Harry Gordon

“ I’ll take a look at them myself.”
“But I tell you they wasn’t in any boat!” insisted Jule. “They were floating right on the surface of the water—three large and very brilliant blue lights.”
“Did you see them, Clay?” asked Alex, scornfully.
“Yes,” replied Clay, “I did, and they were actually floating directly on the surface of the river.”
“Why can’t I see them, then?” demanded Alex from his position on the gunwale.
“Because,” laughed Jule, “it is only the eye of the believer that sees. Clay believed, and he saw.” ”

“ The man who had hold of the boy fired a shot at the dim rushing figure. The bullet went wide of its mark.
The next instant the bulldog had a set of very capable teeth clamped about the throat of the outlaw. The man struggled and gurgled horribly as the impact of the dog’s body threw him back, releasing Alex from his grasp. The boy sprang away and shouted:
“Turn on the lights, boys, turn on the lights!” In a second the powerful searchlight on the prow of the Rambler was turned on the spot from which the call had proceeded. ”

“ Mike went on, “but when you see a boat coming if you don’t hustle into the cabin and go to bed and cover up your head and ears, we’ll take the hide off your back in long, wide strips.”
“I don’t believe it!” Jule answered with a faint smile.
“That’s all right,” Mike answered, “we’re pretty good fellows, but we’re just plumb disgusted with everything in the world. Now, really,” he went on, “this boat belongs to that pirate gang over there, and we stole it from them. We didn’t steal it from you. We’re innocent bystanders, as it were.”
“Why doesn’t the Hawk come over here and get you?” asked Jule. ”

“ Jule went on, “but they’re trying to equalize prices by reducing the supply. Whenever these river planters get nice big warehouses packed full of the weed, the night-riders make their appearance in the dark of the moon and burn them down.” ”

“ Alex whispered, after a time. “We’ve got to do something to place them off their guard!”
While the boys were listening and waiting, Captain Joe sprang out of the boat and waded and swam over to the hard ground on the south of the cut-off. The boys saw only a white flash as the bulldog left the water and disappeared in the darkness of the jungle. Teddy, the bear, seemed inclined to follow him, but the boys held him back by main force.
“Now I wonder,” whispered Jule, “if the pirates are over there, too! If they’ve got us surrounded, we’re likely to open a barrel of trouble in about a minute.” ”

“ Jule said, “we’re going to play a trick on those men out there. Do you think you can do a boxing stunt to-night?”
Teddy sat up on his haunches at mention of the word “boxing” and admitted in perfectly good bear talk that he could.
“You just wait, Teddy,” Jule went on, “until that police boat draws the Rambler off this bar and supplies her with spark plugs, and we’ll give a show that will beat any four-ring circus that ever traveled out of Chicago. It’ll be something worth buying a ticket to.” ”

“ Clay replied, “we’re just out for amusement; taking our vacation on the river.”
“That’s a good bluff, too,” the other sneered. “People don’t trail along the Ohio just for the fun of the thing.”
“If you’ve got whiskey aboard,” another called out, “you want to keep off our beat. We’re doing a little in that line ourselves.”
By this time Clay was thoroughly frightened. He saw that he was in the hands of a desperate and reckless gang of river thieves. While pretending to be a store-boat, the Hawk was merely a floating receptacle for stolen goods, with gambling as an assistant money-maker. ”

“ After a long, long walk, during which it seemed to the boy that he had covered at least a score of miles, he discerned on the opposite bank of the river the little cove in which the Rambler had been moored that morning. Although he strained his eyes hoping to see the familiar figures of his chums, he could see no motion whatever.
“I guess they’ve got starved out and gone away,” the boy complained. “I suppose when I get over there, there’ll be only a burned-out camp-fire and nothing to eat. The next time I go out fishing for catfish, I won’t go. It always brings bad luck.” ”

“ One of my friends, here, just happened to have three blue lights with him, so we put ’em up to scare the pirates. We thought that if we could make the outlaws believe that we belonged to the night-riders, we could throw a bigger scare into them.”
“Of course,” Case laughed, winking at Peck, “we never thought for a moment that you gentlemen belonged to the night-riders!”
“Of course not!” laughed Peck, winking back. “Nobody around here belongs to the night-riders! You might travel up and down the river, and over the mountains, for a thousand miles, and not find a night-rider in the whole country! ”

