"Cap'n," said the governor, who had for some time remained silent, "don't you think that ar' little plan of your'n is just the least bit risky? If I was you, I'd let them 'cademy swells keep their vessel an' welcome."
"You would!" exclaimed Tom. "Well, I won't, now I tell you! What! Give up the very thing I have lived for, and thought of, and dreamed about for so long? No, sir! That yacht has been the means of making me a vagabond, an outcast from home, and a wanderer upon the face of the earth, and she shall not stay above water any longer. If I can't enjoy her, nobody shall. I'll destroy the last vestige of her – I'll blot the academy navy out of existence. I'll abolish the offices of captain, lieutenant, master, and midshipman, and turn Harry Green and his crowd of spooneys back to the ranks, with as much ease as the principal could do it himself. I'll start a bonfire in the harbor that will serve us as a light-house, and show us our way out to sea. Those fellows have teased and tormented me for months about that vessel, and now I am going to have my revenge. You will not go back on me, governor?"
The Crusoe men had paused in their work to listen to Tom. His fiery words and determined air, not only served to convince them that he was thoroughly in earnest, and that he was resolved to carry out his plans if within the bounds of possibility, but they also had the effect of reviving the drooping spirits of the band. He spoke with such calmness and confidence, and seemed to be so utterly regardless of all the obstacles in his path, and so certain of success, that they could not help feeling encouraged.
"No, sir, I'll not go back on you," said the chief, emphatically; and no one who heard him speak imagined that he had been racking his brain in the hope of hitting upon some excuse for declining to assist Tom in destroying the yacht. "I said I'd stand by you, didn't I? I am a fellow who never breaks his promise."
In a few minutes the outfit had been packed away in boxes, provided for the purpose, and the Crusoe men began the work of stowing it in the yawl – all except Tom Newcombe, who, being fully occupied with his grand idea, was careful to see that nothing that could render it successful was neglected. The governor had made his first journey to the island in a skiff which he had stolen in the harbor, and it was in this skiff that Tom intended to pay his visit to the Storm King. She could be handled so much easier than the heavy yawl, that their chances for escape, in case of pursuit, would be increased. After bailing all the water out of her, and examining the rowlocks, Tom brought out of the cabin two pairs of oars and a boat-hook, which he placed under the thwarts and tied fast, so that they could not be lost overboard while crossing the shoals; and next he produced, from some secret hiding-place, a suspicious-looking black bottle, which he put into his coat pocket.
"What's that, cap'n?" asked the governor, who at that moment came up, carrying a box of crackers on one arm, and a bundle of blankets under the other.
"It's coal-oil," replied Tom, with a chuckle. "I am going to make sure work of that yacht, if I succeed in getting into the galley. I'll sprinkle the contents of this bottle over the wood-work, and on the pile of kindling which I shall find under the stove; then I'll touch a match to it, and – whew!"
Tom ended the sentence with a prolonged whistle, and by throwing his arms about his head, indicating, no doubt, the rapidity with which the flames would spread over the devoted vessel.
"I have only one cause for uneasiness," said Tom, to himself, when the governor had gone on to the yawl. "This skiff is painted white, and can be seen a long distance, dark as it is. If we are discovered before we reach the yacht, my splendid idea is up stump; but if I can once get on board, and make my way into the galley without being seen, I'll be all right. Five minutes will do the work, and I won't care then if we are pursued. The fellows are all good oarsmen, and we can show that jolly-boat a clean pair of heels."
"Now, then," said the governor, picking up his lantern and peeping into every corner of the cabin, to make sure that nothing had been overlooked, "I reckon we're all ready. We're goin' to leave you here," he added, turning to the prisoner, who still lay bound and helpless on the floor.
"Well, I swan!" exclaimed Jed. "Aint you goin' to let me loose?"
"Not much. That would be a smart trick in us, wouldn't it, now?"
"I'll do some good hollering the minute you go away."
"All right. You will be discovered by your friends sometime durin' the day, most likely; but all the yellin' you can do won't help you none. The surf roars over the shoals loud enough to drown the report of a cannon. Good-by, Jed!"
