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{\centering
{\LARGE\strut{BUDD BOYD'S TRIUMPH}}
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\noindent
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the \hyperlink{project-gutenberg-license}{Project Gutenberg License} included with
this ebook or online at {https://www.gutenberg.org/license}. If you
are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
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\noindent
Title: Budd Boyd's Triumph
 \\
       or, The Boy-Firm of Fox Island
 \\

 \\
Author: William Pendleton Chipman
 \\

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Release Date: May 18, 2012 {[}eBook \#39732{]}
 \\

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Language: English
 \\

 \\
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*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BUDD BOYD'S TRIUMPH ***
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\noindent
Produced by Al Haines.
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{\LARGE\strut{BUDD BOYD'S TRIUMPH;}}
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{\normalsize{ OR,}}
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{\centering
{\Large\strut{THE BOY-FIRM OF FOX ISLAND.}}
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{\normalsize{ By WILLIAM PENDLETON CHIPMAN,}}
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{\itshape{{\footnotesize{Author of}}}}
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"Roy Gilbert's Search," "The Mill-Boy of the Genesee,"
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"The Black Forge Mills," etc., etc.
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{\footnotesize{ILLUSTRATED.}}
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{\footnotesize{NEW YORK:}}
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A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER.
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{\footnotesize{COPYRIGHT 1890, BY A. L. BURT.}}
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――――
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CONTENTS}

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\item[] {\noindent}
\hyperlink{chapter-i-budd-seeks-employment}{CHAPTER I.--BUDD SEEKS EMPLOYMENT.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-ii-a-slight-misunderstanding}{CHAPTER II.--A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-iii-against-wind-and-tide}{CHAPTER III.--AGAINST WIND AND TIDE.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-iv-a-new-friend}{CHAPTER IV.--A NEW FRIEND.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-v-mr-benton-s-wrath}{CHAPTER V.--MR. BENTON'S WRATH.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-vi-the-new-firm}{CHAPTER VI.--THE NEW FIRM.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-vii-business-booms}{CHAPTER VII.--BUSINESS BOOMS.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-viii-the-lost-ox-cart}{CHAPTER VIII.--THE LOST OX-CART.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-ix-the-three-intruders}{CHAPTER IX.--THE THREE INTRUDERS.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-x-budd-s-story}{CHAPTER X.--BUDD'S STORY.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xi-an-unfortunate-predicament}{CHAPTER XI.--AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xii-budd-s-trial}{CHAPTER XII.--BUDD'S TRIAL.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xiii-mr-benton-s-little-game}{CHAPTER XIII.--MR. BENTON'S LITTLE GAME.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xiv-two-opportunities}{CHAPTER XIV.--TWO OPPORTUNITIES.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xv-budd-entrapped}{CHAPTER XV.--BUDD ENTRAPPED.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xvi-judd-makes-an-important-discovery}{CHAPTER XVI.--JUDD MAKES AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xvii-budd-s-escape}{CHAPTER XVII.--BUDD'S ESCAPE.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xviii-caught}{CHAPTER XVIII.--CAUGHT.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xix-mr-johnson-is-astonished}{CHAPTER XIX.--MR. JOHNSON IS ASTONISHED.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xx-the-confession}{CHAPTER XX.--THE CONFESSION.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xxi-father-and-son}{CHAPTER XXI.--FATHER AND SON.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xxii-an-exciting-adventure}{CHAPTER XXII.--AN EXCITING ADVENTURE.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xxiii-a-manly-rescue}{CHAPTER XXIII.--A MANLY RESCUE.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xxiv-the-firm-s-profits}{CHAPTER XXIV.--THE FIRM'S PROFITS.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{chapter-xxv-mr-johnson-s-munificence}{CHAPTER XXV.--MR. JOHNSON'S MUNIFICENCE.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{the-bear-and-the-bomb-shell}{THE BEAR AND THE BOMB SHELL.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{an-afternoon-at-sagamore-pond}{AN AFTERNOON AT SAGAMORE POND.}\par

\item[] \hyperlink{how-jack-went-tiger-hunting}{HOW JACK WENT TIGER-HUNTING.}\par
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――――
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{\LARGE\strut{BUDD BOYD'S TRIUMPH.}}
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{\noindent}
CHAPTER I.--BUDD SEEKS EMPLOYMENT.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
It was a raw, cold, day in the month of March.
Since early morning the clouds had been
gathering, and they now hung dark and heavy over both
land and sea.  The wind, too, which had for hours
been steadily increasing in violence, now blew little
short of a gale.  It evidently was going to be a
terrible night, and that night was near at hand.\par

No one realized this more than the young lad,
who, with a small bundle in one hand and a stout
staff in the other, was walking rapidly along the
highway that runs near the west shore of Narragansett
Bay.  He was a lad that would have attracted
attention anywhere.  Tall for his age, which could
not have been far from sixteen years, he was also of
good proportions, and walked with an ease and
stride which suggested reserved strength and
muscular development.\par

But it was the lad's face that was the most noticeable.
Frank, open, of singular beauty in feature and
outline, there were also upon it unmistakable
evidences of intelligence, resoluteness, and honesty of
purpose.  A close observer might also have detected
traces of suffering or of sorrow on it--possibly of
some great burden hard to bear.\par

The lad was none too warmly clad for the chilly
air and piercing wind, and now and then drew his
light overcoat about him as though even his rapid
walking did not make him entirely comfortable.
He also looked eagerly ahead, like one who was
watching for some signs of his destination.  He
drew a sigh of relief as he reached the foot of a
steep hill, and said aloud:\par

"I must be near the place, now.  They said it
was at the top of the first long hill I came to, and
this must be the hill."\par

As he spoke he quickened his pace to a run, and
soon reached the summit, quite out of breath, but
with a genial warmth in his body that he had not
experienced for some hours.\par

Pausing now a moment to catch his breath, he
looked about him.  Dim as was the light of the
fast-falling evening, he could not help giving an
exclamation of delight at the vision he beheld.  To
the north and west of him he saw the twinkling
lights of several villages through which he had
already passed.  To the east of him was the bay,
its tossing waves capped with white, its islands like
so many dark gems on the bosom of the angry
waters.  To the south there was first a stretch of
land, and then the broad expanse of the well-nigh
boundless ocean.\par

"It must be a beautiful place to live, and I hope
to find a home here," he remarked, as he resumed
his journey.\par

A few rods farther on he came to a farm-house,
and turned up to its nearest door.  As he was about
to knock, a man came from the barn-yard, a little
distance away, and accosted him:\par

"Good-evening!"\par

"Good-evening!" responded the lad.\par

Then he asked:\par

"Is this Mr. Benton?"\par

"No; I'm Mr. Wright," answered the man,
pleasantly.  "Benton lives on the next farm.  You will
have to turn into the next gateway and go down the
lane, as his house stands some distance from the road."\par

"I was told," explained the lad, "that he wished
to hire help, and I hoped to get work there.  Could
you tell me what the prospect is?"\par

The man had now reached the boy's side, and was
looking him over with evident curiosity.\par

"Well," he replied, slowly, "I think he wants to
get a young fellow for the coming season, and hadn't
hired anyone the last I knew.  But I guess you must
be a stranger in these parts."\par

"Yes," the lad answered, briefly; and then
thanking the man for his information he turned away.\par

"I thought so," the man called after him, "else
you wouldn't want to go there to work."\par

The boy scarcely gave heed to the remark then;
but it was not long before he knew by hard
experience the meaning of it.\par

A quarter of a mile farther on he reached a gate,
and passing through it, he hastened down the
narrow lane till he came to a long, low, dilapidated
house; but in the darkness, which had by this time
fallen, he was not able to form any definite idea of
his surroundings.\par

A feeble light came forth from a back window,
and guided by this, he found the rear door of the
building.  To his knock there was a chorus of
responses.  Dogs barked, children screamed, and above
the din a gruff voice shouted:\par

"Come in!"\par

A little disconcerted by the unusual sounds, the
lad, instead of obeying the invitation, knocked
again.  Then there was a heavy step across the
floor, the door swung open with a jerk, and a tall,
raw-boned man, shaggy-bearded and shock-haired,
stood on the threshold.\par

