Motor Boat Boys on the Great Lakes Part 4

"Just what I meant, Herb," nodded the other.

"And I guess you struck it, all right," commented Josh.

"But if they didn't want to say us agin, what in the d.i.c.kens did they iver kim up this way for, I doan't know?" remarked Jimmie, helplessly.

At that George laughed out loud.

"Wake up, Jimmie!" he exclaimed. "You're asleep, you know. Why, don't you understand that Clarence Macklin never yet took a beat like a fair and square man? He won't rest easy till he's tried it again with the _Wireless_. I happen to know that he hurried his poor old boat to a builder, and had him work on the engine, hoping to stir it up a peg or two. And now he's going to sneak around till he gets the chance to challenge me again."

"And," went on Nick, following up the idea, "he didn't want to drop in here with us, because in the first place he hates us like fun; and then he was afraid George might ask questions about his bally old boat."

"He wants to spring a surprise!" declared Josh. "That's his play all the time. When we had s...o...b..ll battles, Clarence was forever hiding with a bunch of his men, and jumping out suddenly at us. That's where he got his name of Sneaky Clarence."

"Well," remarked Jack, "I hope George gets a chance to show him up again for the fraud that he is; but at the same time I don't want Clarence and Bully Joe bothering us right along. We didn't come up here just to chase around after them."

"Or have the gossoons chasing around afther us, by the same token,"

laughed the Irish lad.

They sat around the fire, and carried on in their usual jolly way, telling stories, laughing, and singing many of the dear old school songs. Six voices, and some of them wonderfully good ones too, made a volume of sound that must have carried far across the bay to the cottages, where the summer residents were doubtless sitting out in the beautiful moonlight.

The boys began to think of retiring about ten or after. A couple of tents had been purchased after coming to the St. Lawrence river country; for somehow all of them became tired of sleeping aboard the boats, since there was little of comfort about it.

These tents had been erected under the supervision of Jack, who knew all about how a camp should be constructed, so that in case of wind or rain no damage was likely to result.

They made a pretty sight now, with the moonlight falling upon them, and the flickering fire adding to the picture.

Jack had wandered down to the edge of the water. The three motor boats were all anch.o.r.ed close by, and everything had been made snug; but of course it was not the intention of the boys to leave things unguarded.

The chances of trouble were too positive to think of such foolishness.

"Too bad, Jack, that the wind has gone down," said a voice at his elbow; and turning Jack saw the grinning countenance of George.

"Oh! I don't know," remarked the other, slowly and cautiously, as if wondering whether George could read his secret thoughts, and know that he was just then thinking of the pretty little girl whose hat he had rescued from the hungry maw of the lake that afternoon.

"Why, I think I hear voices over yonder where they landed, and girls at that," George continued, wickedly. "No doubt the little darlings are about embarking on the return trip to the _Mermaid_. Now, if the wind would only suddenly swoop along, perhaps a boat might be upset. But Jack, with your clothes on, you'd have a tough time swimming out there and saving Rita's life, like you did her bonnet."

"Oh! let up on that, will you?" laughed Jack, good naturedly; for he was used to such joking and jos.h.i.+ng on the part of his mates, and ready to take it in the same spirit of fun that it was meant. "I was thinking about our boats here. Seems to me that whoever is on guard should take up a position where he can keep an eye on the whole outfit. At the first sign of danger he must wake up the bunch of us. Isn't that right, George?"

"Sure it is; but see here, you don't really think anything _will_ happen, do you?" the other demanded, uneasily. "Because if I had any idea that way, I'd feel like going aboard, and sleeping there, uncomfortable as a narrow speed boat is. Why, it'd nearly break my heart if anything knocked my _Wireless_ just now, and spoiled the rest of my vacation."

"Oh! I guess there's no real danger," said Jack, quickly; "but you know my way of being cautious. An ounce of prevention, they say, George, is better than a pound of cure. We insure our boats against explosion and loss; why not do the same about our chances for a jolly good time?"

"Right you are, Jack. That's a long head you carry on your shoulders,"

admitted the skipper of the speed craft. "But there they come. I can see the boat, and the white dresses of the girls. She is a little angel, Jack, and seriously I don't blame you for wanting to see more of Miss Rita Andrews; but the chances are against you, old fellow."

"Well, girls were the last thing we had in mind when we started on this trip," remarked Jack. "We left lots of pretty ones at home, you know; and we're getting letters from some of them right along. There, they've made the big power boat all right, and are getting aboard."

"And you can go to sleep with an easy mind," laughed George, "because the young lady wasn't wrecked in port. But perhaps we might happen to catch up with 'em at the Soo, Jack. No doubt you had thought of that?"