"I'll see you again," said the prisoner, who did not seem to be at all concerned. "I'll help take you before the 'squire yet – I swan to man if I won't."
"You'll ketch us first, I reckon. Come on, fellers."
The Crusoe men left the cabin and clambered into the yawl. The governor grasped the tiller, and the others picked up the oars and stood ready to push the boat from the bank. Tom made the skiff's painter fast to a ring in the stern of the yawl, and seated himself beside the chief, who, seeing that every thing was ready for the start, gave the command to shove off; whereupon the Crusoe men thrust their oars against the bank, and the yawl moved slowly toward the rocks at the entrance of the cove, dragging the skiff after her.
As we have before remarked, the Crusoe men were now about to brave the real dangers incident to their undertaking. One of them was close at hand, and it was the only one Tom Newcombe dreaded to encounter. It was the crossing of the shoals. He had made the passage once in the Mystery, and it had tried his nerves severely; although the water was then comparatively quiet. He knew that it would be worse this time, for the wind, which had been steadily increasing since sunset, was blowing briskly, and the roar of the waves, as they dashed over the ledge that formed the shoals, could be plainly heard in the cove. "It is a capital sailing wind," said Tom, with a great show of indifference. "Don't I wish that yacht was in flames, and we were on board the Sweepstakes, standing down the harbor under a full press of canvas? I tell you, fellows – "
"Jerusalem!" ejaculated Will Atkins.
The yawl at that moment glided out from among the rocks that concealed the entrance to the cove, and the Crusoe men found themselves on the edge of the shoals. They stood appalled at the sight before them. Through the darkness could be seen the white waves, rolling in broken, angry masses across the ledge, and sending the spray high in air. At the further end of the shoals, and about two hundred yards distant, was a single pyramid of foam that rose above the other waves, and which seemed to be stationary. It was caused by the peculiar formation of the rocks beneath it, and was the governor's guide-post. It pointed out the channel that led across the shoals.
The Crusoe men took a hurried survey of the scene before them, and with one accord sprang to their feet. "Governor," said Friday, "I wouldn't go across there fur no money."
"You can just turn around and go back," chimed in Will Atkins. "Whenever we get tired of livin' we'll let you know. This boat couldn't stand them breakers two minutes."
"Much you know about it, I guess," returned the chief, angrily. "We want to go to the village, don't we, an' we want to take our outfit with us? Well, then, how are we goin' to get there, I'd like to know, if we don't cross the shoals? Set down! Let no man move from his seat, or say a word. I've run the channel a dozen times, an' I can do it ag'in."
Sam did not think it best to tell his trembling crew that he had never attempted the passage in the face of such a breeze. Although he spoke bravely enough, he was really frightened, and his hand trembled as it rested on the tiller. Had there been any other way out of the cove, he would have been the last one to dare the fury of the waves; but he knew there was none, and, after he had succeeded in inducing his men to resume their seats, he drew in a long breath, shut his teeth hard against each other, and prepared for the work before him. He fastened his eyes on his guide-post, brought the yawl before the wind, let out the sheet, and the next moment the Crusoe men found themselves flying through the breakers with almost railroad speed. In front of them, on each side, and behind, the water was white with foam; and, when they got out from the shelter of the bluffs on the island, they found that Tom Newcombe's "capital sailing wind" was something very much like a gale. The yawl rocked and plunged over the waves that leaped wildly around her, sometimes almost grazing the rocks as she flew along the channel. The Crusoe men held their breath in suspense, and their eyes were directed anxiously toward the white pyramid which seemed to shut them off from the still water beyond. It looked threatening, they discovered as they approached it, and they trembled when the wave, subsiding for an instant, revealed to them the black, ragged crest of the rock which lay directly in their course, and toward which they were being driven with terrific force. It was here the worst danger was to be encountered. The channel ran close alongside this rock, to windward, and the governor knew that it would require the exercise of all his skill to take the yawl past it in safety.
"Xury," he exclaimed, yelling at the top of his voice, to make himself heard above the roar of the wind and waves, "stand by the sheet and be ready to haul in fur life when I give the word."
