CHAPTER XXV

SEARCHING FOR THE SCHOONER

“Well if this isn’t mystery and more of it!” exclaimed Bob. “What in the world does it all mean, and the tramp going off in this fashion?”

The boys gathered close together, their heads bent over the mysterious message on the birch bark.

“Let’s call to him to explain,” suggested Ned.

“It’s too late,” said Jerry. “He’s too far out. Besides I don’t believe he’d come back. Anyhow I think I know what the message means.”

“What?” asked Ned and Bob in a chorus.

“Isn’t it plain enough?” asked Jerry with a smile. “If Andy Rush was here he’d have half a dozen explanations.”

“Let me read it once more?” came from Ned.

“‘Where the _bluebird_ spreads her wings, there you’ll find the stolen things. Search her deep and search her through, you will find I’m speaking true.’”

“Why of course!” exclaimed Bob. “It must be the schooner _Bluebird_ he’s referring to, and he means your father’s things will be found in her, Ned. It’s as plain as the nose on your face.”

“That’s so,” agreed Ned. “Is that what you make of it Jerry?”

“Sure. That part is easy enough. What does puzzle me though is that tramp. I can’t quite make him out. He’s a funny character, and his latest effort is stranger than any since his adventure on the hay barge. I wonder how he knew there was stolen stuff aboard the _Bluebird_?”

“Well that seems simple enough to me,” spoke Ned. “He’s probably been a criminal in his time, and knows some of the crooks who robbed my father’s store. In some way he found out they had the stolen stuff on the schooner, and he wanted to let us know to pay for our favors to him. You remember how excited he got when he found out my name was Slade.”

“Yes, that’s all right as far as it goes,” said Jerry, “but you’ll never get me to believe that tramp is either a criminal or one who travels with thieves. He’s a different character altogether. You’ll see I’m right. He may have found out where the stolen stuff is, but it was in some other way than being a companion of the thieves.”

“Well, maybe, you’re right,” came from Ned. “That part can be settled later. The main thing is to find the _Bluebird_ and see what there is aboard.”

“Which isn’t going to be such an easy thing as it sounds,” Jerry remarked.

“Why not?”

“Well, it may be a simple matter to locate the vessel, as the lake is not very large, but when we get to her have you thought of what we will do with her?”

“Go aboard, of course, and demand my father’s goods and money,” said Ned boldly.

“You seem to forget there is a difficulty in the way,” Jerry went on. “The men who stole the stuff, provided it is aboard the ship, are not likely to let us come over the side as if we were on a visit, and search for incriminating evidence. Then, too, there is Noddy, and he is not likely to welcome a call from us. No, I think we’ll have our hands full in getting aboard the _Bluebird_.”

“What would you advise?” asked Bob, as both he and Ned had come to regard Jerry’s ideas as being a little better than their own on important matters.

“I think it would do no harm to make a search and find where the _Bluebird_ is lying,” said Jerry after a little thought. “Then, perhaps we can decide on a plan of action. It’s a sort of following the old recipe of making a rabbit pot-pie,--to first catch the rabbit.”

The other boys agreed this was the best idea. They watched the boat with the tramp-fisherman growing smaller and smaller as he rowed out on the lake, and puzzled more than ever over the queer character.

“Well, shall we start right away?” asked Ned.

“I don’t believe it would do any good,” said Jerry. “Let’s get ready for supper, and this evening we can take a run out on the lake. We probably will not discover anything, but it will be fun, and we may gain a clue.”

Shortly after sunset, the evening meal having been finished, the boys made the _Dartaway_ ready and started away from camp. The lake was alive with power and other boats and the boys met a number of new acquaintances they had made at the luncheon following the winning of the prize. They speeded back and forth until dusk, and then accepted an invitation of a party that was bound for one of the resorts on the shore of the lake.

They spent some time there and when they reached their island dock and made a landing it was as dark as pitch. The boat was made fast to the wharf and then, lighting some oil lanterns, the boys walked up to their camp, which was a little way from shore.

