Fairview Boys at Lighthouse Cove/Chapter 9
CHAPTER IX
IN THE BOAT
"Well, we didn't find out anything."
"No, we had all our trouble for our pains."
"But we know where he lives—that's something we didn't know before."
This last was said by Sammy Brown. His two chums, Bob and Frank, had made the other remarks. The boys were rowing toward Barnacle Cottage, having been practically driven away from the place to which they had trailed the strange old man. His manner had been severe and stern, yet the boys knew he had right and justice on his side.
"We couldn't do anything but go," said Bob. "He could have had us arrested for trespass if we didn't."
"That's right," admitted Frank.
"Well, I didn't think he'd be quite so sharp," said Sammy, after a moment. "I thought he was a sort of simple old man, like some of the fishermen around here."
"But he's a lot different," spoke Frank. "Did you see how his eyes snapped, when he told us to get away?"
"I should say I did!" answered Bob. "He was real angry."
"But he spoke good enough to us," said Sammy. "I s'pose it was a crazy idea to go there in broad daylight, when he was at home. Next time I'll go at night, or when he's away."
"What! Are you going again?" cried Bob.
"I should say I am! I'm going to get at the bottom of this yet!" declared Sammy.
"Take him off!" cried Frank.
"And when you do get to the bottom, it will fall out, just as it always does, and you'll have all your trouble for nothing," said Frank, with a laugh.
"Will I? Well, I'll see," answered Sammy, confidently.
"I'm sure that man is trying to hide something."
"I thought he was trying to find something, from what you said at first—the pirates' gold!" laughed Bob.
"Oh, you know what I mean," returned Sammy. "Quit your fooling!"
They rowed on in silence for a few minutes, and suddenly Frank, who was in the stern, gave a loud yell.
"What's the matter?" asked Bob. "See a shark?"
"No, but a crab's got my toe! Look out! They're getting out of the basket!"
He jumped up on the stern seat, holding out one bare foot—to the big toe of which a large crab was clinging with his strong claw.
"Take him off!" cried Frank, dancing about.
"Take him off yourself!" exclaimed Sammy. "Think we want to get nipped?"
"Look out! You'll upset the boat!" cautioned Bob. "Keep still; can't you?"
"No, I can't, and I guess you couldn't, either, with a big blue-claw crab nipping you!" cried Frank. "Ouch! Get him off; can't you!"
He was trying to do this for himself, but the crab, that was one of the biggest caught, had one claw free, and every time Frank reached out his hand to grasp the creature, and pull it from his toe, the crab would open his other claw, and wave it around threateningly. So Frank was a bit cautious about taking hold of the creature.
"Look out! The others are getting out!" cried Sammy, as he glanced at the basket of crabs.
It was only too true. The boys had paid no attention to their catch for some time, and the crabs had pushed their way up from beneath the seaweed, and were crawling over the edge.
"Clap something on top of the basket!" cried Sammy. "Hand me that board, Frank."
"Can't! I've got troubles of my own! Ouch, let go, can't you!" he cried to the crab, which did not seem to want to do this.
"Wow! One's got me, tool" exclaimed Bob, turning quickly about.
"Smash him against the side of the boat!" advised Sammy to Frank, and, seeing this was good advice, the boy did so.
Crack went the hard crab against the gunwale, and the claw by which it had been clinging to Frank's toe came off. Crabs claws often come loose and new ones grow on again. So the creature was not much hurt.
"Whew! That's better!" gasped Frank, as he opened the nippers of the claw that still clung to his toe, in spite of the fact that it was severed from the body of the crab.
"Let go, can't you!" cried Bob, to the crab nipping him.
"Try Frank's trick," advised Sammy.
Bob did so, but the result was not exactly what was looked for.
The boy hit the crab, that had hold of his hand, such a blow against the side of the boat, that, losing his balance. Bob leaned too far over.
"Look out! You'll upset us!" cried Frank, who was nursing his nipped toe.
It was too late. The boat tilted, and, aided by the tide and the frantic efforts of the boys to prevent it, over went the craft, spilling out the three chums, crabs, and all. Then such confusion as there was!
Gasping and choking, from their sudden and unexpected bath, the boys came to the surface of the water. They were all good swimmers, and, fortunately had on only thin shirts and light trousers—almost bathing suits, in fact.
"Grab the oars!" called Sammy.
"And don't let the boat get away!" added Frank.
"There go the crabs!" shouted Bob, as he saw the basket containing their catch sail away on the tide, the crabs scrambling out, rejoicing in their unexpected liberty.
"Too late! We can't save 'em—have to catch some more!" called Bob. "Get the oars and the boat!"
"Going to right the boat?" asked Frank, as he swam to get a drifting oar.
"No, it's too much work here. Let's swim with her down to the lighthouse dock, pull her out there, and dump the water out. Then we can row home."
It was good advice; and the best and easiest thing to do. With the recovered oars, and their crab nets, the boys swam along toward shore, pushing the boat ahead of them. The water was not over their heads, and soon they could wade.
"Had an upset; didn't you?" called Mr. Floyd, the lightkeeper, who was at the dock as the boys came along.
"Sort of," admitted Sammy, ruefully.
"Lost all our crabs, too," added Frank.
"Yes, and mother won't like it," put in Bob. "She was counting on 'em for salad for supper."