Eying the lad for a moment in surprise, he asked,
somewhat surlily:\par

"What do you want, youngster?"\par

"Are you Mr. Benton?" the lad asked.\par

"Yes; what of it?" the man answered, sharply.\par

"I was told you wanted help, and I have called to
see about it," explained the boy.\par

"Come in, then," said the man, and his tones were
wonderfully modified.\par

The lad now obeyed, and found himself in a large
room, evidently the kitchen and living-room all in
one.  There was no carpet on the floor, and a stove,
a table and a half-dozen chairs constituted its furniture.\par

Two large dogs lay before the fire, growling
sullenly.  A woman and four small children were
seated at the table.  An empty chair and an
unemptied plate showed that Mr. Benton had been
eating when he was called to the door.\par

There was food enough upon the table, but its
disorderly arrangement, and the hap-hazard way in
which each child was helping itself, caused the lad
to give an involuntary shudder as his host invited
him to sit down "an' take a bite while they talked
over business together."\par

Mr. Benton evidently meant to give his caller a
most flattering impression of his hospitality, for he
heaped the lad's plate with cold pork, brown bread,
and vegetables, and even called on his wife to get
some of that "apple sass" for the young stranger.\par

The boy was hungry, and the food was, after all,
wholesome, and he stowed away a quantity that
surprised himself, if not his host.  When supper was
eaten, Mr. Benton pushed back his chair and
abruptly asked his guest:\par

"Who are ye?"\par

"Budd Boyd," promptly answered the lad.\par

"That's a kinder cur'us name, now ain't it?"
questioned Mr. Benton.  "I dunno any Boyds round
here.  Where be ye from?"\par

"I came from Massachusetts," replied Budd, with
the air of one who had studied his answer; but it
seemed for some reason to be very satisfactory to
his questioner.\par

"Any parents?" next inquired Mr. Benton.\par

"My mother is dead, and my father is not keeping
house now.  I'm to look out for myself," said
the lad, somewhat hesitatingly.\par

"I guess ye ain't used to farm work, be ye?"
now inquired Mr. Benton, doubtingly, and looking
at Budd's hands, which were as white and soft as a
lady's.\par

"No, sir; but I'm willing to learn," said the lad.\par

"Of course ye can't expect much in the way of
wages," remarked Mr. Benton, cautiously.\par

"No, not until I can do my full share of work,"
said Budd, indifferently.\par

A light gleamed for a moment in Mr. Benton's eyes.\par

"I might give ye ten dollars a month an' board,
beginnin' the fust of the month, ye to work round
for yer board till then," he ventured.\par

"Very well," responded the lad; and immediately
after he added:\par

"I've walked a good ways to-day, and if you don't
mind, I'll go to my room."\par

"Purhaps we'd better draw up a paper of agreement,
an' both of us sign it," suggested Mr. Benton,
rubbing his hands vigorously together, as though
well pleased with himself and everybody else.\par

"All right, if that is your custom," said Budd.
"Draw up the paper, and I'll sign it."\par

After considerable effort, Mr. Benton produced
the following document:\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
On this 20 day of March Budd Boyd, a miner of
Mass., agres to work for me, John Benton.  He's to
begin work April fust, an' work 6 munths, at 10
dollers an' bord.  He's to work til the fust for his
bord.  If he quits work before his time is up he's to
have no pay.  To this I agree.\par

JOHN BENTON, on his part.\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
Budd read the paper, and could scarcely suppress
a smile as he signed his name under Mr. Benton's,
and in imitation of him, added the words "on his
part" after the signature.  He knew, however
much importance Mr. Benton might attach to it,
that as a legal document it had no special force.  He
simply set the whole act down as one of the whims
of his employer, and gave no more thought to the
matter.  But it was destined to serve that gentleman's
purpose, nevertheless, until taken forcibly
from him.\par

Mr. Benton now showed Budd up to a back room
on the second floor, and telling him that he would
call him early in the morning, bade him good-night.\par

The room the lad had entered was bare and cold.
A single chair, a narrow bedstead, a rude rack on
the wall to hang his garments upon, were all it
contained.  Yet it was evidently with some satisfaction
that the lad opened his bundle, hung up the few
clothes it held, and prepared for bed.  As he drew
the quilts over himself he murmured:\par

"I don't think I ever had more uncomfortable
quarters in my life, and the outlook for the next six
months, at least, is far from encouraging.  Still, I
would not go back to what I have left behind for
anything."\par

He was tired.  The rain that was now falling
heavily upon the roof just over his head acted as a
sedative and lulled him to sleep.  But his was not
an unbroken rest, for at times he tossed to and fro,
and muttered strange sentences.  One was, "Father
never did it; how could they treat him so?"  Another,
"I can never face them again; no, never!"  Still
another, "Thank Heaven, mother never lived
to know the worst!" After that the troubled sleeper
must have had pleasanter dreams, for he murmured
the words, "Mother; father; a home at last!"  From
these, however, he was rudely awakened by a
gruff call:\par

"Budd!  Budd! get up and come out to the barn."\par

Dazed, bewildered, he arose, and groped about in
the darkness for his clothing.  By the time he was
dressed a full consciousness of his situation had come
back to him, and with a stout heart he went out, to
begin what was to him equally new duties and a new life.\par

\penalty-300%
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CHAPTER II.--A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
It was still dark, and the rain fell in torrents as
Budd opened the kitchen door and ran hastily
out to the barn, where Mrs. Benton, who was
making preparations for breakfast, had told him he
would find her husband.  He noticed the kitchen
time-piece as he passed through the room, and knew
it was not yet four o'clock.  Early rising was
evidently one of the things to be expected in his new
home.\par

Reaching the barn quite drenched, Budd found
Mr. Benton engaged in feeding a dozen or more
gaunt and ill-kept cows, who seized the musty hay
thrown down to them with an avidity that suggested,
on their part, a scarcity of rations.  The same
untidiness that marked the house was to be seen about
the barn also, which, if anything, was in a more
dilapidated condition than the former.\par

"Good-morning, Mr. Benton.  What can I do to
assist you?" asked Budd, pleasantly, as soon as he
entered the barn.\par

"Hum!  I don't suppose ye can milk?" was the
rather ungracious response.\par

"No, sir; but I'm willing to learn," replied Budd,
good-naturedly.\par

"Well, I'll see 'bout that after awhile.  I suppose
ye might as well begin now as any time.  But fust
git up on that mow an' throw down more hay.
These pesky critters eat more'n their necks are
wuth," said Mr. Benton, kicking savagely at a cow
that was reaching out for the wad of hay he was
carrying by her.\par

Budd obeyed with alacrity; and when that job
was finished it was followed by others, including the
milking, wherein the lad proved an apt scholar,
until nearly six o'clock, when Mrs. Benton's shrill
voice summoned them to breakfast.  That meal,
possibly on account of Budd's want of the good
appetite he had had the night before, seemed to him
greatly inferior to his supper.  The coffee was bitter
and sweetened with molasses, the johnny-cakes were
burnt, and the meat and vegetables were cold.  He
did his best to eat heartily of the unsavory food,
however--partly that he might not seem to his
employer over-fastidious in taste, and partly because
the morning's work had taught him that he should
need all the strength he could obtain ere his day's
task was over.  Stormy though it was, he felt sure
Mr. Benton would find enough for him to do.\par

In fact, long before the first of April came, Budd
realized fully the force of the words Mr. Wright had
shouted after him the night he stopped there to
inquire the way to Mr. Benton's.  Had he really
known his employer and family, he certainly would
not have been over-anxious to have hired out to him
for the season; for the dilapidated condition of the
buildings and the untidiness and disorder that
marked everything about the place were not, after
all, the worst features with which Budd had to deal.
He soon found that his employer was a hard, cruel,
grasping tyrant, while his wife was a complete
termagant, scolding and fault-finding incessantly from
morning until night.  There was not an animal on
the place that escaped the abuse of the master, and
not even the master himself escaped the tirades of
the mistress.\par

