Get inter the shanty, lads; there's no good reason why you should stay outside here where the sight of you will only make Eliakim Doak worse. We'll talk this over later, when we've got more time. Now it stands me in hand to make ready for a trip to town."

"To town, Uncle Ben!" Sam cried as if in alarm. "If you go while the 'Sally D.' is layin' here, Cap'en Doak will come ashore an' serve me out terribly."

"I'm allowin' the two of us could make it mighty hot for him if he tried any funny business," Tom interrupted, and from the tone of his voice one would have said that it would give him no little pleasure to try conclusions with the commander of the "Sally D."

"I shan't go away while that schooner is anchored off here," Uncle Ben said decidedly. "What's more, I'm grieved that I've let my temper get the best of me, even though Eliakim did threaten. Howsomever, it stands me in hand to take the consequences, which are that I must go to town after riggin' up some kind of a plan so's to make sure of findin' you lads here when I get back."

"Is it because of your plan that you're goin', Uncle Ben?" Sam asked as if in doubt as to whether he had the right to raise such a question.

"No, lad, I've got to go, seein's how I allowed to bring suit agin Eliakim Doak for trespass, an' it won't do to break my word now. Besides, if I don't do something of the kind, there's no tellin' how far that man may dare to go for the sake of gettin' his hands on you once more, which is what I'm goin' to prevent. My plan can be talked over after we've settled down peaceably, so to speak, though it does really seem as if it was workin' itself out with no help from me."

"I don't believe that the cap'en cares very much about the law, an' I'm expectin' he'll keep on raisin' a row till I just have to go back to the 'Sally D.,'" Sam said, with a long-drawn sigh, and Uncle Ben replied almost sharply:

"I'm allowin' that he hasn't cared much for the law back along, else he wouldn't have dared to sell your home an' put the money inter his own pocket; but it'll go hard if I can't bring him 'round to respectin' what the court says shall be done. It seems as if I was goin' back on all the principles I've held to by gettin' inter law at my time of life; but it's too late to draw out now, for neither he nor any other man shall hector a boy same's he's been hectorin' you."

Then Uncle Ben went into the shanty as if to make preparations for departure, while Sam and Tom stood watching the movements of the two men who could be seen moving about on the deck of the "Sally D.," and Tom finally asked:

"Who's the other feller?"

"Rube Rowe; he's a real good man, an' has told me more than once that he wouldn't sail in the 'Sally D.' if it wasn't that Cap'en Doak pays him better wages than he could get on any other craft. You see, it ain't easy to find decent fishermen who'll sail with a man like him," and he waved his hand in the direction of Captain Doak, "so he has to give good money, or go without."

"Would Rube Rowe do anything to hurt you?"

"Don't reckon he'd think there was anythin' wrong in draggin' me aboard the schooner, if the cap'en said to, 'cause he's my stepfather, an' a good many people believe I'm bound to hang right by him. If it hadn't been for Uncle Ben I'd never so much as thought of runnin' away, an' perhaps it would have been better if I hadn't started, 'cause he'll make it mighty warm for me if he ever gets me aboard the schooner."

"You'll be a softy if he does get a hold on you after all that's been done. I'd like to see the fisherman who could haul me away from this island if Uncle Ben had allowed I might stay with him. It's time your old schooner got under way."

"I'm afraid Cap'en Doak won't leave till he's had one more whack at me," Sam replied sorrowfully and then, turning abruptly, he made his way to the shanty that he might take counsel with Uncle Ben.

CHAPTER IV

A MATTER OF BUSINESS

When the boys entered the shanty the old lobster catcher was putting on his oilskins, and Sam said in surprise:

"I thought you counted on goin' over to town, Uncle Ben?"

"That's what I've got in my mind, lad, seein's there don't seem to be anythin' else that's pressin'; but I ain't reckonin' on leavin' while the 'Sally D.' is layin' here at anchor, for it would be much the same as invitin' Eliakim Doak to come ashore an' yank you off. But business is business. No matter how big a row we may have on hand the pots are to be hauled if we count on gettin' a livin', an' seein's how I've got three mouths to feed, it stands me in hand to look sharp after our bread an' butter."