"We expect to be at Mackinac first, and people generally stop off there a day or two," remarked the pilot of the _Tramp_, falling into the little trap shrewd lawyer George had set for him; whereat the other gave him a dig in the ribs, and ran off to the camp to get his blankets ready for his first nap.

But nothing out of the way did happen that night, though the motor boat boys kept faithful watch and ward, one of them being on duty an hour or more at a time up to dawn.

With the coming of the sun over the water all were awake, and preparations for breakfast underway. Jack, Nick and Josh concluded to take a morning dip, while the rest were looking after the cooking of a heap of delicious flapjacks done to a brown turn as only the wonderful Josh could coax them.

Smoke rising slowly from the big power boat's cook's galley pipe announced that preparations were underway there for an early start.

Indeed, the vessel started to leave the harbor even while Jack and his mates were still sitting around the fire, disposing of the appetizing mess that had been so skillfully prepared for the crowd.

"Jack, it's all right!" laughed George.

"Yes," chimed in Nick, innocently, with a sigh of relief, "they're heading north, sure as anything."

"Oh! we forgot there was a pair of 'em, sighing like furnaces," jeered Josh.

But Jack and the fat boy only laughed.

"Rank jealousy, Nick; don't you bother your head about such cruel remarks," said the former, winking to the stout youth.

"Well, everybody get busy now," said George, jumping to his feet. "It looks like we might have a fairly decent day, if that blessed old wind keeps away. My boat rolls like fun when in a wash, and I don't like it a bit. Hope we'll have the air out of the southwest today, so we'll be s.h.i.+elded by the sh.o.r.e."

He hurried off to get aboard. The others were not far behind, for tents had been taken down, and blankets stowed, while breakfast was being cooked; so that there was not a great deal to do now.

Then, after a last survey of the late camp had been taken by cautious Jack, in order to make sure that nothing was forgotten and the fire dead, he too stepped into his little d.i.n.ky, paddled out to where Jimmie awaited him aboard the _Tramp_; and five minutes later the little flotilla started, amid a tremendous popping of motors, and much calling back and forth on the part of skippers and crews.

Once outside the protecting cape they headed due nor'-east by north, and kept just a certain distance away from the sh.o.r.e.

It was a lovely morning, and gave promise of a fine day; but these cruisers had learned through bitter experience never to wholly trust such signs. In summer at any rate, storms can develop with suddenness on the big lakes, and a squall start to blowing without warning. Hence they had adopted as a motto, the slogan of the Boy Scouts: "Be Prepared!"

George called out to the skipper of the _Tramp_, and pointed ahead, where, several miles to the north could be seen the dim shape of the big power boat, rapidly covering the distance that intervened between the cove and charming Mackinac Island.

"They'll be at Mackinac tonight, all right, Jack!" shouted George, who led the little procession in his speed boat.

Jack made no attempt at a reply; but Jimmie took up the cudgels at once.

"Sure we'll make it by tomorry night, if all goes well," he said; "and begorra, not wan of our boats is in the same cla.s.s wid the big wan. Take the three togither and they'd be only a bite for the _Mermaid_. So we bate thim aisy now."

So they chugged along as time pa.s.sed. In an hour all signs of the larger craft had pa.s.sed from their sight. At noon they opened up Thunder Bay; and thinking to make the dangerous crossing of its broad mouth before having lunch, they kept on.

It was rather rough traveling, especially for the narrow _Wireless_; and acting upon Jack's suggestion George hovered close to the others, so as to have help in case of trouble, and be partly sheltered from the rollers by keeping in their lee.

But the pa.s.sage was made in safety; and after that their course changed to some extent. The sh.o.r.e turned more toward the northwest, so that they headed into the wind, which was creating some sea, in which the small craft wallowed considerably.

An hour later Jack began to cast anxious glances toward the sh.o.r.e, hoping to discover an opening of some sort, in which the fleet might take refuge. For the sky was darkening by degrees, and he fancied he caught the muttering of thunder in the distance.

On their starboard quarter nothing could be seen but a vast heaving expanse of water; for Lake Huron at this point stretches more than fifty miles, before Grand Manitoulin Island is reached to the northeast.

It would be a bad place for such small craft to be caught in a storm.

Still, the sh.o.r.e looked strangely devoid of any indentation, and Jack's fears increased as the minutes pa.s.sed without any change for the better cropping up. But he did not express these aloud, and even his boatmate Jimmie, although often casting a look of anxious inquiry at the face of his skipper, could not tell what was pa.s.sing in his mind.