Budd, by faithfully performing every task
assigned him, and thus frequently doing twice over
what a lad of his age should have been expected to
do, tried to win the approval of both Mr. Benton
and his wife.  He soon found this impossible, and
so contented himself with doing what he felt to be
right, and cheerfully bore the scoldings that soon
became an hourly occurrence.\par

It was indeed astonishing with what good nature
the lad bore both the work and the abuse put upon
him.  Mr. Benton attributed it to the paper he had
asked the boy to sign, and chuckled to himself at
the thought that Budd's fear of losing his wages
kept him so industrious and docile.  He confidentially
admitted to his wife, one day, that the lad was
worth twice what he had agreed to pay him; "only
I ain't paid him nothin' as yit," he added, with a
knowing look, which his wife seemed to understand,
for she replied:\par

"Now ye are up to another of yer capers, John
Benton.  There never was a man on the earth
meaner than ye are!"\par

But Mr. Wright, who knew his neighbors well,
could in no way account for the lad's willingness to
endure what he knew he must be enduring, and
finally his curiosity got the better of him; for,
meeting Budd one day as he was returning from the
nearest village, he drew up his horses and said:\par

"Budd, do you know you are the profoundest
example of human patience I ever saw?"\par

"No; is that so?" replied Budd, with a laugh.
"What makes you think so?"\par

"Well," remarked Mr. Wright, leaning on his
wagon-seat and looking down into the smiling
countenance before him, "I have lived here beside
John Benton and his wife ten years, and know them
well enough to be sure that an angel direct from
Heaven couldn't long stand their abuse; and yet
you have actually been there four weeks, and are
still as cheerful as a lark on one of these beautiful
spring mornings.  Will you just explain to me how
you manage to stand it?"\par

While he was speaking a far-away look had come
into the lad's eyes, and a shudder shook his robust
frame as though he saw something very disagreeable
to himself; but he answered, quietly enough:\par

"Mr. Wright, there are some things in this world
harder to bear than either work or abuse, and I
prefer even to live with John Benton's family than to
go back to the life I have left behind me."\par

With these words Budd started up his oxen and
went on, leaving Mr. Wright to resume his journey
more mystified than ever.\par

On the first day of May Budd asked Mr. Benton
for the previous month's pay.\par

They were at work putting in corn, and the lad's
request took his employer so by surprise that his
hoe-handle dropped from his grasp.\par

"Me pay ye now!" he exclaimed.  "What are ye
thinkin' of?"\par

Then, as though another idea had come to his
mind, he said, persuasively:\par

"Ye don't need no money, an' 'twill be better to
have yer pay all in a bunch.  Jes' think how much
'twill be--sixty dollers, an' all yer own."\par

"But I have a special use for the money," persisted
Budd; "and as I have earned it, I should think you
might give it to me."\par

He spoke all the more emphatically because he
knew that Mr. Benton had quite a sum of money by
him, and that he could easily pay him if he chose to
do so.\par

For reply, Mr. Benton put his hand into his
pocket, and taking out his wallet, opened it.  From
it he then took the paper of agreement that Budd
and he had signed.  This he slowly spelled out, and
when he had finished, asked:\par

"Does this here paper say anythin' 'bout my
payin' ye every munth?"\par

"No, sir," Budd reluctantly admitted.\par

"But it does say, if ye quit yer work 'fore yer
time is up ye are to have no pay, doesn't it?"
inquired the man, significantly.\par

"Yes, sir," the lad replied, now realizing how
mean and contemptible his employer was, and what
had been his real object in drawing up that paper.\par

"Well, how can I know ye are goin' to stay with
me yer whole time till it's up?" he asked, with a
show of triumph in his tones.\par

"Do you mean to say you don't intend to pay me
anything until October?" asked Budd, indignantly.\par

"That's the agreement," replied Mr. Benton,
coolly, returning the paper to his wallet and placing
it in his pocket.  "If ye'll keep yer part, I'll keep
mine."\par

He now picked up his hoe and resumed his work.\par

For the first time since he came to the farm Budd
felt an impulse to leave his employer.  It was with
great difficulty indeed that he refrained from
throwing down his hoe, going to the house after his few
effects, and quitting the place forever.  But he did,
and went resolutely on with his work.  Fortunate
for him was it, though he did not know it then, that
he did so.  Later on, he could see that the ruling of
his spirit that day won for him, if not a city,
certainly the happiest results, though severe trials
stood between him and their consummation.\par

That night, at as early an hour as possible, Budd
sought his little room.  Closing the door carefully
after him, he walked over to the rude rack on the
wall and took down his light overcoat.  From an
inside pocket he took a long wallet, and from the
wallet a postal card.  Addressing it with a pencil
to "N. B. Johnson, Esq., No. 127 Sumner Street,
Boston, Mass.," he wrote rapidly and in tiniest
characters, on the reverse side, without giving place or
date, the following words:\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
DEAR SIR:--I promised you last March to send
you some money each month until the total amount
remaining due to you was paid.  I have secured
work at a small compensation, but find, through a
misunderstanding with my employer, that I am not
to have my pay until the six months for which I
have hired out are ended.  At that time you may
expect a remittance from me.  I am very sorry to
make this change in my original plans, but cannot
help it, and trust you will be satisfied with this
arrangement.  Truly yours,\par

BUDD BOYD.\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
It was several days later, however, before Budd
had an opportunity to go up to the neighboring
village.  When he did go, he took care not to drop the
postal into the post-office, but handed it directly to
a mail agent upon a passing train.  His reason for
this act could not be easily misunderstood.
Evidently he did not care that the Mr. Johnson to
whom he had written should know his exact
whereabouts.  But his precaution was unnecessary, for
before the summer months had fairly come he was to
see Mr. Johnson under circumstances most trying to
himself.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-iii-against-wind-and-tide}%
\hypertarget{chapter-iii-against-wind-and-tide}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER III.--AGAINST WIND AND TIDE.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
Not a great distance north of the farm of
Mr. Benton, and stretching some distance
along the shore of the bay, there is a singular
formation of sand and rocks known as "The
Hummocks."  A small cove lies south and west of the
formation, while the main bay stretches out to its
widest extent from the east.  The only point, then,
where "The Hummocks" touch the main-land is at
the north; and even this point of contact is so
narrow as to simply furnish a roadway down onto
"The Hummocks" themselves.\par

Of these hummocks, for there are but two, the
northern one is much the smaller, embracing
perhaps an acre of rough soil, covered with a stunted
grass, and dotted here and there with red cedars.
The southern one, on the other hand, covered like
its smaller mate with a scanty vegetation and
scattered trees, broadens out so as to nearly land-lock
the cove behind it, and causes its waters to rush in
or out, according to the tide, through an exceedingly
contracted passage-way at its extreme southern end,
popularly called "the narrows."  The point of
contact of the southern with the northern hummock,
like the northern hummock with the main-land, is
also very narrow; and to its narrowness is added
another feature: it is so low, or in more technical
language it is so nearly on a level with the
high-water mark, that when there happens to be a strong
wind from either the northeast or the southeast,
the waters of the bay, on the incoming tide, will
rush with great force over the slight barrier and
mingle with the waters of the cove, making an
island, for the time, of the larger and more southern
hummock.\par

Perhaps half or three-quarters of a mile off shore,
and a little to the northeast of these hummocks,
there is an island of an irregular shape, and a few
acres in extent, that bears the name of Fox Island.
The name has belonged to it since Colonial days,
but the reason therefor is unknown, unless at some
remote period some solitary animal of that specific
genus which gives the island its title may have there
made its home.\par

This island had in later years, however, a more
illustrious if not less solitary inhabitant.  A
gentleman of some means, tired of society, or for some
reason at enmity with it, crossed over from the
main-land, erected a small house, dug a well, set out
trees, planted a garden, and built a wharf--in fact
set up thereon a complete habitation.  Not long,
however, did he endure his self-imposed solitude.
Scarcely were his arrangements completed when an
unfortunate accident caused his death, and the
island and its improvements were left to be the
home of the sea-fowls or the temporary abode of
some passing fisherman.\par

This extended description has been given here
because it is essential that the reader should form
some definite idea of the island and its relation to
"The Hummocks," for on and about them no small
portion of our young hero's summer was destined to
be spent.\par