"What shall Tom an' I be doin' while you're gone?"

"Doin'? Why, I was allowin' you'd bear a hand, same's decent lads oughter. If you two have gone inter partnership with me, it kinder looks as if you was needin' to get the hang of the ropes, so to speak."

"Is Tom to stay here on Apple Island with us?" Sam asked in surprise and delight.

"Where else can he stay? 'Cordin' to his story he ain't never known any more of a home than you've had since your mother died, an' seein's how you hauled him ashore, it looks as if we was in duty bound to take care of him, though, of course, it's for him to say if he wants to stay."

"That's what I want to do, if you'll have me!" said Tom, who had overheard the conversation as he entered the single room which served as kitchen, dining-room, bedchamber and parlor. "I ain't soft enough to allow you'll keep me 'round jest so's you'll have somethin' pretty to look at, so if you'll kinder show me how it's done, I'll tackle my share of the work."

"That's the way I like to hear a lad talk," Uncle Ben said approvingly. "I don't allow that I'm needin' two mates, seein's how the work ain't rushin'; but since you're both needin' a home, why it stands to reason that you oughter help run things the best you know how. We'll haul the pots, an' before that's been done I'm allowin' Eliakim Doak will get the 'Sally D.' under way. If he does, there'll be nothin' to prevent my goin' to town an' findin' out 'bout how I stand with the law when I set myself agin sich authority as a mighty poor stepfather has over a boy."

Then the old man, having put on his oilskins, led the way out of the shanty toward the dory, which lay high up on the beach, and Tom said in a whisper:

"Tell me how you go to work haulin' lobster-pots? I don't want to make sich a bloomin' chump of myself at the first go-off that your Uncle Ben won't have me hangin' 'round, 'cause it strikes me that this is a mighty nice kind of a place in which to live."

"You'll see how it's done when the first pot comes up, an' after that you won't have to ask any questions. All you an' I have to do is row the dory, an' I reckon you can keep up that end of the work if you could go out runnin' trawls before daylight."

"If that's all he wants, I'll pull the bottom out of the dory, an' what's more, do it alone."

"It'll be a long stretch before we get 'round to all the pots, so you needn't jump to it so hard," Sam replied with a smile, which died quickly away from his face as he heard the captain of the "Sally D." hailing Uncle Ben, for by this time the old fisherman had come on the beach directly opposite where the shabby schooner lay at anchor.

"Don't be too brash, Ben Johnson, or you may find your neck so far inter a noose that you can't easy get it out ag'in. It's a serious matter to interfere 'twixt a lad an' them as has authority over him, as you'll come to know if you don't go slow!"

"I reckon there's little need for your cautionin', Eliakim Doak," Uncle Ben replied placidly. "I've been turnin' this ere thing over in my mind ever since William Mansfield told me how you'd been usin' the boy. If you want to see what the law's got to say 'bout it, that'll jest suit me, 'cause I'm countin' on knowin' what Sammy's rights are before we're many days older. I'm no kith or kin to him, but count it my duty, if nobody else is willin' to take up the matter, to see that he has what's comin' to him in this world."

"I'll make you wish you'd never been born!" Captain Doak cried in a rage, and then, much to Sam's relief of mind, he went into the "Sally D.'s" cabin very quickly, as if he had most important business there.

"Eliakim can bark right smart, but I reckon we needn't have much fear of his bite," Uncle Ben said, as he stood by the bow of the dory waiting for the boys to lend him a hand in launching her.

Five minutes later, the old lobster catcher and his small family were afloat, heading, with Sam and Tom each pulling a pair of oars, toward the nearest tiny buoy which marked the location of the first pot to be hauled.

