The Voyage of the Hoppergrass Part 27

"T-Tuesday. That's right. W-Well, F-Father g-gave us this awful j-j-jolt at l-l-luncheon. Th-That was F-Father's idea of m-making m- m-merry. It didn't t-t-tickle us m-most to d-death, s-s-somehow.

We t-talked it over that afternoon, out in the b-barn, and we decided to k-k-k-k-quit. We'd t-take the b-boat ourselves, and--"

"We were all going to sail over to Big Duck in a cat-boat, you know. Father hires a boat every summer."

"S-Say, S-S-Spike, g-go ahead, if you want to."

"I don't. You go on,--you're getting there all right. You'll come to the point in an hour or two."

"W-Well, I aint c-c-crazy about it, you know... W-Well, we were all going, the whole f-family, in a new cat-boat that belongs to C-Captain B-Bill P-P-P-Prendergast. We hadn't seen her, 'cause he's had her over at P-Porpoise Island all s-summer, taking out s-sailing p-parties. F-Father said she was d-down at W-W-Woodwell's Wharf--C-C-Captain B-Bill had brought her over in the morning, and then he'd gone back to P-Porpoise Island. He was engaged to c-c- cook c-c-clam chowders at the American House. W-We were going to sail her over to Big D-Duck--S-S-Spike and I--w-w-while F-Father m-messed around and th-thought he was running the whole s-s-show.

That was his p-p-p-plan. B-B-But we decided to nip his g-g-game in the b-b-b-bud, b-b-b-b-(oh! hang it!) b-b-by sneakin' down ahead of the f-family, and just sailing away on that b-boat, and embarking on a c-c-career of pup-pup-pup-piracy!"

"You see," said Spike, "we got so sick of all this Kidd talk that we thought we might as well get something out of it."

"B-Besides," said the other, "w-we were d-d-d-desperate. W-We g- got this f-f-flag--s-skull and cross-bones, you know that we had on our b-boat, the 'J-J-Jolly Roger,' last summer, and we l-l-lit out for W-W-Woodwell's Wharf to f-f-f-f-fool F-Father. It was p- pretty f-f-foggy when we got to the wharf, and we s-saw it wouldn't be s-safe for F-Father and M-M-Mother and B-Betty and Alice and the b-b-baby to go sailing, anyhow. But there wasn't any b-boat at W-Woodwells,--she was over at M-M-Mulliken's Wharf. So w-we s-skun around, and g-got aboard, hoisted the s-sail, and s-started down the river. W-We were nearly out into the b-bay before it struck us that we weren't on the right b-boat."

"I went down into the cabin," said Spike, "and it was all full of bags and things. Our stuff had gone over--some of it--to Big Duck that morning, by the steamer. And the rest, Father was going to bring down to the wharf in the carriage. But these bags were marked a lot of strange names,--Toppan, and Edwards, and so on."

"T-Tell him about the n-name, S-S-Spike."

"Oh, yes. There was a strip of canvas. .h.i.tched over the stern,--it had something painted on it in black letters. I hung over the stern, but I couldn't make it out,--because it looked upside down, of course. So I got out in the tender and read it, and it was 'Hannah J. Pettingell.' Then there was another name under that,--in gilt letters, in the regular way. That seemed kind of funny, and when I got back on the boat we unhitched the cords and pulled up the canvas sign. I tried again, hanging over the stern, and spelled out the gilt letters, one at a time. The name was 'Hoppergra.s.s.' We thought there must be some funny business,--a boat with two names, like that."

"That's why the Captain had the crier call it the Hannah Pettingell," I reflected.

"Well, we knew we were on the wrong boat," said Spike, "because Captain Bill Prendergast's is the 'Clara'."

"B-B-But what could we d-d-d-do? We didn't d-dare to go b-back. If F-Father didn't l-l-l-lambaste the l-l-l-life out of us, the o-owner of this b-boat would. We had s-started out to be pup-pup- pirates, and we had m-made a b-b-bully g-g-good beginning, b-by g-g-gum!"

"Say, you don't own this boat, do you?" asked Spike, suddenly.

"No."

"Oh, th-that's too bad! J-Just think. If you d-did, n-now we've s-s-s-saved you from S-Snider you'd be in a f-friendly f-f-frame of mind, and we could t-turn the b-boat over to you, everything f-forgiven, and no k-k-k-questions asked."

"It belongs to Captain Bannister, and I wish you'd tell me where he is," I answered.

"D-D-Do you think you can s-s-square us with B-B-B-Bal.u.s.ter?"

"Ye-es,--I guess so."

I did not want to be dismal about it, but my own opinion was that the Captain would be furious. His boat had been missing now for two days.