Mr. Benton owned what is termed "a shore
privilege" on the lower half of the southern hummock,
and the peculiar situation of that rocky formation
to the bay made it a valuable one, for heavy winds
from any eastern or southern quarter brought onto
the beach there immense quantities of sea-weed, so
highly prized by the farmer as a fertilizer.\par

During the fall and winter months previous to
Budd's coming to the farm, owing to the repeated
storms there had been landed on "The Hummocks"
so large and unusual an amount of this weed that
Mr. Benton had contented himself with simply
gathering it into a huge pile on the summit thereof,
above high-water mark, intending to remove it to
the farm in the spring.  So it fell to Budd's lot to
cart from the heap to the farm as the weed was
needed, and one day near the middle of May found
him engaged in this work.\par

It was a cloudy, threatening day.  The wind was
from the southeast, and blew with a freshness that
promised a severe storm before the day was over.
Perhaps it was on this account that Mr. Benton had
directed the lad to engage in this particular work.
He was himself obliged to be off on business, and
this was a job at which Budd could work alone, and
the weather was hardly propitious for any other
undertaking.  So immediately after breakfast Budd
yoked the oxen to the cart and started for his first
load.\par

"There ain't over four loads more down there, an'
if ye work spry ye can git it all up by nite,"
Mr. Benton shouted after him as he drove off.\par

The distance to "The Hummocks" from the farm
was such that with the slow-walking oxen one load
for each half-day had been regarded as a sufficient
task.  But Budd knew he had an early start, and
he determined to do his best to bring all the weed
home that day.  He therefore quickened the pace of
the oxen, and before nine o'clock had made his first
return to the farm.  Unloading with haste, he
immediately started back for his second load.  When
he crossed from the north to the south hummock he
noticed the incoming tide was nearly across the
roadway, but thought little of it.\par

On examining the heap of weed, he became
convinced that by loading heavily he could carry what
remained at two loads.  He therefore pitched away
until in his judgment half of the heap was upon his
cart.  It made a tremendous load; but the oxen
were stout, and bending their necks to the yoke,
they at Budd's command started slowly off.\par

As he approached the narrow passage-way he
noticed the tide had gained rapidly, and was now
sweeping over it with considerable force and depth.
Jumping upon the tongue of the cart, he urged his
oxen through the tossing waves.  To his consternation
the water came well up around the oxen's
backs, and had he not quickly scrambled to the top
of his load he would have got thoroughly drenched.\par

The cattle, however, raised their noses as high as
possible and plunged bravely through the flood, and
soon emerged on the other side with their load
unharmed.  The rest of the journey home was made
without difficulty, and Budd at dinner-time had the
satisfaction of knowing that two-thirds of his
appointed work was already accomplished.\par

Mr. Benton had not yet arrived home, and hurrying
through dinner, the lad hastened off for his
third and last load, hoping to get back to the farm
with it before his employer came.  Hardly had he
started, however, when it began to rain, and as he
passed down onto the first hummock the wind was
blowing with a velocity that made it almost
impossible for the oxen to stand before it.\par

Slowly, however, the passage across the first
hummock was made, and Budd approached the
narrow roadway leading to the other; then he stopped
the oxen in sheer amazement.  In front of him was
a strip of surging and tossing water of uncertain
depth, and he instinctively felt that there was a
grave risk in attempting to push through to the
other side.  But he was anxious to secure his load.
He had passed through safely enough before, and he
resolved to attempt the crossing now, counting on
nothing worse than a severe drenching.\par

This was a grave mistake, and Budd would have
realized it had he only stopped to think that there
was quite a difference between his situation now and
when he had made his successful crossing before
dinner.  Then he had a loaded cart, the wind and
tide were both in his favor, and the water had not
reached either its present depth or expanse.  Now
his cart was empty, a significant and important
fact; the wind was blowing with greater force and
directly against him; while the tide, as he would
have seen had he watched it closely, had now turned,
and was rushing back from the cove and out into
the open bay with a strength almost irresistible.\par

But unmindful of these things, Budd bade his
oxen go on; and though they at first shrunk from
entering the angry waters, he plied the stinging
blows of the lash until they began the passage.
For a rod they went steadily on, though the waves
dashed over their backs and rushed into the cart,
wetting Budd to the knees.  Then there came
suddenly a huge billow, rolling outward, that lifted the
cart and oxen from the road-bed and swept them
out into the bay.\par

\begin{figure}[h!tbp]
\label{figure-296}%
\hypertarget{figure-296}{}%
\noindent\hfill{}\begin{minipage}{0.460\textwidth}
{\hbox to \hsize{\hfill\includegraphics[width=1.000\textwidth,keepaspectratio=true]{images/img-024.jpg}\hfill}}
\vs{1}
{\noindent}
{\centerleft{{\itshape{Budd plied the stinging blows of the lash until suddenly a huge billow lifted the cart and oxen from the road-bed and swept them into the bay.}}
}}
\end{minipage}
\hfill{}
\end{figure}

The moment Budd realized that the cart was afloat
and the oxen were swimming for their lives, his
impulse was not to save himself, but the unfortunate
beasts that through his rashness had been brought
into danger.  Springing, therefore, between them,
he caught hold of the yoke with one hand, and with
the other wrenched out the iron pin that fastened
it to the tongue, and thus freed them from the cart.
In the effort, however, he lost his hold upon the
yoke, and the next minute found himself left alone,
struggling with the angry billows.\par

He was now forced to look out for himself, and
could not watch the fate of the oxen, even had he
had an inclination to do so.  Indeed, with his
water-soaked clothing, which greatly impeded his efforts,
there was already a serious question whether he
would be able to reach the shore, good swimmer
though he was.  With a strength born from the
very sense of the danger that overwhelmed him he
turned his face toward the fast receding shore and
swam manfully for it.  For a time he seemed to be
gaining, but both wind and tide were against him,
and his strength was soon exhausted.  Slowly he
felt himself sinking.  Already the waves were
dashing over his head.  He made one spasmodic effort to
regain the surface; then he had a faint consciousness
of being caught by a huge billow and hurled
against some hard object, and all was blank.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-iv-a-new-friend}%
\hypertarget{chapter-iv-a-new-friend}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER IV.--A NEW FRIEND.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
How long Budd remained unconscious he
never exactly knew.  It must have been some
hours, however, for when he recovered sufficiently
to look about him it was night; at least a darkness
almost thick enough to be felt was all around him.
He could hear the wind whistling fiercely above his
head, yet he felt it not.  He could hear the sound of
dashing waves but faintly, as though some distance
away.  He was evidently lying upon a hard board
or floor; yet to it there was a gentle, undulating
motion, like that of a boat in some sheltered harbor,
or drawn, bow up, onto a sandy beach.\par

With difficulty he sat up.  His clothes were
heavy with water, and he was stiff and numb from
cold and exposure.  He put out his right hand, and
it rested upon a short board partition; he stretched
out his left hand, and it touched a similar one, about
the same distance away.  Then he knew he was in
the body of his ox-cart, which had in some way
become detached from its wheels.  It must have been
this into which he had been providentially thrown
just as he had lost consciousness.  But {\itshape{where}} was
the cart-body?\par

Certainly it was no longer tossed about by the
angry waters of the bay.  Where, then, had it
landed?  He rose up, and his head came so forcibly
in contact with a heavy planking that he was
thrown off his feet.  Rubbing the bruised spot
tenderly, he crept along to the side of the cart-bed and
put out his hand as far as possible; but it touched
nothing.  Slowly stepping ever the side, he found
himself standing in a few inches of water.  Walking
directly ahead a few steps, he came up against a
solid wall, that extended either way farther than he
could reach.\par

He now knew that he was under some wharf,
where the waves had tossed the cart-bed.  This
accounted for the planking above his head, for his
hearing the whistling wind without feeling it, for
the sound of the dashing of the waves at such a
distance from him, and for the heavy darkness settled
around.  But {\itshape{what}} wharf was it?  Which way
should he go to find the opening by which he had
entered?\par

