Part 3

"There's little chance he'll put back right away," Uncle Ben replied without seeming to observe the lad's show of fear. "He's bound to do a little somethin' in the way of fishin', else how can he pay Rube Rowe's wages? I'm allowin' we shan't see him under three or four days, an' by that time I'll have your business fixed up so tight that he can't turn a hair. Leastways, it's 'bout the same as certain that he won't get under way an' come back to anchorage all in the same half day, so we can count on bein' rid of him while I'm away. Better catch a mess of cunners for supper, an' if so be that you're willin', tidy up the shanty a bit, for I've been mighty slack in my housekeepin' this past week."

Then, much as if eager to put an end to any further conversation regarding Captain Doak, Uncle Ben set about launching the keel-boat, and within a very few minutes after she was afloat he was sailing away from Apple Island in the direction of Southport.

Sam and Tom stood on the beach watching this kindly-hearted old man who had given them a home until he appeared to be hardly more than a tiny blot in the distance, and then Sam said, as he searched here and there with his eyes, as if fearing the "Sally D." had already hove in sight:

"It would be mighty tough on me if Cap'en Doak should come back 'twixt now an' sunset!"

"I'm not so certain of that," Tom said stoutly. "He ain't more'n any other man, an' it strikes me we'd be mighty poor kind of boys if we couldn't hold our own on this island. I wouldn't be afraid if your Cap'en Doak an' his Rube Rowe both come ashore at the same time, for with that buoy I had when he was here before I could make a pretty good play at keepin' 'em at a distance for quite a spell."

"But you couldn't stand up swingin' a buoy 'round your head all night," Sam suggested mournfully, and then as he thought of Tom's attempting to perform such a feat during all the hours of darkness he broke into a hearty laugh, so comical was the picture in his mind.

"When you get through havin' sich a good time I reckon we'd better have a whack at cleanin' up the shanty 'cordin' to your Uncle Ben's orders," Tom said curtly, and without further delay the task was begun, although a careful housewife would have said they were making no improvement in the apartment.

When the shanty was, in their eyes, as cleanly and orderly as it could be made, Sam overhauled Uncle Ben's stock of fishing-lines, and during the half hour that followed they caught cunners and skinned them, until they had ready for the frying-pan as many as half a dozen hungry boys could have eaten.

"I'll cook the supper if you'll bring up from the beach wood enough to keep the fire going," Sam said, and from that time until a few minutes before sunset they enjoyed themselves as thoroughly as if they had but lately left the most pleasant homes in the land to spend a few days in pleasure on Apple Island.

They ate their supper and the shanty was once more set to rights. Near the door was a store of driftwood sufficient to keep a fire going many days, and the two had seated themselves on the cliff which jutted out above the roof of Uncle Ben's home to discuss the future, for Tom insisted on knowing why the old lobster catcher was willing to burden himself with two boys who had no legal claim on him.

Sam had begun to answer the questions by telling what he knew concerning the old man, when far away in the distance, directly in the golden pathway formed by the rays of the setting sun, appeared the outlines of a vessel.

"That's the 'Sally D.'!" Sam cried in alarm.

"Cap'en Doak is comin' here after me, just as I was afraid he would!"

"How do you know that is his schooner?"

"There ain't another vessel sailin' out of Southport that has a topmast like the 'Sally D.' What am I to do, oh, what am I to do?"

*CHAPTER V*

*AN UNWELCOME VISITOR*

Tom was apparently lost in surprise because the lad who had shown so much bravery by saving the life of a stranger at imminent risk of his own was nearly overcome by terror simply through seeing in the far distance that vessel on which he knew was his stepfather.

He looked alternately at Sam and the "Sally D.," as if fancying that somewhere in the middle distance he might see that which would give him a clue to what was really a riddle, and failing in making out more than the wide expanse of restless waters, he turned toward his friend, asking impatiently:

"What's comin' over you so bad? S'pose that vessel is the 'Sally D.,' what's the use of worryin'?"

"Cap'en Doak is comin' ashore after me. He must have sailed around the island to wait till he saw Uncle Ben headin' for Southport, an' he could get his hands on me without much trouble. What'll I do? Oh, what'll I do?"