Now, as a matter of fact, there isn't anything particularly exciting in hauling on a long wet rope until the cage-like lobster-pot is brought to the surface; but Tom was intensely interested in the operation so often repeated before the day's work had come to an end. Perhaps it was because he felt a certain eagerness to know how great a catch would be taken, and, perhaps, he was anxious to master all the details in the shortest possible space of time, so that he might be of real assistance to the old man who was offering him what he never remembered of having before in his life—a home.

When twenty or more pots had been hauled in, the marketable lobsters thrown into the dory, while the small ones were tossed overboard to grow a little more, and the pots baited again with fresh fish, Tom insisted on being allowed to do his full share of the work.

"It ain't more'n loafin' to row from one buoy to another, an' there's no reason why I couldn't bear a hand, now I've seen how it's done," he said eagerly, and after some faint protest, Uncle Ben took up the lad's oars, as he said with a laugh:

"Have your own way, sonny, though the work is a bit heavier than you are counting on. If you two boys are reckonin' on helpin' me build up a family, I allow the sooner you break in at lobsterin' the better. Sammy here knows what little there is to be knowed about it, an' if you get inter the job in good shape there won't be anythin' for me to do 'cept dodder 'round ashore while you earn the livin'."

"I wish that could be the way of it, Uncle Ben!" Sam exclaimed earnestly, and then the conversation came to an end, as Tom made his first effort to catch the mooring rope of a buoy with the short gaff while the dory was gliding swiftly past the small target. It is not strange that he failed at the first attempt, for it requires no little deftness with a gaff to "hook on," and it was necessary for the oarsmen to back the dory here and there until the lad had the rope in his hands.

"Well," he would laugh, "I didn't make any great fist at it that time, for a fact; but it can't take sich a dreadful long time before I get the hang of it, an' when I do, this part of the work shall be my job."

And Tom did "break in" even sooner than Uncle Ben expected. Before he had brought half a dozen pots to the surface it was as if he had had considerable experience in such tasks, and Uncle Ben said approvingly:

"I declare for it, Tom, you're goin' to be a keen hand at catchin' lobsters! You handle them pots easier than I could do it, an' if so be I'm called on to stop at Southport over night, I'll know that you an' Sam can 'tend to the work as well as if I was here to do the bossin'."

Tom's eyes glistened with pleasure because of the praise; but Sam's face lengthened perceptibly at the possibility that Uncle Ben might be away from the island more than a few hours.

It was not yet two o'clock in the afternoon when all the pots had been hauled, emptied, re-baited and set again. The catch, consisting of twenty-two marketable lobsters, was thrown into the floating cage, called by the fishermen a "car," and Uncle Ben and his family were ashore once more.

"Now, if you lads will lend a hand at launchin' the keel-boat I'll get under way for Southport," the old man said as he pulled off his oilskins by way of "dressing" for the voyage. "I've got a fair wind across; but if so be it hasn't shifted long 'bout sunset, I'll stop over night with William Mansfield, rather than tackle the job of rowin' a heavy boat so far."

"But what about Cap'en Doak?" Sam asked, thinking of his stepfather for the first time since Tom had begun the work of "breaking in" at the work of lobster catching. Then he looked quickly around, but the "Sally D." no longer remained at anchor in the cove.

"Eliakim has made up his mind that it won't be safe for him to have any truck with the law after skinnin' you out of your mother's house, an' I reckon he won't show his head on Apple Island ag'in, 'specially after he hears 'bout what I've done—an' you can make up your mind that everybody in Southport will go out of their way to let him know I've been talkin' with the 'Squire, as I count on doin' before you see me ag'in."

"But suppose he should come back to hunt for me?" and now Sam's fears arose so high that it was with difficulty he could control his voice sufficiently to speak in an ordinary tone.