He straightened himself up and looked steadily
first in one and then in an opposite direction.  He
soon became convinced that to the left he could see
a little more clearly than to the right, and that it
was from that direction that came what little air he
could feel stirring.  In that direction, then, he
determined to go.\par

As he advanced the water deepened, and the roof
became more elevated.  Not only could he now
stand erect, but the planking was higher above his
head than he could reach.  Soon the stone wall
ceased, and wooden piles heavily boarded took its
place.  Now he saw a light space just ahead; the
wind fanned his cheek; the opening was not far
off; but the water was up to his neck, and he must
swim for it.  A few strokes, and he was in the open
air.  It was very dark, yet not with the intenseness
he had experienced under the wharf.  The wind and
the rain beat fiercely upon him.  Unless some house
were near, he had better return under the dock for
shelter and wait for morning.\par

With the little strength that remained to him
he drew himself up onto the wharf and looked
anxiously about him.  As he looked, a great hope
sprung up within his heart.  Not far away, and
gleaming brightly through the thick darkness, was
a light.  With a hoarse cry of exultation he
staggered to his feet and went toward it.  Brief as the
walk was, it exhausted him.  He was afraid that he
would not reach the house from whose window he
now knew the light shone forth, and in his despair
he shouted:\par

"Help!  Help!"\par

The next instant the door of the building swung
open, letting out a flood of light upon the exhausted
lad, and a voice asked:\par

"Who are you?  Where are you?"\par

"Here!" answered Budd, feebly, stretching out
his hands toward the stranger, who sprung forward
and caught him just as he was falling helplessly at
his feet.\par

The stranger was a youth no older nor larger than
Budd himself; but he showed that he possessed
enormous strength by lifting his helpless companion in
his arms and carrying him into the house.\par

Closing the door against the storm, he went to
work upon Budd with a directness and skill that
showed he knew just what to do for an exhausted
person.  The wet clothing was stripped off; the
numbed and chilled body was rubbed until the blood
began to circulate freely through it; dry clothing
and a warm blanket were then wrapped about the
recovering lad, and he was laid upon a rude pallet
of straw before the rusty stove, in which, however,
a good fire was burning.  Nor did the young
stranger's attention to his unexpected guest end
here.  From some unseen quarter he brought forth
a tin cup, and filled it with hot coffee from a pot on
the stove.  Milk and sugar were also fished out of
their hiding-places and added to the beverage; then
the whole was put to Budd's lips, with the simple
comment:\par

"There; drink that down, and I'll warrant you'll
be kicking round here as lively as a kitten, in a few
minutes."\par

Budd drained the offered cup, and then said, gratefully:\par

"I don't know how I shall ever repay you for
your kindness to me.  I was pretty near used up, I
declare."\par

The young host took the cup from his guest without
a word and refilled it.  Sipping this slowly off
himself, he eyed his visitor until he had finished it;
then he asked, abruptly:\par

"Will you tell me how you came here, Budd Boyd?"\par

"Where am I?  Who are you?" asked Budd,
surprised that the lad had called him by name, and
sure that he had never seen him before.\par

The boy-host gave a comical shrug of his
shoulders, and with a flourishing gesture answered:\par

"I am Judd Floyd, at your service.  This is Fox
Island, where I have for the present taken up my
solitary abode, and am monarch of all I survey.
But how came you here in all this tempest?  Did
you see my light streaming far across the watery
deep, and attempt to walk over?  Hanged if I
wouldn't think so, from the looks of your clothes!"\par

Weak as he was, Budd could not help laughing at
the serio-comic air of his companion, but as briefly
as possible he related his adventure.\par

"'Twas a close shave, now, wasn't it?" Judd said,
with a shrill whistle, as Budd concluded.  "I don't
want to try that sail, at least on that kind of a craft,
such a night as this, you bet.  Lucky for you I was
here, else you might have perished from sheer
exhaustion before morning."\par

Budd at once admitted this; then he asked:\par

"But how is it that you knew me?  And how
long have you been here?"\par

"Oh!  I've seen you up at the village with
Benton's ox-team, and inquired your name.  I couldn't
help remembering it, for it sounds much like my
own.  Yours is Budd Boyd, and mine is Judd Floyd.
Guess we must be sort of second-rate twins," said
the irrepressible Judd with a comical grin; and
indeed the lads, in size, figure and features, were not
unlike.\par

"How long have I been here?" he went on.\par

"Just a week to-night, by actual count.  You see,
I have lived, as far back as I can remember, in
an old shanty just out of the village.  Pop got
drunk as a steady business, and ma took in washing
and ironing to keep our souls and bodies together.
I know now I didn't help her as much as I ought,
but she would keep me in school, and I did try to
help her, out of school hours.  But last winter she
got rather tired of this world, and went where I
trust she has peace and rest.  She deserves them, for
she never had them here;" and the lad tried to keep
back the tears that would gather in his eyes.\par

"Well, after her death pop carried on worse than
ever, and so the town authorities sent him up to the
State Farm for a six-month term as an habitual
drunkard.  Then the same worthy individuals that
disposed of him talked of putting me on the Poor
Farm down there on Quidnessett Neck; but I had a
slight objection to the arrangement, and the next
morning I was among the missing.\par

"I'd been over here before, and knew there was
an old stove, a chair or two, and some other odd
pieces of furniture in the house; so I packed up a
few necessary traps at the shanty, stowed them
aboard pop's old boat, and came over here by night.
Here, too, I've remained in undisputed possession
ever since."\par

"How do you live?" asked Budd, with a good
deal of curiosity.\par

"Oh! that's easy enough," said Judd, with a
laugh.  "I catch fish and dig clams.  Some I eat;
the rest I sell.  That enables me to purchase what
groceries and provisions I may want.  I was over to
the village and made some purchases early this
morning.  By and by, when the watering-places
open up, I can get odd jobs enough.  I shall fare as
well as I have ever done, I assure you.  I'm no
pauper--not if I know myself.  By the way, won't
you have something to eat?"\par

Without waiting for Budd to answer, he drew up
before the fire a large box.  On this he spread a
cloth; then he brought out some cold ham, some
fresh bread, butter, cookies, poured out another cup
of coffee, and remarked:\par

"I've eaten supper already, but help yourself.
There's more, when this is gone."\par

Budd accepted his host's hospitality and made out
a comfortable meal.\par

Then Judd said:\par

"I'm sorry I've no bed for you to sleep on.  That
old pallet is all I brought over, but you are welcome
to that.  I'll roll up in a blanket and sleep on the
floor.  It won't be the first time I've done it;" and
soon both boys were sound asleep.\par

The next morning Budd felt quite like himself;
but the storm still raged, and he was obliged to
remain quietly with his new friend.  Toward noon,
however, the force of the tempest was spent, and
Judd announced his willingness to take the anxious
lad over to the main-land after dinner.\par

So not far from one o'clock they embarked in
Judd's boat, and a half-hour later landed safely on
"The Hummocks."  Budd could find no trace of
either the oxen or the missing wheels of the cart,
and with a heavy heart he started off for Mr. Benton's.\par

As Judd parted with him he remarked:\par

"I say, Budd, I wouldn't be in your shoes for a
good deal.  There is no knowing what old Benton
will do to you for losing his cart and oxen.  You'd
better go back to the island with me, and let him
think you are dead."\par

"No," said Budd.  "My duty is to go to him and
tell him the whole story, let the consequences be
what they may, and I shall do it."\par

"I always did admire pluck," replied Judd, in
undisguised admiration, "and you have it.  I'd rather
take your sail of last night than go back and face
the old tyrant.  Only, if he kicks you off of the
farm, remember you are welcome to go pards with
me on the island.  It's better than no place to lay
your head."\par

Thanking him for the invitation, which he knew
was as genuine as it was rough, Budd turned away
and walked slowly along the roadway leading to
Mr. Benton's, wondering greatly what that cruel
and grasping man would really say and do when he
learned of the serious loss he had sustained.
Doubtless the fact that he had been so long away had led
Mr. Benton to believe that he had perished.  Would
not his providential deliverance from a watery
grave awaken such feelings of gratitude, even in
that stony heart, that the pecuniary loss he had
experienced would be forgotten by the avaricious man?
Budd hoped so; and yet it was with terrible
misgivings he went bravely on, to meet whatever fate
might be in store for him.\par

