Harry Castlemon

“ They had deserted the Smart on some island, and had there found an English trader, with a crew of Malays; but the drunken captain forgot himself and brought on a mutiny, and Bob and the darky and himself had been put into a small boat and happened by chance to run onto the island where the Boston was moored.
"Yes, I remember that, and it was the first glimpse of reason I had," said Captain Nellis. "Ben, I am surprised at you. You stand still and let a man like Joe Lufkin knock you down!" ”

“ While the casks are being filled we'll watch our chance and slip away, one at a time, and hide in the bushes until the ship sails."
"And what will we do then?" asked Bob. "Stay here on the island and starve to death? I see no signs of inhabitants."
"Neither do I; but I would rather starve ashore than be sent overboard by a belaying-pin, as that fellow was served off the Mauritius. No one has said a word to me, but I know we are not the only ones who think of deserting. Be sure you make one of that boat's crew." ”

“ Leon was sitting with Captain Nellis's sword unsheathed in his lap, and appeared to be listening to something old Ben was telling him, but he jumped up and greeted Hank very cordially.
"Hank, I congratulate you on your streak of good luck," said Leon. "I suppose you don't care if Bob has told me about it?"
"No, indeed. I intended to show you the pearl before it was sold, but Bob received a good price for it. I tell you, it beats me."
"It is always darkest just before daylight," said Leon. "It has been very dark with you, but now you are in a fair way to make a man of yourself. ”

“ The lawyer had not taken more than an hour with his examination, but the court-room was crowded, not only with Barlow's friends, but with those who were anxious to know what had become of Bob Nellis and Ben Watson. Barlow crowded his way through them without receiving a smile from anybody, and in a few minutes gained the street.
"I hope that man, ole Ben Watson, is where he will get his pay for dreaming that thing about me," said Barlow. "I may be summoned to appear again at any time, may I? Well, he can't hear any different story from me than what he has heard already. ”

“ He went into the kitchen and started the fire, after which he came out with his hat on.
"I guess I'll go now," said he. "Bob always has a cup of coffee waiting for me. Good-bye."
"I reckon all the fishing you do with Bob Nellis to-day won't hurt you much," said Joe, with a chuckle. "If the J. W. Smart is as swift as they say she is, she's a hundred miles at sea. I will go and hide this money while I am about it, for if anything should get out on me I'd be in a fix."
He sat up on the lounge, yawned and stretched himself, and went out behind the house. ”

“ I want to make some money, don't I? I make all there is that is coming into the house."
"Mighty clear of you're making all the money that comes into the house," said Joe Lufkin to himself as he thrust his hand into his pocket and grasped the roll of bills he had made that day. "I've got fifty dollars that you don't know anything about."
"Bob gives me something every time I go fishing with him, and I tell you, a little comes handy sometimes," continued Hank. "You can look out for yourself. I have got other fish to fry." ”

“ The boarding-house keeper was almost the only one there was in the village who would have anything to do with him, and Gus liked to be in his company, for the old man talked of nothing but the "meanness" of which Captain Nellis had been guilty, and was never tired of rehearsing the plans he had laid against his son. Gus, knowing that Bob was expected on this particular morning, dropped into the saloon as if by accident, but in reality for the purpose of directing Barlow's attention to him in case the old man did not happen to see him when he landed from the steamer. ”

“ THE TELEGRAM. "Hank has got it!" said Joe Lufkin, as he took long strides toward the village. "He didn't try to lie me out of it at all. When I told him that he had a pearl worth two hundred dollars he was completely dumfounded. I reckon he'll wonder how I found it out. He's got it, as sure as the world! Now I'm going to try Gibbons. It can't be that a boy can give his money into another's hands, as Hank has done with Bob, and so shut me out of the whole of it. ”

“ During the short time he had been in the village he had been elected police magistrate, and of course he had it in his power to get at the bottom of the matter.
"What is the meaning of this?" he exclaimed. "Put down that chair!"
"Gus Layton!" said Sprague, astonished almost beyond measure to find his old stroke there in the saloon.
"Yes, sir; it is Gus Layton," responded Ben. "He and that old land-shark have been laying their plans to kidnap Bob and me to-night and send us off to foreign parts. They would have taken me at once if I hadn't laid the bull-dog and barkeeper out. ”