"There's little chance he'll put back right away," Uncle Ben replied without seeming to observe the lad's show of fear. "He's bound to do a little somethin' in the way of fishin', else how can he pay Rube Rowe's wages? I'm allowin' we shan't see him under three or four days, an' by that time I'll have your business fixed up so tight that he can't turn a hair. Leastways, it's 'bout the same as certain that he won't get under way an' come back to anchorage all in the same half day, so we can count on bein' rid of him while I'm away. Better catch a mess of cunners for supper, an' if so be that you're willin', tidy up the shanty a bit, for I've been mighty slack in my housekeepin' this past week."

Then, much as if eager to put an end to any further conversation regarding Captain Doak, Uncle Ben set about launching the keel-boat, and within a very few minutes after she was afloat he was sailing away from Apple Island in the direction of Southport.

Sam and Tom stood on the beach watching this kindly-hearted old man who had given them a home until he appeared to be hardly more than a tiny blot in the distance, and then Sam said, as he searched here and there with his eyes, as if fearing the "Sally D." had already hove in sight:

"It would be mighty tough on me if Cap'en Doak should come back 'twixt now an' sunset!"

"I'm not so certain of that," Tom said stoutly. "He ain't more'n any other man, an' it strikes me we'd be mighty poor kind of boys if we couldn't hold our own on this island. I wouldn't be afraid if your Cap'en Doak an' his Rube Rowe both come ashore at the same time, for with that buoy I had when he was here before I could make a pretty good play at keepin' 'em at a distance for quite a spell."

"But you couldn't stand up swingin' a buoy 'round your head all night," Sam suggested mournfully, and then as he thought of Tom's attempting to perform such a feat during all the hours of darkness he broke into a hearty laugh, so comical was the picture in his mind.

"When you get through havin' sich a good time I reckon we'd better have a whack at cleanin' up the shanty 'cordin' to your Uncle Ben's orders," Tom said curtly, and without further delay the task was begun, although a careful housewife would have said they were making no improvement in the apartment.

When the shanty was, in their eyes, as cleanly and orderly as it could be made, Sam overhauled Uncle Ben's stock of fishing-lines, and during the half hour that followed they caught cunners and skinned them, until they had ready for the frying-pan as many as half a dozen hungry boys could have eaten.

"I'll cook the supper if you'll bring up from the beach wood enough to keep the fire going," Sam said, and from that time until a few minutes before sunset they enjoyed themselves as thoroughly as if they had but lately left the most pleasant homes in the land to spend a few days in pleasure on Apple Island.

They ate their supper and the shanty was once more set to rights. Near the door was a store of driftwood sufficient to keep a fire going many days, and the two had seated themselves on the cliff which jutted out above the roof of Uncle Ben's home to discuss the future, for Tom insisted on knowing why the old lobster catcher was willing to burden himself with two boys who had no legal claim on him.

Sam had begun to answer the questions by telling what he knew concerning the old man, when far away in the distance, directly in the golden pathway formed by the rays of the setting sun, appeared the outlines of a vessel.

"That's the 'Sally D.'!" Sam cried in alarm.

"Cap'en Doak is comin' here after me, just as I was afraid he would!"

"How do you know that is his schooner?"

"There ain't another vessel sailin' out of Southport that has a topmast like the 'Sally D.' What am I to do, oh, what am I to do?"

CHAPTER V

AN UNWELCOME VISITOR

Tom was apparently lost in surprise because the lad who had shown so much bravery by saving the life of a stranger at imminent risk of his own was nearly overcome by terror simply through seeing in the far distance that vessel on which he knew was his stepfather.

He looked alternately at Sam and the "Sally D.," as if fancying that somewhere in the middle distance he might see that which would give him a clue to what was really a riddle, and failing in making out more than the wide expanse of restless waters, he turned toward his friend, asking impatiently:

"What's comin' over you so bad? S'pose that vessel is the 'Sally D.,' what's the use of worryin'?"

"Cap'en Doak is comin' ashore after me. He must have sailed around the island to wait till he saw Uncle Ben headin' for Southport, an' he could get his hands on me without much trouble. What'll I do? Oh, what'll I do?"