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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER V.--MR. BENTON'S WRATH.}

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{\noindent}
As Budd drew near to the farm of Mr. Wright
he was greatly tempted to go in and talk over
with him the unfortunate predicament into which
his adventure had brought him; but he was saved
that trouble, for as he got opposite that gentleman's
residence he came out and hailed the lad.\par

"Hello, Budd!" he exclaimed.  "You have, then,
survived last night's storm.  We are glad to know
it, for we had given you up for lost."\par

His words re-assured Budd's troubled spirit
somewhat, for he now knew that he had been missed,
and possibly searched for.  Anxious, therefore, to
know just how his absence had been regarded, he
went forward to meet Mr. Wright, saying:\par

"Yes, I pulled through, though at one time I did
not expect to do so.  What did you think had
become of me and my team?"\par

"Oh, when night came and you didn't return
home, Benton thought you probably had got shut
onto the lower hummock by the tide, and would be
around all right in a few hours, so he said nothing
to any of us about your prolonged absence; but this
morning, when the oxen arrived home without you
or the cart, he was a little frightened, and came
directly over here for me and my man to go with
him to look you up.  As we went along down to
'The Hummocks' we made inquiries about you, but
could not ascertain that you had been seen since one
o'clock yesterday, when you were on your
downward trip for seaweed.  Arriving at 'The
Hummocks,' we carefully searched them from one end to
the other, but found no trace of you or the cart,
though we came across a sheltered spot, back of a
clump of trees, where the oxen had evidently stayed
all night.  The sea-weed we saw had not been
taken, and so we knew that you hadn't got across
to the lower hummock.  There was but one
inference--that the wind and tide had carried you out
to sea.\par

"'Benton,' says I, 'the oxen, cart and lad were
all taken off the roadway by some huge billow, and
the first thing the lad thought of was to free the
oxen, and they got ashore; but the cart and boy
have gone no one knows where.  Just as likely as
not they are lying out there under the tossing
waves.  I guess we'd better go up the shore a piece,
however, and see if we can find anything of them.'  So
we went up the coast as far as the village, but
saw nothing of you, and could find no one that had.
Finally we gave up the search and came home.
Tell me, though, how you escaped?"\par

Budd related in substance the story already
familiar to the reader--not, however, without frequent
interruptions from Mr. Wright, who seemed anxious
to know more of the details, and also repeatedly
declared it was the most marvelous escape he ever
heard of.  At length Mr. Wright seemed satisfied,
and Budd was permitted to ask the question he cared
most of all to ask:\par

"How did Mr. Benton seem to feel when he came
to the conclusion that I and the cart had been swept
out to sea?"\par

"Well, to tell you the truth," replied Mr. Wright,
bluntly, "he seemed to care a good deal more for
the loss of the cart than he did for you.  He danced
around there on the beach, cursing what he called
your folly, and telling how much the cart had cost
him only last fall.  I at last got tired of his talking,
and told him you were of more account than all the
carts that had been made since the world began, and
that if he had a spark of decency about him he
would shut his mouth.  I suggested, also, that you
would never have been lost if he hadn't set you to
drawing sea-weed on a day that he was old enough
and experienced enough to know it wasn't a safe
thing to do in that particular locality, and that I
wasn't sure but he could be held accountable to the
law for your death.  That scared him, so he came
right off home, and was as dumb as a beast all the way."\par

"What do you think he'll do when he finds I'm
alive, but the cart is lost?" asked Budd, a little
anxiously, it must be confessed.\par

"Well, he ought not to say or do anything,"
answered Mr. Wright, with a little show of
indignation in his tones.  "The body of the cart can be
towed back to 'The Hummocks,' and it is possible
that the wheels and under-gear may yet turn up.
But even if they are not recovered, what does the
loss amount to compared with your safety?  Still I
have already learned that you can never know what
John Benton may do, and I guess I had better be
somewhere around when you tell him your story.
You go on over and face the music, and I'll follow
along in time to interfere if there is any serious
trouble between you."\par

Thanking Mr. Wright for his kind offer, Budd,
with a much lighter heart than he had had for
twenty-four hours, went on toward home.  He went
directly into the house, on arriving there, and
almost frightened Mrs. Benton to death by his
sudden and unexpected appearance.  He succeeded in
convincing her, however, that it was really he, and
that he had providentially been saved.  Nor could
he help noticing that she seemed greatly relieved in
mind to find that he was really alive and unharmed;
and taking encouragement from that fact, he went
off to the barn, where he had learned Mr. Benton was.\par

The farmer was down upon his knees on the
threshing-floor mending a horse-cultivator when the
lad entered and said:\par

"Well, Mr. Benton, I'm back at last, and ready
to report for my prolonged absence."\par

At his words Mr. Benton leaped to his feet, and
for a moment seemed not to know what to say.  It
was very evident that he had never expected to see
the boy again.  Taking advantage of his embarrassment,
Budd went on:\par

"I'm glad, too, to learn that the oxen reached
home unharmed.  I did my best to save them,
though I nearly lost my own life doing so."\par

Before he could say more Mr. Benton broke
angrily in upon him:\par

"But ye lost the cart, ye little rascal, an' I gin
twenty-five dollers fer it at auction only las' fall; an'
I'd like to know who's goin' to pay me fer that?"\par

"I can, if it is necessary," replied Budd, swelling
with indignation; "but before I do it I shall want
some one else's opinion about it other than your
own.  Though I may have been a little rash in
undertaking to cross the roadbed while the tide was so
high, I am in no other sense to blame, and I would
like to see anyone else do better than I did under
the circumstances;" and Budd rapidly described the
trying ordeal through which he had passed.\par

"Hum!" remarked Mr. Benton, sneeringly, as the
lad finished his story.  "Ye were sca't to death at a
little runnin' water.  If ye'd stayed in the cart an'
let the oxen alone, they'd have fetched ye an' the
cart out all rite.  'Twas all yer own fault."\par

Budd's cheeks burned with resentment.\par

"It was not," he emphatically declared.\par

"Don't ye tell me I lie!" said Mr. Benton,
savagely, picking up one of the handles of the
cultivator that had been detached from the machine and
lay upon the barn-floor near him.\par

"I am sure the oxen would have drowned had I
not freed them from the cart," answered Budd,
firmly, "and any reasonable person would tell you
the same thing."\par

"Take that, ye young whelp!" cried Mr. Benton,
raising the cultivator-handle and bringing it down
with a force sufficient to have killed the boy had it
hit him.\par

Fortunately for Budd he saw the stick coming,
and jumped quickly to one side.  The force of the
blow fell upon the barn-floor; but Mr. Benton
immediately recovered himself and rushed down upon
the lad.  Seeing that there was no alternative, Budd
grappled with him, and then began a terrible
struggle for the mastery.  Had the lad possessed his
usual strength he might have come off victor, for he
had caught his antagonist directly under the
armpits with a powerful hug, and thus had decidedly
the advantage in his hold.  But he was still weak
from his trying experience of the night before, and
that more than counterbalanced the advantage he
had secured in position.\par

Up and down the threshing-floor the contestants
went; against stanchion and post and door were
they hurled; over and upon the heterogeneous
articles scattered about the floor they stumbled; finally
Budd's foot struck upon some unseen object that
rolled under it, and he fell heavily upon the floor,
with Mr. Benton on top of him.  With a shout of
triumph the angry man sat down upon the lad's
breast, and with his clinched fist began to pound
him.  He had struck but two blows, however, when
he was caught by the collar, dragged unceremoniously
off from the prostrate boy, and thrown with
no gentle hand back against the nearest stanchion.
Then the voice of Mr. Wright was heard sternly
saying:\par

"Stand there, you miserable coward; and let me
tell you, if you lay the weight of your finger on that
lad again I'll give you the worst thrashing you ever
had in your life!"\par

At those words, Mr. Benton cowered back against
the nearest mow and remained motionless.
Experience had already taught him that he could not
trifle with Peter Wright.\par