“ With this introduction Ben went on and told the story of his capture. There wasn't much to tell, of course, for he did not remember a thing after he permitted Joe to come close to him. The next thing he knew he was in the bunk in the forecastle, with an aching head and a stomach that was parched for water.
"I've got over that now, and I am all right again," said Ben. "I only wish I was sitting on my own porch."
"That man must have a power of muscle," said Bob, who was astonished at the ease with which Ben had been captured. ”

“ The boy had often thought of old Ben since his father's death, and impatiently counted the hours of meeting him, but now he was gone.
"They're all gone," thought Bob, turning away from the stable without returning the hostler's civil greeting, "and I am left alone. They have been cast adrift in their old age, in spite of father's promise that they should always be cared for; and if I may judge by uncle's letters, I must go, too. ”

“ How different the world looks to a rich man! And how different he looks to the world," added Gus, philosophically. "The world sees in him many things to admire that it does not see in a poor man. With horses and dogs, and boats and money and good clothes at my command, I shall occupy a rather higher position here in Clifton than I did few months ago."
Soliloquizing thus, Gus strolled along with the air of a young lord, passing through the wide front door, which stood open, and up the stairs to the library, which he entered without the ceremony of knocking. ”

“ Almost the first man he saw when he reached the head of the ladder was old Ben Watson. The recognition was mutual, but 273before Bob could speak to the old sailor Ben gave him a meaning gesture and turned away. Bob was overjoyed to find that his friend had so easily got over the blow that made him a prisoner on board the Smart. Here was just what he needed in his helpless situation—a person to whom he could go for sympathy and advice; one who would teach him his duty, and thus enable him to avoid the kicks and blows of the second mate. ”

“ That's the best piece of news you have had for me in a long while," said Bob. "And what if our own ship comes back?"
"Do you suppose that a ship is a-going to waste time in picking up two discontented hands who have deserted her?" exclaimed Ben. "Them fellows that are left will have to look out for a belaying-pin now. But there's no danger of the Smart coming back. We're going to have a worse blow than we have had yet, so far, and if the ship isn't wrecked she'll be a long ways from here to-morrow. Let's go and see what they can do for us. ”

“ The second mate of the Smart was a brutal fellow, and he more than once hazed the men till they were on the point of jumping over-board.
Bob's blow could not have been so severe as the one which knocked Ben Watson down, for he had no sooner been tumbled into his 268bunk than he came to himself. All that Joe Lufkin had done, and the sailors working over him to get him aboard, was lost upon him. He was untied, the gag was gone from his mouth, and he was at liberty to throw his arms about as he pleased. He raised himself upon his elbow and looked about him. ”

“ The codicil was something our hero did not like to see. The writer referred to Bob, and said he was glad to leave him to the care of such a guardian and protector as his Uncle Layton, who would do everything in the world that was best for him.
"Uncle Layton is not my guardian at all," said Bob, astonished beyond measure. ”

“ The cheers, long and loud, which arose at this moment, as the Zephyr flew by the tug on which the judges were standing, put a stop to the effort Simpson was about to make to repair the damage he believed he had done. He was borne with the crowd toward the beach, and joined with it in so heartily applauding the victors that his friend Scotty, had he been there, might have thought he had good reason for believing that he was not as Blue as he professed. ”

“ He remembered how he used to envy Bob Nellis, with his 342rich father, but when the report got around town that Bob had been cast off, and that his cousin had taken his place, then he used to cast envious eyes upon Gus Layton.
"That's always the way it is with everybody," said he; and one would think that he had been cheated out of the money instead of Bob Nellis. "All the fellows in the world can get rich instead of me. Don't I wish I had some rich uncle to die and leave me a pocketful of rocks? ”

“ Nellis, Bob's father, Gus had been a sort of protégé of that gentleman, who bestowed on him more care and attention than his own father did. By placing him at the academy Mr. Nellis gave him every advantage for fitting himself for usefulness in after life; and, more than that, he took care to neglect nothing which he thought would add to his comfort and pleasure. Was Bob presented with a new shell, a 20sailboat, a uniform, or a supply of pocket-money, the same boat which brought them to Elmwood brought a like supply for Gus Layton. ”

“ The very first man he had applied to for assistance had thrown cold water upon it.
"But I have something better for you than that, and you won't have to go away, either," continued Barlow. "You know the Captain of the J. W. Smart is finding it hard work to raise a crew. I've got two men on my mind, and will give you fifty dollars if you will get them for me."
"Fifty dollars is a heap of money, but it ain't a patching to what I could make out of the other thing," said Joe. "Who are the men?"
"They are Bob Nellis and ole Ben Watson," said Barlow in an earnest whisper. ”