By the time the mate had placed himself in a position to obey this order, the yawl had approached within a few yards of the ledge, and, to the no small astonishment and alarm of the Crusoe men, the governor did not change her course an inch. Suddenly her bow was buried beneath a pile of foam, and the next instant she was lifted on the crest of a tremendous billow, which carried her with redoubled speed toward the rock. This was too much for Friday and Jack Spaniard, who uttered a simultaneous cry of terror, and jumped to their feet, while Tom Newcombe turned away his head and clutched his seat with a death-gripe, expecting every moment to see the sides of the boat smashed in, and to find himself struggling in the water.
"Set down!" thundered the governor. "Haul in, Xury!"
For a few seconds two opposing forces were at work upon the yawl. The wind blew harder than ever, as if it sympathized with the Crusoe men, and was doing its best to drive them out of reach of danger, while the waves came thicker and faster, and dashed their spray furiously into the faces of the yawl's crew, seemingly determined upon their destruction. So evenly balanced was the power of the two elements, that, for a time, it was a matter of uncertainty whether the wind would force them away from the rock, or the waves hurl them upon it; but the wind began to gain a little at last, the yawl glided slowly, inch by inch, around the ledge into still water, and Tom, looking back, saw the pyramid of foam leaping higher than ever into the air, as if enraged at being cheated of its prey.
"Jerusalem!" ejaculated Will Atkins, gazing first at his companions, and then at the angry waves behind, as if he could hardly believe that they had passed them in safety. "Jerusalem, I say! Whew!"
"Well, I done it, didn't I?" exclaimed the governor, drawing a long breath of relief. "I thank my lucky stars that I'll never have to do it ag'in."
It would have been hard work for any one to convince the Crusoe men that they would ever again attempt the passage of the shoals. They told one another that they had seen quite enough of them, and that the dangers yet before them were insignificant, compared with those they had just encountered. But they did cross them a second time that night, and not a single boy in the band raised any objections to it.
The governor now directed the yawl's course toward the head of the island, and, as she flew along, he revealed to his crew some of the plans he had determined upon. It was necessary, he said, that the work before them should be performed with as little delay as possible; consequently they would not take the yawl to the village with them, for she might be in their way. They would leave her at the head of the island, and stop for her when they came back. They would first secure possession of the Sweepstakes, and moor her at the end of the pier; then they would visit Mr. Henry's store, help themselves to what provisions they needed, and after that assist the captain in carrying out his "splendid idea." Tom listened attentively to all the governor had to say, and something he had not before thought of came into his mind.
"Governor," said he, "why do you leave my work till the last? Don't you remember I told you that Johnny Harding sleeps in the store every night? Suppose that while you are effecting an entrance you awaken him! He will give the alarm, and then, what will become of my idea?"
"I'll risk that," replied the chief, confidently. "If we get inside the store he won't give no alarm. I know how to make him keep still. Now, fellers," he added, turning the boat's head toward the island, "we'll stop here."
He ran the yawl's bow upon the beach, and with the assistance of his men moored her securely to the rocks, after which he ordered the band into the skiff. Will Atkins and Xury seated themselves at the oars, and in half an hour the skiff rounded the light-house pier, and moved up the harbor toward the place where the Sweepstakes lay at her anchorage.
CHAPTER IX.
JOHNNY HARDING'S VISITORS
About nine o'clock, in the same evening in which happened the events we have just described, Johnny Harding leaned idly over the counter in Mr. Henry's store, whistling softly to himself, and gazing through the open door at a vessel in the harbor, which was about to begin her voyage to the West Indies. He looked as though he had been preparing for a game of fisticuffs with somebody, for his coat was off, his collar thrown open, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. But there was no one in Newport with whom Johnny was likely to get into trouble, for he was one of those easy, good-natured boys who seldom have any differences with their fellows. He had worked hard all day, and this was the first leisure moment he had been allowed since morning. He had taken advantage of it to pull off his coat and enjoy the cool breeze of the evening.