"Look here, Sam!" Tom cried impatiently. "If you're willin' to stand here on the beach when your stepfather lands, in case that vessel is the 'Sally D.,' an' in case he's comin' back after you, then I allow he might have a chance of pickin' you up without very much bother; but what's to hinder your makin' things lively for him?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked helplessly, and it really seemed as if he had lost his wits in the sudden attack of terror which beset him so sorely.

"Mean? Can't you see that the cap'en of that 'ere schooner would have a mighty rough time gettin' his hands on you, if it was a case of huntin' for what he wanted? This ain't any toy island, an' I'd be willin' to bet great big dollars that there ain't the man livin' who could get hold of me if I wanted to keep out of his way! What's to hinder our layin' low in the bushes, if so be he comes ashore? I reckon he would be a good long day runnin' us down, an' before that happened your Uncle Ben would be back to take a hand in the scrimmage!"

The look of distress slowly died Away from Sam's face as his companion spoke. He had been so overcome by terror at seeing the "Sally D." that there was no room in his mind for any thought save what Captain Doak would do if it was possible for him to work his will, but now he began to realize that he was showing himself very much of a coward.

"Say, that's so! You must think I'm a regular baby!" he said with a faint attempt at a smile. "Just for a minute it seemed as if I was bound to stand right here waitin' till Cap'en Doak came ashore. I guess we'll give him a good chance to hunt for us."

"That's the way to talk," Tom said approvingly. "We'll give him a run for his money, an' if he gets his hands on either of us I'm allowin' it'll be 'cause we've lost our heads. There's no reason why we should stay up here on the rocks where he'll see us, so let's slip down the other side where we'll be out of the way an' can see what he counts on doin'."

"Why not go straight back into the bushes an' find a hidin'-place?"

"'Cause there's no need of it yet a while. It wouldn't be any very big job to keep ahead of him, with anythin' decent in the way of a start, an' I want to see how far he dares jump after your Uncle Ben has told him that he's goin' to law 'bout it."

Sam had no desire to linger in the vicinity. So great was his fear of Captain Doak that he would gladly have put to sea in the dory rather than take the slight chance of being captured on the island. But, having once shown himself to be a veritable coward so far as an encounter with the commander of the "Sally D." was concerned, he shrank from any further display of fear.

Therefore it was that the boys crouched behind the brow of the cliff, where a full view of the cove could be had, watching the shabby schooner as she crept nearer and nearer to the land, and Sam found it really difficult to prevent a tremor of fear from being apparent in his voice as he replied to Tom's questions regarding Uncle Ben.

The good people of Southport, where Sam had been born, knew that Benjamin Johnson was a native of the town, and even as a young man had been known as an "odd stick," who, when his father and mother died, earned sufficient to make a home for his two sisters by his labor as a fisherman. When the young women were married, Ben leased Apple Island, and for many years had worked industriously; it was generally believed he had saved considerable money, and there were many who, not knowing him of whom they spoke, called the lobster catcher a miser.

"He's been mighty good to me since mother died," Sam said when Tom had come to an end of his questions, "an' if he can make Cap'en Doak behave himself so's I'll dare to show my head, I'll be in great luck livin' here with him."

"Do you reckon he'll let me stay, too?" Tom asked anxiously.

"He has just the same as said you could, an' all we've got to do in order to have as good a home as any fellow could ask for, is to jump right inter the work, same's you've begun. It's a big lot of help to Uncle Ben, now that he's gettin' 'under old, to have somebody pull the pots, an' between the two of us we oughter tend to the business without his raisin' a finger."

"You can bet I'll do my part of it all right; but perhaps he ain't countin' on stayin' here very long."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked in alarm.

"That plan of his that he keeps tellin' about may have somethin' to do with leavin' the island."

Such a suggestion as this would have caused Sam no slight anxiety at any other time, for the possibility that Uncle Ben's "plan," whatever it might be, would involve his abandoning Apple Island had never occurred to the lad until this moment. Just now, however, while the "Sally D." was slowly but surely approaching the anchorage, he could give little heed to anything save the fear that Captain Doak might succeed in getting hold of him once more.