"Look here, Sam!" Tom cried impatiently. "If you're willin' to stand here on the beach when your stepfather lands, in case that vessel is the 'Sally D.,' an' in case he's comin' back after you, then I allow he might have a chance of pickin' you up without very much bother; but what's to hinder your makin' things lively for him?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked helplessly, and it really seemed as if he had lost his wits in the sudden attack of terror which beset him so sorely.

"Mean? Can't you see that the cap'en of that 'ere schooner would have a mighty rough time gettin' his hands on you, if it was a case of huntin' for what he wanted? This ain't any toy island, an' I'd be willin' to bet great big dollars that there ain't the man livin' who could get hold of me if I wanted to keep out of his way! What's to hinder our layin' low in the bushes, if so be he comes ashore? I reckon he would be a good long day runnin' us down, an' before that happened your Uncle Ben would be back to take a hand in the scrimmage!"

The look of distress slowly died Away from Sam's face as his companion spoke. He had been so overcome by terror at seeing the "Sally D." that there was no room in his mind for any thought save what Captain Doak would do if it was possible for him to work his will, but now he began to realize that he was showing himself very much of a coward.

"Say, that's so! You must think I'm a regular baby!" he said with a faint attempt at a smile. "Just for a minute it seemed as if I was bound to stand right here waitin' till Cap'en Doak came ashore. I guess we'll give him a good chance to hunt for us."

"That's the way to talk," Tom said approvingly. "We'll give him a run for his money, an' if he gets his hands on either of us I'm allowin' it'll be 'cause we've lost our heads. There's no reason why we should stay up here on the rocks where he'll see us, so let's slip down the other side where we'll be out of the way an' can see what he counts on doin'."

"Why not go straight back into the bushes an' find a hidin'-place?"

"'Cause there's no need of it yet a while. It wouldn't be any very big job to keep ahead of him, with anythin' decent in the way of a start, an' I want to see how far he dares jump after your Uncle Ben has told him that he's goin' to law 'bout it."

Sam had no desire to linger in the vicinity. So great was his fear of Captain Doak that he would gladly have put to sea in the dory rather than take the slight chance of being captured on the island. But, having once shown himself to be a veritable coward so far as an encounter with the commander of the "Sally D." was concerned, he shrank from any further display of fear.

Therefore it was that the boys crouched behind the brow of the cliff, where a full view of the cove could be had, watching the shabby schooner as she crept nearer and nearer to the land, and Sam found it really difficult to prevent a tremor of fear from being apparent in his voice as he replied to Tom's questions regarding Uncle Ben.

The good people of Southport, where Sam had been born, knew that Benjamin Johnson was a native of the town, and even as a young man had been known as an "odd stick," who, when his father and mother died, earned sufficient to make a home for his two sisters by his labor as a fisherman. When the young women were married, Ben leased Apple Island, and for many years had worked industriously; it was generally believed he had saved considerable money, and there were many who, not knowing him of whom they spoke, called the lobster catcher a miser.

"He's been mighty good to me since mother died," Sam said when Tom had come to an end of his questions, "an' if he can make Cap'en Doak behave himself so's I'll dare to show my head, I'll be in great luck livin' here with him."

"Do you reckon he'll let me stay, too?" Tom asked anxiously.

"He has just the same as said you could, an' all we've got to do in order to have as good a home as any fellow could ask for, is to jump right inter the work, same's you've begun. It's a big lot of help to Uncle Ben, now that he's gettin' 'under old, to have somebody pull the pots, an' between the two of us we oughter tend to the business without his raisin' a finger."

"You can bet I'll do my part of it all right; but perhaps he ain't countin' on stayin' here very long."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked in alarm.

"That plan of his that he keeps tellin' about may have somethin' to do with leavin' the island."

Such a suggestion as this would have caused Sam no slight anxiety at any other time, for the possibility that Uncle Ben's "plan," whatever it might be, would involve his abandoning Apple Island had never occurred to the lad until this moment. Just now, however, while the "Sally D." was slowly but surely approaching the anchorage, he could give little heed to anything save the fear that Captain Doak might succeed in getting hold of him once more.

Soon the lads could see the two men clearly, and Sam knew only too well that his stepfather was in a towering rage.