Johnny, as we have before remarked, was now as steady, well-behaved a boy as could be found in the village. He had seen the time when he had thought it exceedingly "smart" to take part in some desperate scheme for mischief – like stealing 'Squire Thompson's horse and wagon, and presenting him with some of his own fruit and vegetables, for instance – but he had come to the conclusion that not only was that a poor way to enjoy one's self, but it was a sure method of gaining a very unenviable reputation. Tom's runaway expedition had opened his eyes. A few of his companions congratulated him, and said that in bringing the Swallow back to land, after Rich had lost her in the ocean, he had performed an exploit to be proud of; but those whose opinions were worth any thing, shook their heads at him; and, although they did not have much to say about it, their actions indicated that they thought Johnny might have been in better business than running away with a lot of lazy students. Johnny began to think so too, and saw it was high time he turned over a new leaf, if he ever expected to be any body in the world. One thing that convinced him of this fact was, the manner in which Mr. Henry treated him.
There was a vacancy in the store, and it had been promised to Johnny, whose highest ambition was to become a business man. One morning he presented himself before the grocer, who was not a little surprised to see him. "Ah, yes," said he, when Johnny had made known his wants, "I'd like to have you here. I don't know any one in Newport I would rather have for a clerk in my store, if I was only sure you could be trusted. But do you think you could put much faith in a boy who is continually running around of nights, and who is always in some kind of mischief? When I promised you the situation I had no idea you were a Night-hawk, you know."
Johnny thrust his hands deep into his pockets, and walked thoughtfully out of the store. He had never taken that view of the case, but he could not keep seeing that the grocer was right. He was angry at himself when he thought how foolish he had been, and, consequently, when some of his friends called on him that night, to inquire why he had missed the last meeting of their new society, Johnny answered them rather abruptly.
"I won't have any thing more to do with it," said he.
"Why, Harding, what's the matter?"
"The matter is just this," replied Johnny. "I can see, now, that I would have been a great deal better off in the world, if I had never had any thing to do with secret societies that were organized for nothing but mischief. Experience is a hard school, fellows, but it is a thorough one and I'll never forget the lesson I have learned there. I am going to behave myself now."
"Well, this beats me, I never thought you would turn spooney."
"Say what you please, my mind is made up, and you can't turn me, any more than you can turn Tom Newcombe, when he has an idea. The society can get along without me."
Johnny was as good as his word, although it required the exercise of all his firmness to resist the pressure that was brought to bear upon him. The society found it uphill work to get along without him, for he held a high position in the organization, and was the only one in it who could study up a plan for mischief at two minutes notice. Its members had often been sadly in need of the services of Tom Newcombe; and, now that Johnny was gone, the exploits were hardly worth boasting of. They tried to induce him to come back. They coaxed, praised, and ridiculed him, but it was in vain. Johnny had made up his mind after mature deliberation; he knew he was in the right, and for two months he held firmly to his purpose.
One night, as he was coming home from school, he met Mr. Henry, who began to laugh the moment he came in sight of Johnny. "Is this true that I hear about you?" he asked, as the boy came up. "Are you a spooney?"
"I don't know, sir," was the reply. "If trying to behave myself makes me a spooney, I suppose I am one."
"Don't you find it hard work?"
"Sometimes. They bother a fellow so. But I don't care for that. I'm bound to stick to it."
Johnny moved off, and so did Mr. Henry, but when the latter had made a few steps, he stopped and looked back. "Johnny," said he, "if you feel like walking around to-morrow, we'll talk the matter over."
Johnny did feel like "walking around," and he made his appearance at the store bright and early. It did not take long to arrange matters to his satisfaction, and he had now been in Mr. Henry's employ about two weeks, and he began to believe that he was in a fair way to redeem himself. Mr. Henry was of the same opinion. He had faith in Johnny's good resolutions, and he never had occasion to regret that he had taken him into the store.
Johnny's employer stood at his desk putting away his books and papers, while the clerk leaned on the counter and watched the vessel in the harbor. At last Mr. Henry closed and locked his safe, and, turning to Johnny, said:
"I shall leave you to-night with a big responsibility."
"How much is it, sir?" asked the clerk, who knew that the grocer had reference to the money in the safe.
"Seven thousand dollars," answered Mr. Henry. "The greater portion of it belongs to my brother, who has come down from Boston to take up a note that falls due to-morrow. If he fails to pay it, his creditors will have something to say to me, for I indorsed the note. There are also two thousand dollars of my own money in the safe, with which I intend to pay some bills in the morning. If I lose it I am ruined. I shouldn't wonder if you had visitors to-night," added the grocer, as he picked up his hat and cane; "so keep your eyes open."