“ I shall make sixty dollars by shipping him and Ben, and I'll give you ten of it. What do you say?"
"It is a bargain," replied Gus, wondering at the readiness with which he accepted the villainous offer. "I will be on hand when you want me."
"You will never see him again when once he is aboard that ship," continued Barlow. "Cap'n French is the hardest ship-master that ever sailed, and when a man doesn't do to suit him, he quietly knocks him overboard. More than that, the ship belongs to old man Brock, who feeds his hands on nothin' and pays them the same. ”

“ The self-styled champions expected to walk away with their opponents very easily, but to their intense chagrin and the overwhelming astonishment of fifty or more students who stood on the shore watching the 5contestants, the Zephyr went ahead rapidly, and rounded to in front of the academy the winner by more than a dozen lengths. Bob and his crew were so highly elated over the result of the race that they immediately challenged the crew of the Mist to a contest for the championship, which was promptly accepted, and this particular day had been set for the trial. ”

“ It was Bob Nellis who spoke. He had come down the stairs and looked all around for Hank, and finally found him standing in front of a store, waiting for him.
"There he goes now," continued Bob, gazing toward the opposite side of the street, where Mr. Gibbons was moving along with his swinging stride. "In a few minutes he will be coming back this way with the ponies. Now, I will go up to Jones's livery-stable and see what they are going to charge me a week for keeping the two horses. Of course Watson will have to fix a place for the barn before we can build it. The schooner is mine, too." ”

“ If I were Nellis I would make the 35school too hot for Gus Layton. He's got proof enough against him."
"Ah! but has he, though?" cried Simpson. "Where is it?"
"The oar, my dear fellow—the oar that was cut by Gus Layton's orders. Have you seen anything of it?"
"But perhaps Bob doesn't know where it is."
"Why, he took it into the academy and locked it up."
"I don't suppose it could have been spirited out of that lock-up and hidden somewhere else, could it?" said Simpson, with a look that spoke volumes. "Always be sure of your evidence before you hang a man."
The students were amazed. ”

“ Give me ten dollars to buy a good supper for mother, and do what you please with the balance."
"Well, suppose you come around to Ben's house in the morning, and I will go to the bank with you and put it there. It is too late now, for the bank is closed. You can trust your mother that far, can't you?"
"Oh, yes. As long as she has not got the money in her possession it is all right. It is all mine, isn't it? I never thought I should have so much money of my own."
"It is all yours if you don't let your father get it away from you," said Bob, handing out 163the bill which Hank had asked for. ”

“ You and me and the doctor are safe, but all the salt in the sea won't save the officers."
"Oh, Ben, this is just awful!" said Bob. "What do you suppose they will do with the officers? Perhaps we might say something that would make them hold their hands—"
"Don't you open your head," said Ben, earnestly. "You will bring death upon yourself if you attempt it. We will never know what they are going to do with them. A man stands a poor show of life who strikes one of 318these fierce fatalists. As for us, they are going to turn us adrift in a boat." ”

“ Bob found out that his oar was cut, and he and his crew took their old ones and won as easily as falling off a log. You ought to see the style that Bob has been putting on ever since! He feels too big to walk on the ground. By the way, where will he go when school is out?"
60"So he beat you at last, did he!" exclaimed Mr. Layton, in great surprise. "How did he find out that the oar was cut?"
"Sprague says he was the guilty party that told him, but I don't believe it. I bet you I will find means to get even with him when he comes home. What are you going to do with Bob?" ”

“ As the door flew open Scotty seized the oar and hurried away with it, while Simpson, anxious to conceal his work as long as possible, lingered to shut the closet and press the piece of casing he had cut off back into its place. As all the students, and every one else belonging to the academy, were out 33watching the race, the young scapegraces had the building to themselves and were in no danger of being discovered. They ran quickly down the back stairs and into the carpenter's shop, where the oar was speedily hidden away under a pile of boards. ”

“ Layton.
"That's the idea!" exclaimed Gus, unconsciously uttering the same expression that Barlow had made use of a short time before. "But a hundred dollars is a power of money, father. Don't you suppose if you were to offer him seventy-five dollars it would do just as well?"
"No, I don't think it would. Bob has always had money when he chose to call for it, and a hundred dollars is little enough. Ben has got a nice little house down here, and Bob can go there and live as well as not. Of one thing we will be sure, anyway: Bob will never come to this house again." ”