"He'll use up more'n one rope's end on me if he gets the chance!" the lad said with an indrawing of the breath, and his companion, trying to speak in a careless tone, replied:

"Oh, he'll have a mighty tough time gettin' near enough to make much trouble, no matter how long he stays. We'll wait here till we see what his game is, for there won't be any sense in runnin' 'round very lively before there's need for it."

The lads were not kept in suspense many moments. Within a quarter hour the "Sally D." was inside the cove; Rube Rowe let the anchor go with a rush, the sails were hauled down, but not furled, and with everything on the deck at sixes and sevens, Captain Doak jumped into the dory which was towing alongside, shouting impatiently to his solitary sailor:

"Bear a hand lively, Rube, for I ain't countin' on wastin' very much time over this job!"

"Lookin' for a boy on this 'ere island, an' the sun within half an hour of settin', is goin' to be a good deal like huntin' for a needle in a haystack," Mr. Rowe grumbled as he obeyed orders, and he was hardly more than in the boat before the angry captain had begun to row her to the shore.

"We'll go straight across the island, for if Ben hasn't taken him along the cub is sure to get as far away as possible, an' once we get our hands on him, it's a case of goin' aboard lively; I've spent too much time on him already."

"I ain't certain as the law will uphold us in takin' him by force, even if you are his stepfather," the sailor replied fretfully, and his employer cried angrily:

"Do what I tell you, an' I'll look after the law part of it. Don't be afraid of knockin' him down if you find that he can run too fast. Now bear to the east'ard an' I'll tackle the other end of the island; there's little chance he can give both of us the slip."

Having thus given his orders, Captain Doak set off at a rapid pace, passing within twenty yards of where the lads were cowering behind the jutting rocks of the cliff, and Tom whispered when the angry man was so far away that there could be no danger his words might be overheard:

"Now you see that it was best to stay right here; they don't count on our hangin' 'round near the cove, an' this is as good a place as we could find. I haven't had to sneak away time an' time ag'in from Mother Sharkey without gettin' a mighty good idea of how the trick can be turned."

During the next thirty minutes the boys remained silent but on the alert, one watching for Captain Doak, and the other for Rube Rowe, and the shadows of evening were lengthening before either of the men put in an appearance. Then they could be seen coming directly toward the shanty, walking side by side, and Tom whispered triumphantly:

"They've given it up as a bad job, so all we've got to do is lay low here till they look inside the shanty, for it ain't likely they'll leave without openin' the door."

"Hadn't we better run while we've got a chance?" Sam asked tremulously.

"Not a bit of it. They'd be sure to sight us, but if we can keep our distance half an hour longer, it'll be so dark that they can't see an inch before their noses."

Sam literally flattened himself against the cliff, in his effort to hide, and hardly dared to breathe when the two men approached the shanty directly beneath him.

"If it wasn't so late I'd have that miserable cub out of this!" Captain Doak cried angrily as he kicked open the door of Uncle Ben's home, "an' even as it is he hasn't given me the slip, for the 'Sally' shall stay where she is till I've put him aboard."

"If that's the way you're feelin', I'm allowin' that we won't wet another line this season," Rube Rowe said with a laugh which caused Captain Doak to turn with upraised hand as if to strike a blow, and the sailor cried warningly as he put himself in a posture of defense:

"None of that, Eliakim, or you an' I'll part company mighty sudden! I ain't so fond of the 'Sally D.,' an' it wouldn't take much of your funny business to give me my discharge."

"Don't talk crazy, Rube! What we're after is that young cub, an' this ain't the time to cut up rough."

"You're doin' the rough part of it, 'cordin' to my way of thinkin', an' I want you to understand that it won't take much to put me out of the job altogether. I ain't so certain that you've got the law on your side, an' then ag'in, I've allers felt sorry for the little chap, 'cause there's no denyin' but that you've led him the toughest kind of a life, an' he savin' you the wages of a cook."

"Hold your tongue! I know more 'bout law than that drivelin' old lobster catcher can tell me, so don't get the idee that I'm leadin' you inter any trouble. The boy is my stepson, an' he's bound to dance to my pipin' till he's twenty-one, or I'll know the reason why. Got any matches?"