"All right, sir," replied Johnny. "I'll defend that safe against an army of burglars."
Mr. Henry was jesting, and so was Johnny; not about the money, or the trouble its loss would occasion, but about the robbers. There was certainly that amount in the safe, and it was equally certain that it was needed for just the purposes that Mr. Henry had indicated, but he was not in earnest when he told his clerk to look out for visitors. No one ever dreamed of such a thing as a burglary in Newport. Johnny had never heard of one, except through the papers, but this night was to add a new chapter to his experience.
"Seven thousand dollars!" said he to himself, as he walked out of the store, and began putting up the shutters. "That's a nice little sum of money. I wonder if I shall ever own as much! I should say not, unless I get a big increase on my present salary. People don't live long enough nowadays to grow rich on four dollars and a half a week. Never mind, every dog has his day, and who knows but there is one coming for Jack Harding? What can I do for you this evening, gentlemen?"
This question was addressed to a couple of rough-looking men, who just then entered the store. Johnny tried to obtain a glimpse of their faces as he spoke to them, but he did not succeed, for their features were concealed by the collars of their pea-jackets, which were pulled up around their ears, and by their slouch hats, which were drawn down over their eyes.
"A couple of sailors, with the ague," soliloquized the clerk, snatching up his hat and fanning himself vigorously, when he thought how near sweltering he would be if he was bundled up like that.
The customers stood in the middle of the floor, looking about them with every expression of curiosity, like country fellows who had just come out of their native woods, while Johnny leaned one elbow on the counter and waited for them to make known their wants.
"Where's the boss?" inquired one of them at length.
"Do you mean Mr. Henry? He has gone home."
"Will he be back to-night?"
Johnny replied that he would not.
There was another long pause, during which the men gazed about the store, and appeared to be examining every article of merchandise in it, and finally one of them walked up to the counter, while his companion strolled toward the little office where Johnny slept. He first looked at the clerk, as if trying to recognize an old acquaintance in him, and asked: "Got any pipes?"
"Plenty of them, sir," was the prompt reply. "We have a fine assortment, that was just received from Boston this morning."
Johnny thought he had by this time become well enough posted in his business to tell, by the appearance of his customers, what quality of goods they wanted. He thought this man was a common sailor, and he put out for his inspection a box of cheap clay pipes. The man took his hands out of his pockets to examine the pipes, and Johnny saw that they were fair and white, looking very unlike the brown, toil-hardened hands of a sailor.
"He must be a captain," thought the clerk. "If he is, he wants something better than a clay pipe. Here are some genuine imported meerschaums, in the showcase, sir," said he.
The customer was a long time making up his mind which he wanted. He looked first at the clay pipes, then at the meerschaums, weighed several of the latter in his hand, and finally he pulled out his pocket-book. Then it took him some time longer to find a five cent piece; and when he had paid for one of the clay pipes he rested his hands on the counter, and looked up at the articles on the shelves, as if wondering if he did not want something else. Johnny waited patiently for him to come to some conclusion on this point, and, at the same time, kept close watch of the other customer, whose movements were somewhat singular. He first produced a pipe from the pocket of his pea-jacket, and, walking around the end of the counter to the match-box, prepared to indulge in a smoke. Johnny, out of the corner of his eye, saw that, while he was filling his pipe, his gaze wandered up the space behind the counter, until it rested on the safe, which he regarded long and earnestly. If Johnny could have read the thoughts that were passing through his mind, they might have caused him some uneasiness; but, believing that the man had found an object of curiosity in the strong box, he felt disposed to laugh at him.
"Where could he have passed all his life, anyhow?" thought the clerk. "He never saw a fire-proof safe before. What would he say, I wonder, if he could look at the combination lock inside, that can't be opened, even by a man who understands it, in less than ten minutes!"
