"An enemy hath done this," I began, in Scripture3 phrase.
"Of course it couldn't have been done by a friend," added Tom Rush. "It's lucky we have a good stock of provisions on hand."
"But the stock won't last forever," suggested Bob.[189]
"We are not going to be starved out in a week, or a year, for that matter," I interposed. "We are not to be broken up by any such accident as this."
"The commodore is spunky," laughed Bob, who was always good-natured, whatever happened.
"I am not to be put down by any such expedient4 as this taking away the boats. When I want to visit the main shore, I shall do so, boat or no boat," I replied; for I already saw how I could counteract5 the misfortune of the loss of our squadron.
"Parasyte has snuffed us out, I suppose, and sent a party up here in the night to take the boats," continued Bob Hale. "He means to starve us out."
"He will discover his mistake. But let us take a look round the island; perhaps we may find out what has become of the boats;" and I led the way to the nearest point, at which a sentinel had been stationed.
The student on watch there knew nothing of the absence of the boats. There had been no alarm given at the guard tent. We walked around the island without obtaining any information of the lost[190] squadron. We reported the mishap7 to Vallington, who was both surprised and indignant.
The occupants of the guard tent were all turned out, and those who had been on watch during the night were examined; but none of them knew anything about the boats. They had not heard any noise during the night, or seen anything on the lake. The general then mustered8 the company, and after stating what had occurred, called for any information; but no one had any to give.
"Where is Bill Poodles?" suddenly demanded Bob Hale, as he glanced around among the students.
"He is not here," replied Tom Rush, after he had scrutinized9 all the faces.
"And Dick Pearl?"
"Not here."
"Is any of the party that came off that night present?" demanded the general.
"No," answered several, after each fellow had looked his neighbor full in the face.
"That's what's the matter!" exclaimed Bob Hale. "Bill Poodles and the rest of them have run away with the boats; and in my opinion that's what they joined us for."[191]
A further examination convinced all present that this was the fact. It looked as though Mr. Parasyte had sent off the ten boys who joined us on the first night, to rob us of the boats. We remembered the dismay with which Pearl and Poodles had listened to the announcement of our intended removal from Cleaver10 Island, and were fully1 confirmed in our view of the traitors11' purpose.
We found that the conspirators12 had all occupied the same tent, and one of the fellows who slept with them now remembered that he had half waked up, and heard Dick Pearl talking in a low tone to some one. Vallington called up the sentinels again, and spoke13 pretty sharply to them of their neglect of duty.
"It would have been impossible for them to carry off the boats if you had been awake; and now you have got us into a pretty scrape. We shall have to back out, and march back to the Institute like whipped puppies," said he, with becoming indignation.
But the sentinels protested that they had kept awake all the time.[192]
"Tell that to a dead mule14, and he would kick your brains out," replied the general. "Who stood at the south station?"
"I did from ten till twelve," answered Joe Slivers15; "and I am sure no boat went out of the cove6 during that time."
"And who from twelve till two?" continued the general.
No one answered.
"Who was it—don't you know?" demanded Vallington, sternly.
"I know," replied Ben Lyons. "It was Carl Dorner, for I had the north station at the same time."
"Carl Dorner!" exclaimed Bob Hale. "He was one of the Poodles party."
"That accounts for it," added Vallington. "Who had the east station from twelve till two?"
"Mat Murray," replied Slivers.
"He's another of the Poodles tribe," added Bob. "It's as clear as mud now. We put traitors on guard, and we are sold out."
"Ben Lyons, you had the north station from twelve till two," continued the general.[193]
"I did; but I was nearly half a mile from the cove," replied the sentinel.
"And Carl Dorner and Mat Murray had the east and south stations at the same time."
"They did."
"Who called the fellows that were to relieve you?"
"I did," answered Lyons.
"Didn't you miss Dorner and Murray?"
"I didn't notice them; but I did see the three fellows who went on guard at two o'clock. They started for their stations, and I turned in, without thinking anything about Dorner and Murray."
It further appeared that the two traitors had used some "shuffling16" to obtain the east and south stations. It was evident now that the conspirators had executed their plan shortly after midnight, while their associates were on guard at the two posts where their operations could be seen or heard. The south station was on a point of land which commanded a full view of the cove where the boats lay. From the east station the lake in the direction of Parkville and Cannondale could be seen. From the north[194] station, which was considerably17 farther west than either of the other posts, nothing could be seen on the south side of the island.
If the conspirators had gone to the eastward18 with the boats, they could easily have kept out of sight of the sentinel at the north station—the only true one on duty when the mischief19 was done—by hugging the main south shore of the lake. If they had gone to the westward20, or farther away from Parkville,—which was not likely,—they could not have been seen by Ben Lyons till they had gone at least a mile.
