Darry the Life Saver Part 20

"She's moving!" yelled Paul Singleton, excitedly.

Darry kept right along, pulling with even more vim than before.

"Bully boy! she's coming! I can feel her move each time. If only an inch, it is something. We're going to get her off! It's a cinch, I tell you!"

Plainly Paul Singleton was considerably excited over the changed prospect that confronted him, and his cries gave the lad heart to exert himself to the utmost.

Suddenly he found that he was towing the launch behind him.

She had left her berth in between the two rocks and floated on the waves.

The owner gave a last whoop of delight.

"I knew if anyone could accomplish it, you would. I think you must be my good genius, Darry. To think of our meeting again here in the middle of the bay and just when I was on my way to your home to see if I could induce you to keep your half-given promise. It's great! Tell me about destiny after this."

That was the way Paul was calling out, as he busied himself in righting things aboard the jaunty little cedar craft.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SHE HAD LEFT HER BERTH IN BETWEEN THE TWO ROCKS AND FLOATED ON THE WAVES.]

"Now, what's to hinder you coming aboard and towing the rowboat astern?

The engine is all right and capable of twelve miles an hour, so we can go with this blow easily enough," he suggested.

Darry was quite willing, for his arms felt a bit weary after his exerions, and the launch did look comfortable, even though fairly drenched just then, as a result of the waves breaking over the stern while she was held a prisoner in the jaws of rock.

The transfer was made without any particular trouble, and once Darry had secured his boat to the bra.s.s cleat in the stern of the launch he set to work throwing some of the surplus water overboard.

"Working your pa.s.sage, eh?" laughed Paul, who seemed to be in unusually high spirits, such was the re-action that had come over him.

Meanwhile they drew in toward the land.

What with the rain that was falling both of them were wet through; but this was such a chronic condition for a sailor lad to be in that Darry, for one, paid little attention to it.

CHAPTER XIX

THE PART OF AN ELDER BROTHER

"Come," said Paul, after the boat had been tied up where the waves could not reach them and things had begun to a.s.sume a more comfortable aspect; "Here's a fine little cabin and an oil stove on which to make a hot pot of coffee, besides a.s.sisting to dry us out. I insist on you staying to keep me company for a while. We are both cold and wet. Say you will, Darry!"

Darry did not need much urging. He was wet and chilled, and it did look cozy after Paul had started the stove going.

"Besides," continued Paul, misconstruing his silence; "I am under heavy obligations to you for coming to my a.s.sistance when you did. You saved my life and you are a regular life saver like Mr. Peake. There must be some way in which I can partly cancel that debt. You are allowed salvage by law when you save a vessel, Darry, did you know it? But for your coming my poor little _Griffin_ must have gone to pieces, not to mention what would have become of her owner. Now, how can I settle for this indebtedness."

He was laughing as he spoke, but Darry considered the moment had come for him to put in a plea for his friends.

So he swallowed what seemed to be a lump in his throat, for after all it was no easy thing to ask such a favor from one who was hardly more than a stranger.

"Mr. Singleton, I was just wis.h.i.+ng I could meet you somewhere soon," he began.

"Well, that is queer, since I was thinking about you too, and hoping you would not go back on me, for somehow, I seem to have set my mind on having you with me. And besides, there was another reason why I wanted to keep track of you, which I may tell you some day soon, Darry. But why were you wanting to see me?"

"To ask a great favor?"

"Not to let you off from your promise?"

"Oh, no, I'll be only too glad of a chance to be with you. It would be glorious to spend some time aboard this fine little boat. What I wanted to say--that is, the favor I wanted to ask was not for myself."

"Come, that's rather strange, Darry. Not for yourself--a favor for another? Let's hear what it's about. You've certainly excited my curiosity, and don't hesitate a bit about it. I shall be only too willing to do anything that lies in my power, if it pleases you."

The words were most kind, and the smile that accompanied them even more so.

Darry flushed with a sense of coming victory, for something told him he was in line to win out, and that the money-shark would be cheated of his prey.

"I want to borrow a hundred dollars, sir," he said, slowly.

Paul laughed as if amused.

Immediately taking out his pocket-book he withdrew from it a bank bill of a large denomination and handed it to his companion, who received it in an embarra.s.sed way.

"There you are, Darry, and there is no loan about it. I owe you many times that much for your a.s.sistance. Now, don't say anything about it, for I am not used to being crossed. It's a mere bagatelle to me, as you must know. Some time if you feel like it you may tell me the circ.u.mstances that have arisen; but not until you're good and ready. I'm only too delighted to be of a little help."

"I'm going to tell you all about it right here. It's only fair you should know where your money is going, sir. As soon as I get my breath you shall hear," went on Darry, fingering the hundred dollar bill as though he could hardly believe his senses.

Never did a bill of like denomination seem to carry more happiness in its touch; he could easily picture the light that would dawn upon the worried features of Mrs. Peake when he handed her that mortgage, canceled, and Abner, too, how he would be likely to throw up his hat in the air and shout like a boy.

Paul Singleton had been observing him curiously, but with kindling eyes, as if he saw more and more in this boy to admire; he could give something of a guess as to what was coming, and hence was not much surprised a little later when he heard the story of Darius Quarles and his long-slumbering revenge.

He laughed heartily at the quaint way in which Abner had hinted about Nancy tumbling overboard on purpose, in order to discover which of her lovers was the better man.

"I've met the lady, and to tell the truth I really believe she would have been equal to such a prank some years back. There's a lurking spirit of mischief in her eyes to this day, though I know she has met with a great grief lately, for I heard all about poor little Joe," Paul said, after Darry had finished.

"You can never understand how glad I am to be able to bring a little joy to this poor couple. They have not known much happiness, sir. Even now, Abner is compelled to be away from home all the time in order to earn bread for his family."

Paul Singleton seemed to consider.

"We'll talk that over later on, Darry, when we have plenty of time," he answered. "Perhaps I may be able to suggest a remedy. I have shares in several properties down this way, and possibly Abner can be given a steady job as keeper at the club, or put in charge of a farm I own not far away from here. Depend upon it, some means can be found to help your benefactor out. I'd rather talk about you, just now, and what you have seen in your adventurous past. In fact, I'd like to know everything that ever happened to you, if you don't mind," he continued.

Again Darry had that queer sensation pa.s.s over him, and he could not but remember what Abner had said about the possibility of his finding out something connected with his childhood, and that this young gentleman would be the means of supplying the missing link.

So as they sat there and sipped the delicious coffee and dried out in comfort, he answered all the questions Paul could think of asking.

They covered his entire past, from his earliest recollection, and especially about the old man who had finally deserted him in Naples, for he naturally occupied a prominent place in the recital.

Darry had called him uncle, but thought the man could not have held that relations.h.i.+p toward him. He never knew what had become of the old man, but suspected that he must have met with some fatal accident in the Italian city.