After burning half a dozen matches, the customer got his pipe lighted to his satisfaction, and began walking about the store again. He glanced into the little office where Johnny slept, went to the front door and gazed up and down the street, thence to the side door, which he opened, and looked out into the passage-way that ran between the store and Mr. Newcombe's elevator, and finally he examined the shutters that Johnny had just put up. Having completed the rounds of the store, he began to whistle, whereupon the man at the counter picked up his pocket-book and followed his companion, who walked out on the wharf.
"Does any body suppose they ever saw a grocery-store before?" said Johnny, to himself, as he stood in the door and watched his customers until they disappeared in the darkness. "I've seen some green men in my time, but these carry off the palm. The one that bought the pipe is not a sailor, for, if he was, he would not have been so particular. He would have taken whatever was offered him, and paid double its value, if I had seen fit to demand it, and without a moment's hesitation. They are hard-looking fellows, anyhow."
Having thus expressed his opinion of his customers, Johnny struck up a cheerful whistle, and resumed the work of putting up the shutters. When this had been done, he locked the door, and put out all the lamps except one, which he carried into his bed-room, and sat down to read until he should become sleepy. The book was so interesting that Johnny forgot that he had worked hard all day and was very sleepy, and it was half-past ten o'clock before he knew it. Finding that his eye-lids were growing heavy, he went the rounds of the store once more, tried all the doors and windows, to make sure that he had fastened them securely, and then tumbled into bed. He always slept the sleep of the healthy, and, on this particular evening, he slept so soundly that he did not hear what was going on at the side door, which opened into the passage-way. About midnight, however, he awoke with a start, and with a presentment that there was something wrong. He was not mistaken, for when his eyes were fairly open, he found that his bed-room was flooded with light. He was not alone, either; there were two persons in his room who had no business there. One was standing in the door-way, holding a sledge-hammer and an iron punch in one hand, and a short piece of rope in the other; and the one who stood at the head of his bed carried something the clerk did not like the looks of – a revolver, the muzzle of which was pointed straight at his head. A single glance was enough to establish the identity of these unwelcome visitors. They were his customers of the previous evening.
"What are you doing in here?" exclaimed Johnny, starting up on his elbow. "Get out o' this!"
"Silence!" whispered the man with the revolver, seizing Johnny by the shoulder and placing the muzzle of the weapon against his forehead. "If you utter another word you are a dead man."
The bare thought of being awakened out of a sound sleep, to find a couple of burglars in one's bed-room, is enough to send a thrill through the strongest nerves; and Johnny, although he was far from being a coward, was thoroughly frightened. He knew, however, that he was in no danger of bodily harm as long as he obeyed the robbers' injunction and kept quiet. They were not there to injure him – they were after the seven thousand dollars in the safe; and Johnny was powerless to prevent them from taking it.
"Come in here and tie him, Ned," said the man with the revolver.
Ned, after depositing his hammer and punch on the floor, advanced into the room, and almost before Johnny could tell what had happened to him, he was lying on his face in the bed, with his arms fastened behind his back, his feet tied to the bed-post, and a towel bound tightly over his mouth.
"Now, then, my hearty, you're safe, and the best thing you can do is to keep perfectly still. We don't want to hurt you, but if you begin any fuss, we'll settle you in a hurry."
So saying, the robbers left him, and began their work in the store.
From the position in which he lay, the clerk could witness all their operations, and he could not help thinking that the burglars were very expert in their business. They moved quickly, but so noiselessly that Johnny, if he had not seen them, would not have known that they were there. They first pulled the counter from its place, and wheeled the safe into the middle of the store; after which one of them laid a coil of rope upon the floor, and by their united efforts, the safe was tipped over on its back and placed upon it. Their next move was to strip the blankets and quilts from Johnny's bed, and wrap them around the safe, leaving a small opening in them directly over the lock. Then one of the robbers picked up the punch, and held it close to the handle of the lock, and the other, with one swift blow of the sledge-hammer, drove its sharp point through the thin sheet of iron that formed the outside of the safe. Into the hole thus made they poured a quantity of powder, adjusted a slow match, which one of them touched off with the cigar he had been tranquilly smoking all the while, and then the robbers, hastily closing the slide of the dark lantern, retreated outside the building to await the result. The clerk was sure they had gone out, for he heard the side door open and close very carefully.