As the gleam of the lamps fell on the place Jerry who was in the lead uttered an exclamation:

“Some one has been paying us a visit!” he said. “And they haven’t been friends of ours either.”

This was soon evident, for the camp was topsy-turvy. The shelter tent was pulled down, the utensils and camp stuff were scattered all about, and the place looked as if a small cyclone had struck it.

“I wonder who did this?” came from Ned. “I’d like to get hold of them for a few minutes.”

“Maybe this tells,” said Jerry, taking up a piece of paper from the planks that served as a table. The scrap had evidently been placed where it would be easily seen. It read:

“You had better clear out of here before something worse happens to you and your boat.”

“Who signs it?” asked Ned.

“It has ‘The River Pirates’ at the bottom,” said Jerry, “but I’d be willing to bet a new hat against a cookie that it’s Noddy Nixon’s writing.”

“Then the _Bluebird_ has been here in our absence,” said Bob.

“Looks so,” admitted Jerry. “Now let’s see if any great damage has been done.”

They made a hasty examination, but beyond tearing up the camp, and upsetting things, nothing appeared to have been stolen or seriously damaged. It seemed that the visitors merely wanted to annoy the boys.

There was nothing much that could be done until morning, so the boys, seeing that the _Dartaway_ was securely made fast, went to sleep on board. They rested undisturbed until morning.

“Now to hunt for the mysterious schooner!” exclaimed Ned after breakfast. “Do you know I have a good scheme?”

“Let’s hear it,” said Jerry.

“We ought to disguise ourselves,” went on Ned. “If we go hunting for the schooner in our motor boat the way we are now, they can see us coming and get on their guard. We ought to make up as fishermen, just as the tramp did, and steam around slowly.”

“They know the boat by this time,” objected Jerry.

“We can disguise her a bit by hanging strips of canvas over the sides,” went on Ned, “and by taking the canopy off.”

“I believe that’s a good suggestion,” said Jerry. “Then we could take the thieves by surprise. Come on, we’ll see what we can do to the boat.”

By removing the awning, and putting strips of dirty canvas over the bright clean paint on the sides of the _Dartaway_ the whole appearance of the craft was changed.

“Now for ourselves,” said Bob. “We’ll wear our oldest clothes.”

If the boys hoped to succeed with little effort they were doomed to disappointment. They spent all the morning cruising around the lake and did not get a glimpse of the craft they wanted. They did not go back to camp for lunch, having brought some eatables with them. In the afternoon the cruise was resumed, but with no better luck.

For three days the boys went forth every morning disguised as fishermen, and came back at night having had their trouble for their pains.

“This is getting tiresome,” said Ned, on the evening of the third day. “We’re having no fun out of this trip at all. Let’s let the thieves go. I don’t believe they have any stuff on the boat.”

“Let’s try one more day,” pleaded Jerry. “We’ll go away down to the other end of the lake.”

So it was agreed. They made an early start the next morning and in the afternoon found themselves cruising around at the extreme southern end of the lake. There the body of water narrowed in one place because of an island close to shore. It was a spot seldom visited, and there were no camps in that vicinity.

“Let’s take a look around the other side of that island,” suggested Jerry, when his companions proposed going home. “There might be a dozen schooners there.”

The _Dartaway_ was headed through the narrow channel. Jerry, who was steering, was proceeding slowly, as he was in unfamiliar waters, and the channel seemed rather shallow.

Suddenly, as the motor boat emerged from the strait, the three boys could hardly help refrain from uttering an exclamation. There, moored to the shore, was the _Bluebird_.

“We’ve found her!” whispered Bob excitedly.

“Hush!” cautioned Jerry. “Pretend to be fishing while I work the boat nearer. Don’t look at the schooner. They may be watching us.”

With swiftly beating hearts the boys listened to the throb of the propeller that brought them nearer and nearer to the _Bluebird_.