"What do you want of 'em?"

"I'm goin' to set this shack on fire. Ben Johnson shall be made to understand what it means to buck agin me. If he was here, I'd give him a lesson that wouldn't soon be forgot; but seein's he ain't, I'll let him have a taste of what's comin'."

"If I had any matches you shouldn't have 'em to use on that shanty!" Rube Rowe cried angrily. "I know what it means to set a house on fire!"

"This ain't a house, you bloomin' idjut; it's nothin' but a fisherman's shanty, an' the law won't be troubled 'bout it. Besides who's to know we did the job, if we get under way lively--I can come back after Sam to-morrow."

"You'll get no matches from me," Rube growled as he walked rapidly up the shore, and Captain Doak, seemingly incited to yet greater anger by the opposition of his "crew," said hoarsely as he ran toward the "Sally D.'s" boat:

"I'll go aboard an' get what I want. When that's been done, you an' I'll have a settlement!"

"I reckon here's where we've got our work cut out for us," Tom whispered as he crept slowly to the top of the cliff. "That cap'en of yours won't set any shanty afire while I've got life enough to roll a lot of these rocks down on his head!"

*CHAPTER VI*

*A PITCHED BATTLE*

In strict justice to Sam Cushing it must be set down that he was not a coward in any sense of the word, and certainly he proved himself to be brave when he saved the life of Tom Falonna at risk of his own, yet the idea of opposing the commander of the "Sally D." to the extent of provoking a personal encounter frightened him. More than once since the death of his mother had he attempted to resist when his stepfather was unusually cruel, and on each occasion had he suffered severely.

Therefore, it was that Tom's preparations to defend Uncle Tom's shanty against Captain Doak seemed to him an extra hazardous undertaking, more particularly since the chances of his being captured by his angry stepfather would, apparently, be increased, and, following Tom up the side of the cliff, he whispered entreatingly:

"Don't get us both into the worst kind of a muss! The cap'en an' Rube Rowe can surely get the best of us if it comes to a fight, an' then I'll be carried off on board the 'Sally'!"

"I ain't countin' on lettin' that villain burn the only home your Uncle Ben has got, 'specially while there are so many rocks layin' 'round here loose," Tom replied grimly, as he began gathering missiles where they would be ready for use. "'Cordin' to what he said, Rube Rowe ain't likely to take much of a hand in this 'ere row, 'cause he's got sense enough to know that settin' a man's house on fire is a mighty dangerous thing to do."

"He may not help start a fire, but he's bound to lend a hand if Cap'en Doak gets inter a row with us!"

"Then it'll be so much the worse for him, 'cause I'm goin' to make a mighty big try at keepin' that villain at his distance, an' if I can get one crack at him he'll be down an' out for quite a spell. There he goes for matches, an' I reckon he's too wild by this time to really know what kind of a sore he's breedin' for himself. Folks get sent to jail for what he's aimin' to do----"

"Then he'd be out of my way for good an' all," Sam said hopefully, and Tom replied in a tone of reproach:

"Yes, you'd be all right; but your Uncle Ben wouldn't have any shanty to live in, an' then what about our plan of stoppin' here with him?"

Sam had no reply to make; he was not a little ashamed at having thought only of himself and, as Tom had stated the case, he would be injured as much as benefited by such disposal of his stepfather as he had suggested.

The situation not only alarmed but perplexed him, and, not knowing what else to do, he watched the movements of Captain Doak, who could be seen only as a dark smudge against the lighter sky. The commander of the "Sally D." was standing erect in the dory as he pushed at the oars with a force and haste which told of the angry storm that was raging in his mind, and while Tom made ready his ammunition for the battle which was evidently so near at hand, Sam announced to him the movements of the man who was eager to work so much mischief.

"He's in a terrible hurry; perhaps because he's afraid Uncle Ben will come back before he can start the fire. Now he's alongside the schooner, an' jumpin' aboard. My, my! but ain't he movin' spry!"

"He'll jump 'round worse'n ever if he gets one of these rocks side of his head," Tom replied as he ranged the missiles in front of him with exceeding care.

"Now he's comin' out of the cabin, an' I s'pose he's got matches enough to set the whole island on fire. See him jump inter the dory! I tell you, Tom, he's mighty ugly by this time!"