Soon the lads could see the two men clearly, and Sam knew only too well that his stepfather was in a towering rage.

"He'll use up more'n one rope's end on me if he gets the chance!" the lad said with an indrawing of the breath, and his companion, trying to speak in a careless tone, replied:

"Oh, he'll have a mighty tough time gettin' near enough to make much trouble, no matter how long he stays. We'll wait here till we see what his game is, for there won't be any sense in runnin' 'round very lively before there's need for it."

The lads were not kept in suspense many moments. Within a quarter hour the "Sally D." was inside the cove; Rube Rowe let the anchor go with a rush, the sails were hauled down, but not furled, and with everything on the deck at sixes and sevens, Captain Doak jumped into the dory which was towing alongside, shouting impatiently to his solitary sailor:

"Bear a hand lively, Rube, for I ain't countin' on wastin' very much time over this job!"

"Lookin' for a boy on this 'ere island, an' the sun within half an hour of settin', is goin' to be a good deal like huntin' for a needle in a haystack," Mr. Rowe grumbled as he obeyed orders, and he was hardly more than in the boat before the angry captain had begun to row her to the shore.

"We'll go straight across the island, for if Ben hasn't taken him along the cub is sure to get as far away as possible, an' once we get our hands on him, it's a case of goin' aboard lively; I've spent too much time on him already."

"I ain't certain as the law will uphold us in takin' him by force, even if you are his stepfather," the sailor replied fretfully, and his employer cried angrily:

"Do what I tell you, an' I'll look after the law part of it. Don't be afraid of knockin' him down if you find that he can run too fast. Now bear to the east'ard an' I'll tackle the other end of the island; there's little chance he can give both of us the slip."

Having thus given his orders, Captain Doak set off at a rapid pace, passing within twenty yards of where the lads were cowering behind the jutting rocks of the cliff, and Tom whispered when the angry man was so far away that there could be no danger his words might be overheard:

"Now you see that it was best to stay right here; they don't count on our hangin' 'round near the cove, an' this is as good a place as we could find. I haven't had to sneak away time an' time ag'in from Mother Sharkey without gettin' a mighty good idea of how the trick can be turned."

During the next thirty minutes the boys remained silent but on the alert, one watching for Captain Doak, and the other for Rube Rowe, and the shadows of evening were lengthening before either of the men put in an appearance. Then they could be seen coming directly toward the shanty, walking side by side, and Tom whispered triumphantly:

"They've given it up as a bad job, so all we've got to do is lay low here till they look inside the shanty, for it ain't likely they'll leave without openin' the door."

"Hadn't we better run while we've got a chance?" Sam asked tremulously.

"Not a bit of it. They'd be sure to sight us, but if we can keep our distance half an hour longer, it'll be so dark that they can't see an inch before their noses."

Sam literally flattened himself against the cliff, in his effort to hide, and hardly dared to breathe when the two men approached the shanty directly beneath him.

"If it wasn't so late I'd have that miserable cub out of this!" Captain Doak cried angrily as he kicked open the door of Uncle Ben's home, "an' even as it is he hasn't given me the slip, for the 'Sally' shall stay where she is till I've put him aboard."

"If that's the way you're feelin', I'm allowin' that we won't wet another line this season," Rube Rowe said with a laugh which caused Captain Doak to turn with upraised hand as if to strike a blow, and the sailor cried warningly as he put himself in a posture of defense:

"None of that, Eliakim, or you an' I'll part company mighty sudden! I ain't so fond of the 'Sally D.,' an' it wouldn't take much of your funny business to give me my discharge."

"Don't talk crazy, Rube! What we're after is that young cub, an' this ain't the time to cut up rough."