Helping Budd to his feet, Mr. Wright asked:\par

"Are you hurt?  I was delayed longer at the
house than I expected, or this miserable wretch
would not have had a chance to lay his hand upon
you.  Tell me just what he has done?"\par

Budd gave a fair account of the contest from
beginning to end, and declared that he was not
seriously hurt, though he did not know what might
have happened but for Mr. Wright's opportune
arrival.\par

Mr. Benton sullenly admitted the truth of the
boy's story, but whiningly declared he had not
meant to hurt him, but only to give him a
wholesome lesson, so that he wouldn't destroy any more
property for him in such a reckless manner.\par

"I might believe your statement had I not caught
you in the very act of pounding him," said
Mr. Wright, with emphasis; "and surely striking at
him with one of the handles of that cultivator looks
almost as though you meant to kill him.  This, too,
when he is not your boy, nor bound out to you, and
you had no more right to chastise him than you
have to strike me.  I don't know whether the boy
has any friends or not, but as long as I am a
member of the Town Council he shall be regarded as a
ward of the town, and over him we shall throw our
protection and care.  I suspect you have imposed
upon him ever since he has been with you.  What
kind of a bargain have you made with him, anyway?"\par

"I give him ten dollers a munth an' bord for six
munths, which, as he knowed nuthin' 'bout farm in'
when he come, is fair pay," explained Mr. Benton.\par

"No it is not, and you know it as well as anyone.
He has done a man's work ever since he has been
with you; and admitting his ignorance on some
things, fifteen dollars a month is little enough.
Does he pay you?"\par

This last question was addressed to Budd.\par

"No, sir," he said.  "You see, the night I hired
out to him he drew up a paper for me to sign, and
in that, though I did not so understand it at the
time, he is to pay me only at the end of the six
months.  At least that is his interpretation of the
paper."\par

"Benton, let me see it," demanded Mr. Wright.\par

With evident reluctance Mr. Benton took the
paper from his pocket-book and handed it to his
neighbor.\par

Mr. Wright read it over carefully; then he
deliberately tore it up, saying:\par

"The paper is worthless, for there are no witnesses;
but even if there were, it could be set aside,
as you have taken an unfair advantage of the lad.
You meant to get rid of paying him anything, and
I suspected it, for it is an old trick of yours."\par

Budd here explained how Mr. Benton had used
the paper at the time he had asked for his first
month's pay.\par

"Exactly," said Mr. Wright; "it served his
purpose then, and would every time you asked for
money until he had got ready to get rid of you.
Then he would have seen to it that you quitted the
farm before the six months were up, and so refused
to pay you your wages.  Now admit, Benton, that
that was your game."\par

Mr. Benton, thus appealed to, looked sheepish
enough, but would not admit that it had been his
purpose to defraud the lad.  He was afraid that
Budd might demand the amount due him and leave
at once.  This he did not want the boy to do, for
he preferred to have him remain, even though he
should have to pay him full wages.  He was hardly
prepared, however, for Mr. Wright's next demand.\par

"Here, Benton," he said, as the man was about to
return his wallet to his pocket, "before you put that
away I want you to pay Budd twenty dollars."\par

"But his two months are not up yet," objected Benton.\par

"Never mind, he has earned it," said Mr. Wright;
and as the man, to Budd's great astonishment,
meekly handed over two ten-dollar bills, Mr. Wright
with a twinkle in his eyes added:\par

"Now put another ten along with the others,
Benton, for the assault you have made upon the lad.
If you don't, I'll have you arrested before morning
for assault and battery, and it will cost you twice
that amount at least."\par

Mr. Benton refused; begged off; offered half the
amount; but Mr. Wright was inexorable, and the
miserable man finally handed Budd another ten-dollar bill.\par

"Now," said Mr. Wright to Budd, "go to the
house and pack up your things, and get ready to go
with me.  I don't propose to leave you in Benton's
clutches any longer; there is no knowing what he
might do to you."\par

And notwithstanding the pleadings and promises
of Mr. Benton, Mr. Wright fifteen minutes later
departed, with Budd by his side.\par

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CHAPTER VI.--THE NEW FIRM.}

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{\noindent}
If Budd, as he walked along toward Mr. Wright's,
was filled with secret exultation at the
happy turn in his affairs, it was, to say the least,
pardonable.  Bruised and sore though he was from
his struggle with Mr. Benton, he had nevertheless,
through the opportune interference of Mr. Wright,
come off victor.  With two months' pay in his
pocket, and ten dollars more for the assault to which
he had been subjected, he was not disposed to
grumble; in fact he was quite ready to forgive the
miserable man who had so ruthlessly attacked him.
But there was one thing that piqued his curiosity
and led him soon to say:\par

"There is something I would like to have you
explain, Mr. Wright."\par

"What is it?" Mr. Wright asked, pleasantly.\par

"Why was Mr. Benton so docile in your presence?
I should never have believed that he would
have cowered down so to any man."\par

Mr. Wright laughed.\par

"There are several reasons for it," he said.
"Tyrants are almost always cowards at heart, and
Mr. Benton is no exception to the rule.  Ten years ago,
when I came here, I was continually in trouble with
him.  First it was my cattle; then my children; at
last our boundary line.  I caught him one day
actually setting over my fence.  I remonstrated with
him, and he, in his anger, struck me with his ox-lash.
Snatching it from his hand, I whipped him until he
begged for mercy.  Of course he brought suit
against me, and I brought a counter-suit.  I was
fortunate enough to win both cases, and the costs and
fines that he had to pay amounted to over one
hundred dollars.  I also had him put under heavy bonds
to keep the peace, and from that time have had no
serious trouble with him.  In fact he seems to both
fear and respect me.  Catching him to-night in the
very act of assaulting you gave me a decided
advantage; and though I have doubtless gone beyond any
real right I possessed in my dealing with him, he
was not in a condition to dispute it.  You and I will
have no further trouble with him."\par

But in this last assertion Mr. Wright was wrong,
at least so far as Budd was concerned.\par

On reaching the house, Mr. Wright opened the
door and motioned Budd to enter, at the same time
saying to his wife:\par

"Here, Sarah, can you find a place for this lad for
awhile?  I've taken him out of Benton's clutches,"
and he related to her, in substance, the happenings
at his neighbor's farm.\par

"Oh, yes, I think so," the lady replied, giving
Budd a hearty and motherly welcome, which at
once caused him to feel at home.\par

Budd was shown to a chamber, where he deposited
his bundle.  Though no larger than the one he
had occupied when at Mr. Benton's, and containing
scarcely more furniture, there was nevertheless an
air of comfort and neatness about it that awakened
old and sweet memories in the boy's mind.  A bright
bit of carpet was on the floor, a white curtain was
at the open window, while snowy sheets and
pillow-cases upon the bed suggested sweet repose.  Tears
stood in the lad's eyes as he returned down-stairs
and tried to again thank Mr. Wright for the deep
interest he had shown in him, an entire stranger.\par

"Well, well," said Mr. Wright, not without some
emotion; "I don't know as I deserve any special
thanks for what I have done.  I couldn't leave you
over there and have any peace of conscience.  I
don't know, any more than you do, what the
outcome of my act will be, so far as your future is
concerned.  I would gladly hire you, but have now all
the help I need.  You are welcome, however, to
stay here until you can find a place.  With what
Benton has given you, you will be just as well off
should you not get work under a month.  I've no
fear but what you'll do enough to pay your board,
and we will both keep an eye out for something
suitable for you to do."\par

Though Budd regretted greatly that Mr. Wright
could not hire him, he gratefully accepted the
arrangement proposed, and determined that his
benefactor should have no cause to complain of either
his want of gratitude or willingness to be of help.\par

With this idea in mind he followed Mr. Wright
out to the barn, and helped him and his man do the
chores.  He seemed almost intuitively to know
what was the next thing to be done; and so pleased
was Mr. Wright with his readiness and tact that he
confided to his wife, that night, that he didn't know
but they had better try and keep the lad.  The very
next day, however, there was destined to come to
Budd an opening which was to change measurably
his life, and prove an important link in the solution
of the mystery which was apparently hanging over him.\par