“ Alex saw that the men were preparing to make trouble for him. He knew that they could not collect a cent of salvage for towing his boat out of the stream. He was positive that the net did not belong to them. Houseboat people of their class consider themselves fortunate in the possession of ordinary fishing lines and spears.
However, he only smiled as they talked of their hundred-dollar net, and dropped over into the shallow water of the creek to inspect the damage done to the propeller and rudder. ”

“ Clay returned.
“And, then, after the Rambler was crowded downstream, and after you went away to get something to eat, they attacked the two boys and lugged them away. I wish we’d killed them all.”
“You’re the bloodthirsty little fellow this morning!” Clay smiled.
“I don’t care!” Alex responded. “Just think of our motor boat, with all the provisions and ammunition on board, falling into the hands of those outlaws! I’ll just tell you right now, Clay,” he went on, flushing with anger, “if I’d had a stick of dynamite handy, I’d have set the fuse on fire before I crawled out of the cabin window.” ”

“ Alex suggested in a moment, “you go see if you can get a fish. I’ll stay here with Clay and watch for night-riders. If they show up while you’re gone. I’ll pick out the fattest one and eat him for breakfast. I’m hungry enough to eat a night-rider, horse and all!”
Uncle Zeke disappeared in the direction of the boat with a grin on his black face, and in a few moments Alex had the satisfaction of seeing him haul a couple of good-sized perch from the river. The boy instantly darted into the thicket after dry wood, and before many minutes the old darkey was on shore with his catch. ”

“ Case asked. “I’ve a good mind to go in there and fill my pockets with spark plugs,” Alex declared.
“That would be a nice thing to do, wouldn’t it?” scoffed Case. “That would be larceny from a store in the daytime, and you can get fifteen years for that; and if you went into a store with a gun and put the keeper in peril of his life, you could get fifty or sixty years!”
“Then I won’t do it!” grinned Alex.
“It’s me for the Rambler!” Case declared. “It will take us until dark to get there now, and as soon as we turn our backs that bum constable will have a hundred men out after us.” ”

“ On the Ohio, as well as on the Mississippi and the St. Lawrence, the traffic-men seem to have a great contempt for those who go about in gasoline boats. Captains and pilots unite in making trouble for the owners of such craft whenever it is possible to do so.
Once that forenoon the Rambler had come very near destruction because of a monstrous tow of coal barges moving down upon it. Later, the boys had been annoyed and insulted by a gang of toughs who were lounging over the railing of a whiskey boat which was passing up the river. ”

“ Jule made his way into the cabin and felt around on the bunk occupied by the boy. Teddy, the bear cub, lay there sound asleep but Alex had disappeared! Jule returned to the deck with a grin.
“That little idiot,” he said, “has left the boat again.”
“We might have known he would!” answered Case. “He runs away from the boat in the night every time he gets a chance, especially if Clay is ashore. They’ll both be back here before long.”
“Clay probably will,” Jule observed, “but we don’t know when Alex will return. We usually have to get him out of some scrape.” ”

“ Case exclaimed, “they’ll do it while we are away on shore, or asleep. These river rats are too cowardly to put up an open fight. They do their work in the dark.”
“That’s one reason why I don’t like being away from the boat long at a time,” Alex went on. “Clay and Jule would do anything any two boys could do to protect our property, but, all the same, two boys wouldn’t cut much ice with a gang of river pirates like I’ve seen on those boats.” ”

“ We played poker and roulette until the other fellows held a mortgage on our pay envelopes. So we’re just plumb disgusted with civilization. We haven’t got the brains to become city pirates and run gambling houses and elect aldermen and all that, but we have got muscle enough to become river pirates, so here we are, and here your boat is. ”