"You're doin' the rough part of it, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', an' I want you to understand that it won't take much to put me out of the job altogether. I ain't so certain that you've got the law on your side, an' then ag'in, I've allers felt sorry for the little chap, 'cause there's no denyin' but that you've led him the toughest kind of a life, an' he savin' you the wages of a cook."

"Hold your tongue! I know more 'bout law than that drivelin' old lobster catcher can tell me, so don't get the idee that I'm leadin' you inter any trouble. The boy is my stepson, an' he's bound to dance to my pipin' till he's twenty-one, or I'll know the reason why. Got any matches?"

"What do you want of 'em?"

"I'm goin' to set this shack on fire. Ben Johnson shall be made to understand what it means to buck agin me. If he was here, I'd give him a lesson that wouldn't soon be forgot; but seein's he ain't, I'll let him have a taste of what's comin'."

"If I had any matches you shouldn't have 'em to use on that shanty!" Rube Rowe cried angrily. "I know what it means to set a house on fire!"

"This ain't a house, you bloomin' idjut; it's nothin' but a fisherman's shanty, an' the law won't be troubled 'bout it. Besides who's to know we did the job, if we get under way lively—I can come back after Sam to-morrow."

"You'll get no matches from me," Rube growled as he walked rapidly up the shore, and Captain Doak, seemingly incited to yet greater anger by the opposition of his "crew," said hoarsely as he ran toward the "Sally D.'s" boat:

"I'll go aboard an' get what I want. When that's been done, you an' I'll have a settlement!"

"I reckon here's where we've got our work cut out for us," Tom whispered as he crept slowly to the top of the cliff. "That cap'en of yours won't set any shanty afire while I've got life enough to roll a lot of these rocks down on his head!"

CHAPTER VI

A PITCHED BATTLE

In strict justice to Sam Cushing it must be set down that he was not a coward in any sense of the word, and certainly he proved himself to be brave when he saved the life of Tom Falonna at risk of his own, yet the idea of opposing the commander of the "Sally D." to the extent of provoking a personal encounter frightened him. More than once since the death of his mother had he attempted to resist when his stepfather was unusually cruel, and on each occasion had he suffered severely.

Therefore, it was that Tom's preparations to defend Uncle Tom's shanty against Captain Doak seemed to him an extra hazardous undertaking, more particularly since the chances of his being captured by his angry stepfather would, apparently, be increased, and, following Tom up the side of the cliff, he whispered entreatingly:

"Don't get us both into the worst kind of a muss! The cap'en an' Rube Rowe can surely get the best of us if it comes to a fight, an' then I'll be carried off on board the 'Sally'!"

"I ain't countin' on lettin' that villain burn the only home your Uncle Ben has got, 'specially while there are so many rocks layin' 'round here loose," Tom replied grimly, as he began gathering missiles where they would be ready for use. "'Cordin' to what he said, Rube Rowe ain't likely to take much of a hand in this 'ere row, 'cause he's got sense enough to know that settin' a man's house on fire is a mighty dangerous thing to do."

"He may not help start a fire, but he's bound to lend a hand if Cap'en Doak gets inter a row with us!"

"Then it'll be so much the worse for him, 'cause I'm goin' to make a mighty big try at keepin' that villain at his distance, an' if I can get one crack at him he'll be down an' out for quite a spell. There he goes for matches, an' I reckon he's too wild by this time to really know what kind of a sore he's breedin' for himself. Folks get sent to jail for what he's aimin' to do——"

"Then he'd be out of my way for good an' all," Sam said hopefully, and Tom replied in a tone of reproach:

"Yes, you'd be all right; but your Uncle Ben wouldn't have any shanty to live in, an' then what about our plan of stoppin' here with him?"

Sam had no reply to make; he was not a little ashamed at having thought only of himself and, as Tom had stated the case, he would be injured as much as benefited by such disposal of his stepfather as he had suggested.