"W-Well, if he thinks we've been having a p-p-p-picnic, that's where he's off. We s-sailed over to S-S-Squid C-Cove that night, and went ash.o.r.e in the t-t-tender. It was d-d-dark as a p-p- pocket, and this ch-ch-chump here, S-Spike, didn't make the t-tender f-fast to the s-slip, and she f-floated off. The f-fog was so thick that we couldn't s-see the yacht, and we didn't dare t-try to s-swim for her, b-because if we got wet and c-couldn't f-find her, and had to l-l-loaf around all night on s-sh.o.r.e, s-s- soppin' wet, why, that would be r-r-rotten, you see. S-Spike s-s- stripped and s-swum out into the f-fog, but he couldn't f-f-find her, and we thought the b-b-blooming yacht had g-gone adrift, t-too! And so we s-stayed on sh-sh.o.r.e, and slept in a p-p-potato- patch, and all we had to eat was some r-r-radishes. I ate f-f- fiiteen of 'em, and they g-g-gave me the p-p-p-p-pip... And when we woke up in the m-morning, there was the t-tender, on sh-sh.o.r.e, about t-twenty yards away,-she had f-floated b-back again, you see."

We were getting out into the Bay, and I asked them where they were going.

"G-G-G-G-Give it up; there's no p-place that's s-safe for us, now.

Everyone's hand is against us."

I asked them to head for Lanesport, and told them that I expected to meet the rest of the "Hoppergra.s.s's" crew there.

"L-L-L-L-L-Lanesport!" exclaimed the boy at the wheel, "it w-would be sailing into the j-j-jaws of d-d-d-death! W-Why, d-don't you s-see when we s-stole this b-boat w-we c-committed pup-pup-piracy on the high s-s-seas! They'd s-s-s-string us right up at the y-y- yard-arm!"

"Oh, no, they wouldn't. I'll fix it up with Captain Bannister."

"That's all right," said Spike, "but piracy isn't the only thing they've got against us."

"Isn't it?"

"Not by a long shot."

"Why, what else have you done?"

"B-B-Burglary, b-b-by g-g-gum! S-S-Say, what were you f-fellows doing? This b-boat is said to be owned by n-notorious b-b-b-b- burglars and thieves!"

I put my head down on the cabin, and laughed until I thought I should choke.

"You can laugh, but it didn't look like a joke to us."

"You b-bet it didn't."

"Where did you go from Squid Cove?"

"We stayed right there most of the morning,--eating breakfast, and getting some sleep, and--"

"R-R-Recoverin' from the p-p-p-p-potato-patch."

"Then we sailed around the Bay, and just fooled about until the last part of the afternoon. All the time we were wondering who this boat belonged to, and what they were doing about it. Once we started to abandon her at Squid Cove, and write a 'nonymous letter to the owner at Lanesport. Then Spook here, the big galoot, thought it would be a good idea to sail over to Bailey's Harbor and find out what had happened, and if there was any news of Father and--"

"Th-That's where I w-was f-f-f-foxy!"

"Yes! So foxy that you nearly got us jugged. You would have, if we had gone up the inlet. 'Twas just luck that we didn't. We anch.o.r.ed quite a way down, and thought we'd have supper first and then go ash.o.r.e after dark. Say, those mince turnovers were great! There was a dory came along with a couple of little boys, about nine or ten years old. We noticed that they stopped and looked at the boat, but we didn't think anything of that until half an hour later. We were eating supper, down in the cabin, and Spook looked out one of the cabin windows and saw another boat, with two men in it. One of them was armed--"

"W-With a pup-pup-pitchfork!"

"They squinted round for a few minutes, and then THEY went up the inlet again. 'Bout twenty minutes later, just as we were hauling up the anchor and going to sail up to the village, Spook sung out that there were three dories coming down, all full of men with pitchforks--"

"And g-g-g-g-guns!"

"He said, 'They're onto us,--they've heard about our stealing this boat!' I put her about quick, and it was mighty lucky there was a breeze. Ten minutes before, it was almost a dead calm. As soon as we swung around they began to yell--"

"L-L-Like b-b-blue b-b-blazes! Th-There was one g-great b-b-big d-d-d-d-d-duffer, about t-t-ten f-feet t-t-tall! He w-was the one I s-saw in the b-boat w-while we were eating s-supper, w-with the pup-pup-pitchfork..."

"That was Eb," I remarked,--"it's lucky he didn't catch you!"

"E-E-Eb?"

"Yes. He's the constable. Savagest man I ever saw. He arrests people for almost anything,--for playing banjos."

"W-Well, we d-didn't p-p-play any b-b-b-banjos then, b-by g-g- gum! I thought it w-was all up with us, and that we'd b-be d-d-d- dangling on the g-g-g-gallows b-b-before l-l-long! You s-see, they g-g-gained on us, at f-first. They r-rowed l-l-like fuf-fuf- fiends! B-But we b-began to d-draw ahead, and then the d-d-d-d- duffer with the pup-pitchfork--he was in the b-bow of the f-first b-boat--b-began to yell and b-b-bellow. He s-said that if we d-didn't s-stop he'd f-fill us f-full of b-b-b-b-b-bullets!