In the mud at the bottom of the cove we found a pole sticking up, which the traitors had probably used in pushing the scow out into the lake. This showed us in what manner they had gone to work; but I was satisfied that they had not attempted to tow the scow any distance; it would not have been possible for them to do so. It was comparatively easy to move her with setting-poles, but they could have done nothing with the unwieldy craft in the deep water. I therefore concluded that they had merely pushed her out into the[195] lake, and then turned her adrift. It was probable that she had been driven ashore21 by the north-west wind somewhere in the vicinity of Cannondale.
What the conspirators had done with the Splash was not so clear to me, for not one of them knew anything about the management of a sail-boat. She had a pair of oars22 on board, and it was probable they had rowed her, as they had the other boats. All the sentinels agreed in their statements that the wind had blown pretty fresh in the night, and I was not quite willing to believe that the ten faithless ones had pulled the four boats the whole distance to Parkville, which was nine miles, in the heavy sea that must have been caused by a brisk north-west wind. They were not boatmen enough to undertake such a job, or to carry it through if they did attempt it.
Cannondale lay to the south-east of Pine Island, and with the prevailing23 wind of the night, it was an easy matter to accomplish the two miles which lay between them. After a great deal of thinking, reasoning, and studying, I came to the conclusion[196] that the Splash, and perhaps two or three of the four row-boats,—for the conspirators had added one to our original number,—were not farther off than Cannondale. The wind was still fresh from the north-west, and the traitors would hardly care to pull even a single boat eight miles. The steamer, on her way to Parkville, would touch at Cannondale about one o'clock, and I surmised24 that the deserters would return in her.
I made up my mind, in view of these facts and suppositions, that it would be advisable for some of our party to visit Cannondale before one o'clock. Pine Island had sometimes been used as a picnic ground, and the people had been conveyed thither25 in a steamer. Near the south station, in the deepest water, there was a rude pier26 of logs built out, for the convenience of landing the parties. This loose structure suggested to me the means of reaching the main shore; and, without waiting for breakfast, I "piped" away my boatmen, and proceeded to build a raft.
Placing three large logs in the water, we lashed27 them together, and covered them with short pieces[197] of board, from the ruins of an old cook-house on the island. The job was finished when breakfast was ready, about seven o'clock, including a mast and sail, the latter made of the curtain of a tent. The preparations I had been making had a wonderful effect in warming up the spirits of the boys, considerably depressed28 by the prospective29 calamities30 which were supposed to lie in the wake of the loss of our boats; and at least three quarters of them applied31 to me for permission to join my expedition to the main shore. I determined32, however, to take but four with me, among whom were Bob Hale and Tom Rush.
As soon as we had eaten a hearty33 breakfast, we embarked34, and hoisted35 the sail on our clumsy craft. When she had passed out of the cove, she took the breeze, and went off at a very satisfactory pace towards Cannondale, plunging36 and rolling in the heavy sea like a ship in a gale37. With us as navigators, "the die was cast," for it would be impossible to return to the island unless the wind changed, for the raft would only go before it.
The craft dived down and jumped up, and every[198] wave swept completely over it; but we had taken off our shoes and stockings, and rolled up our trousers' legs, so that we suffered no inconvenience. The fresh breeze carried us over in about half an hour, and the raft was thrown high and dry on the beach, a quarter of a mile below the town.
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1
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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disappearance
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| n.消失，消散，失踪 | |
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3
scripture
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| n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段 | |
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4
expedient
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| adj.有用的，有利的；n.紧急的办法，权宜之计 | |
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counteract
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| vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消 | |
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6
cove
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| n.小海湾，小峡谷 | |
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7
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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8
mustered
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| v.集合，召集，集结（尤指部队）( muster的过去式和过去分词 )；（自他人处）搜集某事物；聚集；激发 | |
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9
scrutinized
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| v.仔细检查，详审( scrutinize的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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10
cleaver
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| n.切肉刀 | |
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11
traitors
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| 卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人 | |
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12
conspirators
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| n.共谋者，阴谋家( conspirator的名词复数 ) | |
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13
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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14
mule
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| n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人 | |
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slivers
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| （切割或断裂下来的）薄长条，碎片( sliver的名词复数 ) | |
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shuffling
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| adj. 慢慢移动的, 滑移的 动词shuffle的现在分词形式 | |
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17
considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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18
eastward
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| adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部 | |
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mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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westward
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| n.西方，西部；adj.西方的，向西的；adv.向西 | |
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ashore
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| adv.在(向)岸上，上岸 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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surmised
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| v.臆测，推断( surmise的过去式和过去分词 )；揣测；猜想 | |
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thither
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| adv.向那里；adj.在那边的，对岸的 | |
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pier
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| n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱 | |
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27
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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depressed
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| adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的 | |
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prospective
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| adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的 | |
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calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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determined
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| adj.坚定的；有决心的 | |
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hearty
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| adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的 | |
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embarked
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| 乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事 | |
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hoisted
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| 把…吊起，升起( hoist的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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36
plunging
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| adj.跳进的，突进的v.颠簸( plunge的现在分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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37
gale
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| n.大风，强风，一阵闹声（尤指笑声等） | |
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