The situation not only alarmed but perplexed him, and, not knowing what else to do, he watched the movements of Captain Doak, who could be seen only as a dark smudge against the lighter sky. The commander of the "Sally D." was standing erect in the dory as he pushed at the oars with a force and haste which told of the angry storm that was raging in his mind, and while Tom made ready his ammunition for the battle which was evidently so near at hand, Sam announced to him the movements of the man who was eager to work so much mischief.

"He's in a terrible hurry; perhaps because he's afraid Uncle Ben will come back before he can start the fire. Now he's alongside the schooner, an' jumpin' aboard. My, my! but ain't he movin' spry!"

"He'll jump 'round worse'n ever if he gets one of these rocks side of his head," Tom replied as he ranged the missiles in front of him with exceeding care.

"Now he's comin' out of the cabin, an' I s'pose he's got matches enough to set the whole island on fire. See him jump inter the dory! I tell you, Tom, he's mighty ugly by this time!"

"I ain't feelin' much like a lamb myself," Master Falonna said placidly as he brought up from the foot of the cliff yet more rocks. "I reckon I've got enough here to keep him at his distance quite a spell."

"He's comin' ashore—now he's on the beach! Look out for yourself!"

"Get up here where you can take a hand in this business! I'm countin' you'll do your share!"

"Of course I will!" Sam cried. If the battle had to come, he was quite as determined as his friend to prevent any mischief being done to Uncle Ben's property.

The lad had not yet gained a position by Tom's side when Captain Doak could be heard shouting to the "crew" of the "Sally":

"Hi! Rube! Come up here, you skulker, an' see what Eliakim Doak can do to them who try to tread on his corns!"

From far away in the distance came the reply:

"I ain't comin'! I hired with you for a season's fishin', an' when you go to runnin' your head inter jail tricks, I don't train in any of it!"

"You're a coward, that's what you are!" the angry fisherman cried, and the boys on the cliff could see him coming toward them swiftly. "If you're 'fraid of your own shadder, stand by to go aboard, for we'll weigh anchor as soon as this job is finished!"

Captain Doak hardly more than ceased speaking when he had come near the shanty; but before he could enter it, a warning cry sounded from the cliff, and a huge rock rolled swiftly toward him.

"Get back there, an' be lively 'bout it," Tom cried, "else you'll stand a chance of havin' your head broke! There won't be any funny business on this 'ere island to-night, 'less somebody gets hurt pretty bad!"

"Who's that?" Captain Doak asked in a rage, stepping back in order that he might have a view of the top of the cliff, and at the same instant a missile, smaller than the first, grazed his arm, causing him to leap aside very suddenly.

"Get back where you belong, 'less you wanter be knocked out of time!" Tom shouted, and, sheltering himself as much as possible behind a projecting portion of the cliff, the commander of the "Sally D." cried in a voice hoarse with rage:

"I'll flog you within an inch of your life, you miserable shirker. Come down here, Sam, or I'll mark you with a rope's end as you've never been marked before!"

"I reckon you won't do much floggin' or markin' yet a while," Tom replied stoutly, standing with a missile in either hand, ready to fire a shot whenever Captain Doak was so incautious as to give him an opportunity. "Go aboard your schooner, 'less you're achin' to be 'bout the same as killed, for if we get a fair whack at your precious body it ain't likely you'll be very spry for some time to come!"

"Rube! Rube Rowe! Get around on the top of the cliff an' pitch them cubs down!"

"Do it yourself, if it's got to be done. I didn't ship with you for a pirate!" was the reply from the beach, and Tom added mockingly:

"I reckon you'll have to tackle the job yourself, cap'en, an' if you don't get all that's comin' to you before it's over, I'm way off my base. We've got plenty of rocks handy."

While one might have counted twenty, Captain Doak remained silent and motionless, and then a tiny spark of light could be seen near where he crouched, which caused Tom to whisper:

"He's settin' fire to the rubbish, hopin' the flames will creep over to the shanty, an' perhaps they may, for the wind is settin' this way. If we'd only thought to bring up a bucket of water, it would be easy to put an end to his fun!"