"Never mind, as long as you're all right," advised the lightkeeper. "And as for crabs, I've been amusing myself catching a mess this morning. I've got more than I want, and I'll let you have some. Big ones they are, too. Where you been?"
They told him, and then, in a sudden burst of confidence, Sammy related about the strange old man, and told of how he had driven them away from his cottage.
Mr. Floyd chuckled, as he limped about on a cane, for he was able to be around now, though he could not go up and down the tower stairs.
"So you ran afoul of the professor; did you?" he asked with a laugh.
"Is that who he is—a professor?*' asked Sammy eagerly. "What is he always digging for—pirate's gold?"
"Land love you, boy, I don't know; and no one else does, as far as I can learn," said Mr. Floyd. "He's been in these parts for some time now, but nobody knows what his game is. Digging; eh? Yes, he's always doing that."
"At night, too," said Sammy.
"Yes, night don't seem to make any difference to him," admitted the lighthouse-keeper. "He's a mighty queer man."
"What's his name?" asked Frank, binding a bit of his hndkerchief about his crab-bitten toe, while he and the other boys sat in the warm sun on the dock, letting their clothes dry.
"Watson—Professor Watson he calls himself," said Mr. Floyd. "No one seems to know much about him. He doesn't mix with us folks much—lives all alone in that cabin."
"Do you really think he might be looking for the pirate gold?" asked Sammy eagerly.
"Well, he might be," admitted Mr. Floyd. "Lots of wiser folks, and some more foolish than he seems to be, have dug for it—but never found it. He might have the craze, too. But I wouldn't advise you boys to bother him too much."
"Is he dangerous?" asked Bob.
"No, I wouldn't go so far as to say that," replied the lightkeeper, slowly. "But you know you have no right to go on his land, and he might have you arrested."
"Did he ever have anyone taken in?" Frank wanted to know.
"No, but he sued Nate Hardon, his next door neighbor, because Nate's dog dug up the garden. And the funny thing of it was that the professor didn't have anything planted in that garden, as far as any of us could find out. He just got provoked because Nate's dog dug some holes, and he sued Nate. He won his case, too, and got six cents damage."
"Six cents! Is that all?" asked Sammy, in surprise.
"Oh, he didn't want the money," explained the light-keeper. "He just wanted the courts to say that Nate's dog had no right in the garden, and it hadn't, I s'pose. Anyhow, Nate had to build his fence over.
"But the professor, as we call him, is sure a queer character. I don't know what he's after, but whatever it is he hasn't found it. We folks leave him alone, and I guess you boys had better, too."
"Did you see him around here that night, when the light went out?" asked Sammy.
"No, I didn't," answered Mr. Floyd, and Sammy did not say why he had asked.
The boys' clothing was nearly dry now, and, the water having been emptied from the boat, which was pulled up on the beach, the lads started for Barnacle Cottage.
They took with them some of the crabs Mr. Floyd gave them, so their accident did not prevent Mr. Bouncer from having a fine supper that night. The boys built a fire out of doors, and boiled the crabs, afterward picking the meat out of the shells.
Talk as they did over the queer encounter with Professor Watson they could not come to any understanding of what object he might have in digging in various places. Sammy still stuck to his idea about the buried gold, but his chums did not agree with him.
Vacation days at Lighthouse Cove were slipping by. Already about half the Summer was gone, and the boys were counting with regret on the time when they would have to go back to Fairview and to school.
They had more good times this Summer, so they said, than ever before. They went in swimming, rowed about in their boat, and caught so many fish and crabs that Mr. Bouncer said he could feel the salt water running out of his ears.
More visits were paid to the lighthouse, too, and the boys were always welcome there since they had done Mr. Floyd such a service. The light-keeper told them many fine stories.
At other times they went to the ocean beach, where the surf was heavier than in the cove near Barnacle Cottage. They were allowed to bathe in the shallow part of the ocean, near shore, but Mr. or Mrs. Bouncer kept sharp watch over them at such times.
The boys made many acquaintances among the fishermen and sailors who lived at the Cove, and were often taken out in the boats. Best of all they liked to go with Silas Warner, who had a large motor boat, one that was able to go through the inlet, and out to sea, when it was not too rough. Silas often went on long fishing trips, and when he only cruised about in the Cove Mrs. Bouncer allowed her son and his chums to go with him.
But she would never consent to their going out on the open ocean, though Silas often offered to take them. His boat, the Skip, had a cabin, and several persons could sleep aboard her.
"The ocean is too dangerous for the boys," said Mrs. Bouncer.
One day when Bob and his chums were down at Silas Warner's dock, watching him fix the engine in the Skip, he called to them:
"Want to come for a ride?"
"Sure. Where you going?" asked Bob.
"Oh, down by the bridge. I've got to get some supplies. I won't be very long."
The bridge was down near the inlet, where the ocean and cove met, surging their waters together over the sand bar. It was a fine, long trip.
"I guess we can go," said Bob, as he ran to ask his mother. She gave her permission, for the day was a fine, calm one, although hot, and she knew the boys would enjoy the trip on the water.
Soon, in the big motor boat, with Silas at the wheel, the boys started off in great delight. They waved good-bye to Mrs. Bouncer, who stood in the doorway of the cottage. Little did the boys think how much would happen before they saw her again.