“ Case advised. “You mustn’t say ‘luncheon’ unless you have pie. It’s ‘lunch’ when you don’t have pie, and ‘luncheon’ when you do have pie.”
“I said ‘luncheon’, didn’t I?” asked Alex.
“You certainly did,” was the reply.
“Well,” Alex said, “then we’re going to have pie.
“The only kind of pie we can have now,” Case objected, “is fish pie. I’ll go and catch a couple of river perch and you can make a fish pie.”
“Say, look here,” Alex said, shutting the cabin door in Case’s face and talking through the glass panel, “what do you know about pie? I suppose you’ll be wanting me to make a liver pie next.” ”

“ Alex put in. “I don’t believe there’s a man on board that boat that dare step foot either into Indiana or Kentucky. They sell drugged moonshine whiskey, and they rob every man that comes on board, so it’s a sure thing that there’s a warrant for them in every town along the river.” ”

“ The four boys, Clayton Emmett, Alex Smithwick, Jule Shafer and Cornelius Witters, gathered about the motor, looking with disgust at its motionless cranks. The boat had been turned into an eddy on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river about noon, and Clay had been working at the machinery ever since in the hope of getting farther down the river that night.
“Well,” Case said, after a short silence, “some one must go out to civilization and buy some spark plugs. How far do you think we’ll have to go? Of course these little trading points on the river don’t keep spark plugs. ”

“ Hank answered.
“But there wasn’t any Government boat,” Alex insisted.
“There was one just coming up the river,” said the mountaineer. “If we ever come to the bank of the stream we’ll see her pass up.”
“Well, what are we going to do about the dog?” Case asked. “He’s evidently out of leash, for, judging from the sound of his voice, he’s running faster than any man could navigate through the woods.”
“Yes, he does seem to be out of leash,” the mountaineer answered, “and it may be that he took up the scent on his own hook. Still, the Federals do have bloodhounds to aid in trailing the moonshiners.” ”

“ Alex knew very well that the man from the houseboat had never owned a net of the value of the one he had destroyed, but he decided to have no words with the fellow until the Rambler was ready to proceed on her journey. He saw that the man was evidently seeking a quarrel.
“Yessir!” the riverman went on. “If you’ve gone and cut up my net you’ll pay me a good price for it. There’s too many of you sports romping up and down the river with your gasoline boats.”
“Time enough to talk about that when we get the boat over to the shore,” Alex declared. “I don’t want to drift downstream any farther.” ”

“ Had they been in a little different position, they would have seen Alex and Jule standing in the open doorway of the cabin with threatening automatics in their hands.
“Now, that’s a funny proposition,” the mountaineer deliberated, as Clay and Case clambered to the after deck. “Them pirates are watching the Rambler, and yet they don’t see that the boys are getting possession of her. They must be a stupid lot.” ”

“ The man who had been speaking from the freight deck of the Hawk now turned away and conversed for a moment with two men who had been listening to the conversation. As the fellow talked, he pointed with his thumb over his shoulder, significantly, at the Rambler.
“I don’t like the looks of this!” Clay declared.
“Then let’s cut it out,” replied Jule.
“We can’t very well cut it out!” Clay exclaimed. “They probably know we’re tied up here with a disabled motor. If they are the kind of people we fear they are, they’ll come and get us anyway. I wish Alex and Case were here.” ”

“ Clay said just before twilight, “which looks to me like a river saloon and I think those on board are watching the Rambler.”
“If it is,” Case suggested, “we’d better take to our heels. We don’t want any more experience with river pirates.”
“I should say not!” broke in Alex. “Those fellows don’t own the river. We’ve got just as much right here as they have. If they try to come aboard, we’ll set Teddy on them.”
The suspicious steamer checked her speed as the boys slowed down on the Rambler, and it was soon evident that those in charge of the whiskey boat were desirous of speaking with the boys. ”

“ If the big trees on the two arms of the island should be cut down, the river would eat the soil away in a very short time.”
“Well, what are you going to do when you get over to shore?” asked Alex.
“I’m going to sneak down to where the lights show, and see what it is that makes them.”
“All right,” Alex said with an aggrieved air, “while you’re out having fun with the blue lights and the dog I’ll go to bed.”
“Oh, come along if you want to,” Clay laughed.
“No,” Alex replied more cheerfully, “I think I’ll go to bed. You boys can blunder around all night if you want to.” ”