"I ain't feelin' much like a lamb myself," Master Falonna said placidly as he brought up from the foot of the cliff yet more rocks. "I reckon I've got enough here to keep him at his distance quite a spell."

"He's comin' ashore--now he's on the beach! Look out for yourself!"

"Get up here where you can take a hand in this business! I'm countin' you'll do your share!"

"Of course I will!" Sam cried. If the battle had to come, he was quite as determined as his friend to prevent any mischief being done to Uncle Ben's property.

The lad had not yet gained a position by Tom's side when Captain Doak could be heard shouting to the "crew" of the "Sally":

"Hi! Rube! Come up here, you skulker, an' see what Eliakim Doak can do to them who try to tread on his corns!"

From far away in the distance came the reply:

"I ain't comin'! I hired with you for a season's fishin', an' when you go to runnin' your head inter jail tricks, I don't train in any of it!"

"You're a coward, that's what you are!" the angry fisherman cried, and the boys on the cliff could see him coming toward them swiftly. "If you're 'fraid of your own shadder, stand by to go aboard, for we'll weigh anchor as soon as this job is finished!"

Captain Doak hardly more than ceased speaking when he had come near the shanty; but before he could enter it, a warning cry sounded from the cliff, and a huge rock rolled swiftly toward him.

"Get back there, an' be lively 'bout it," Tom cried, "else you'll stand a chance of havin' your head broke! There won't be any funny business on this 'ere island to-night, 'less somebody gets hurt pretty bad!"

"Who's that?" Captain Doak asked in a rage, stepping back in order that he might have a view of the top of the cliff, and at the same instant a missile, smaller than the first, grazed his arm, causing him to leap aside very suddenly.

"Get back where you belong, 'less you wanter be knocked out of time!" Tom shouted, and, sheltering himself as much as possible behind a projecting portion of the cliff, the commander of the "Sally D." cried in a voice hoarse with rage:

"I'll flog you within an inch of your life, you miserable shirker. Come down here, Sam, or I'll mark you with a rope's end as you've never been marked before!"

"I reckon you won't do much floggin' or markin' yet a while," Tom replied stoutly, standing with a missile in either hand, ready to fire a shot whenever Captain Doak was so incautious as to give him an opportunity. "Go aboard your schooner, 'less you're achin' to be 'bout the same as killed, for if we get a fair whack at your precious body it ain't likely you'll be very spry for some time to come!"

"Rube! Rube Rowe! Get around on the top of the cliff an' pitch them cubs down!"

"Do it yourself, if it's got to be done. I didn't ship with you for a pirate!" was the reply from the beach, and Tom added mockingly:

"I reckon you'll have to tackle the job yourself, cap'en, an' if you don't get all that's comin' to you before it's over, I'm way off my base. We've got plenty of rocks handy."

While one might have counted twenty, Captain Doak remained silent and motionless, and then a tiny spark of light could be seen near where he crouched, which caused Tom to whisper:

"He's settin' fire to the rubbish, hopin' the flames will creep over to the shanty, an' perhaps they may, for the wind is settin' this way. If we'd only thought to bring up a bucket of water, it would be easy to put an end to his fun!"

"There are a couple of buckets behind the shed. If I could get down without his seein' me, it wouldn't take long to have 'em up here."

"Go ahead an' get 'em!" Tom whispered excitedly. "I'll see to it that he don't get out from behind the rocks while you're gone!"

Understanding that there was no time to be wasted if he would carry out the plan successfully, Sam made his way softly down the cliff, and in the meanwhile Tom watched anxiously the tiny threads of flame which began to curl up from amid the dried grass, seaweed and driftwood, and were fanned by the wind directly toward the shanty.

"I'll smoke you out, you cubs!" Captain Doak cried triumphantly as he pushed the blazing fragments forward with a short stick. "It won't be many minutes before you'll be glad to make a change of quarters, an' then will come my time!"

At that moment Sam came to the top of the cliff with the two buckets, each more than half full of sea water, and, seizing one, Tom waited until Captain Doak leaned forward to put more fuel on the rapidly increasing fire, when he threw the contents with rare good aim.