He worked all the forenoon of the next day for
Mr. Wright, but at that gentleman's request went
with him in the afternoon up to the village.\par

"Perhaps we shall be able to find some place for
you," Mr. Wright had said as they drove off.\par

Reaching the village, Mr. Wright left Budd to
look out for the team while he attended to some
matters of business.  As the lad sat in the wagon
holding the horses Judd Floyd came hurriedly down
the street on his way toward the wharf.  He had a
market-basket on his arm filled with bundles, and
had evidently been purchasing provisions to take
over to his island home.  He readily espied Budd,
and recognizing Mr. Wright's team, suddenly
stopped, remarking:\par

"Hello! changed masters, have you?  Shows
your wisdom.  But tell us about it."\par

Budd shook the speaker's extended hand warmly,
and telling him to put his basket into the wagon,
and to get up on the seat, he gave him a faithful
account of himself from the time he had left Judd on
"The Hummocks" until he had now met him again.\par

"So you are out of a job," he remarked, as Budd
concluded.  "Now, isn't that jolly!  You can come
over to the island with me, and we'll go into the
fish and clam business together.  I'll guarantee as
good wages as you were getting, and you'll be your
own boss at the same time."\par

"Is that so?" asked Budd, with some show of interest.\par

"Of course it's so," replied Judd, with remarkable
emphasis on the first two words.  "I've averaged
fifty cents for every day I've been on the island;
and so can you, if you'll come.  We ought to do
better, for with two we can enlarge our business
many ways."\par

"How's that?" asked Budd.\par

Before Judd could answer, Mr. Wright came back
to the wagon.  That lad eyed him a little apprehensively
at first, evidently fearing lest he might, as a
member of the Town Board, call him to an account
for his sudden disappearance from the shanty near
the village a few days before.  But Mr. Wright's
words at once re-assured him, for he said:\par

"How do you do, Judd?  I'm glad to see you, and
to hear so good an account of you as Budd has given
me."  Then lowering his voice, so as not to be heard
by anyone passing, he added: "You need have no
fear of the Town Board, my lad, as long as you
show a disposition to be industrious and take care of
yourself.  We wish you every success."\par

"He was just asking me to go over to the island
and enter into partnership with him," explained
Budd; "he says I can make as much as I was
getting from Mr. Benton."\par

"And not have half as rough an experience,"
Judd chimed in, with a laugh.\par

"How do you expect to make it, Judd?" Mr. Wright
asked, a little doubtingly.\par

"Selling fish and clams; taking out fishing-parties;
doing odd jobs at the watering-places," answered
Judd, pithily.  "There's money in it."\par

"Do you think so?" asked Budd of Mr. Wright.\par

"There may be," he answered, musingly.  "Judd
knows better than I do.  Of course it is now a little
late to hire out among the farmers.  You have
some money as capital.  I'm not sure but you could,
if prudent and industrious, do as well at this as at
anything else for the summer months."\par

"Come along over to the island with me and stay
to-night.  If I don't convince you this thing is
practicable, then I'll set you ashore at 'The Hummocks'
in the morning, and you can go back to Mr. Wright's
until you find another job," said Judd, enthusiastically.\par

Mr. Wright laughed a little.\par

"Go on, Budd," he advised; "and if I can be of
any help to either of you, call on me.  All success
to the new firm!"\par

Budd immediately leaped from the wagon,
followed by Judd, and then the two boys went hastily
down to the wharf where their boat was tied.
Embarking therein, each took an oar and pulled for the
island, their minds brimful of the prospective partnership.\par

It was not, however, until the island was reached
and supper eaten that the lads settled themselves
for what they called their "business" talk.  The
sun was just setting; the air was soft and balmy;
scarcely a ripple was on the water.  Taking seats
upon the rocks south of the house, and where they
could look for miles down the bay, they began the
all-important conversation.\par

Budd was the first to speak.\par

"Here, Judd," he said, "let us begin at the very
root of things.  Who does this island belong to?"\par

"Why, I believe there are two or three parties
claiming it," replied Judd.  "But why do you ask?
It has always been regarded as common property.
Even the fellow that built the house here paid no
rent for the island."\par

"That has nothing to do with our case," interposed
Budd, promptly.  "We must have a right to
be here--a right we can defend against all comers.
Who are the proper parties to see about leasing the
island."\par

"A Mr. Fowler, who lives near Mr. Wright, and
two men named Scott, over in the western part of
the town; but I don't believe they will object to our
staying here, if Mr. Wright will see them about it."\par

"We will find out in the morning," Budd said,
decisively, "and I'll mark that as the first item of
business to attend to.  Now as to our stock in trade.  I
have thirty dollars that can go in as my part of the
capital.  What can you furnish?"\par

Judd looked a little crestfallen, at his companion's
words.\par

"Why," he said, "I can't put in much.  I have
the boat----"\par

"Which is worth how much?" interrupted Budd.\par

"Perhaps ten dollars," replied his partner, with a
look of encouragement.  "It's a pretty good yawl;
and then I have a little over five dollars in money;
that is all."\par

"No, it is not," Budd said.  "How about the
things over at the shanty?  They are yours, are
they not?"\par

"Yes; and as the shanty don't belong to pop,
they ought to be moved.  If we get the island, we
can bring everything over here, and set up
housekeeping in pretty decent style."\par

"Exactly," went on Budd, smilingly; "and while
they are yours, I shall be having the benefit of them,
and that is worth considerable.  But there is one
thing you possess more valuable yet, and for which
you ought to have full allowance."\par

"What do you mean?" asked Judd, in wonder.\par

"Knowledge of the business," responded Budd.
"I can row or sail a boat--have been used to that
all my life; but I know nothing of this bay, its
fishing or clamming-grounds, and I am almost a
stranger in the community, while you are well known.
Now, I'll tell you what I'm willing to do, though to
my mind I shall have the best of the bargain.  I'll
put in my thirty dollars against your boat, your
household goods, and your fuller knowledge of the
grounds on which we are to operate, and we'll be
equal partners--provided, of course, we can hire the
island.  What do you say?"\par

Judd arose from his seat with a sparkling face
and crossed over to where his chum was sitting.\par

"Here's my hand on it; and I say, Budd, you are
a brick," was his rather ambiguous but expressive
answer.\par

Budd had caught something of his companion's
enthusiasm, and with intense eagerness he continued:\par

"Now as to our plan of operations.  In this you
must be the chief adviser."\par

"Thirty-five dollars in money as a basis," said
Judd, slowly.  "If we only had a hundred, I would
say invest in a fish-pound.  As it is, we will have to
content ourselves with smaller operations at first.
A gill-net would work nicely over in 'the narrows'
at the south of 'The Hummocks,' and would cost
about eight dollars.  We must have that."\par

"How do you work it?" inquired Budd.\par

"It has large meshes, and you can stretch it right
across 'the narrows,' fastening it to stakes on either
side so as to keep it upright.  The leads on the
lower edge keep that down to the bottom.  We will
set it at night just at the turning of the tide to go
out: then whatever fish are up the cove will come
down against it, and more or less of them will get
their heads through the meshes and be caught.  Six
hours after, the tide will turn, and all fish going
into the cove will come up against the opposite side,
and some of them will be caught.  In the morning
we will pull it, and leave it up until the next night.
We ought to get as many fish that way as we can
with our hooks--perhaps more; and thus we will
have a double quantity to dispose of," exclaimed Judd.\par

"Good!" exclaimed his comrade.  "What next?"\par

"We must put in some lobster-pots also; but
those we can make, and two dollars will buy all the
necessary lumber.  That will take ten dollars, and
leave us twenty-five.  With that we must buy the
sloop Sea Witch, and then we can take out sailing
or fishing-parties in good shape, as well as make the
wind do a large part of our work for us.  It will
save lots of time and labor, as well as add to our
revenue."\par

"It can't be much of a boat for that money," remarked Budd.\par

"You wouldn't say so, if you had seen her,"
declared Judd.  "She is eighteen feet long, has a
small cabin, is rigged with sail and jib, and cost just
seventy-five dollars last summer.  She belongs to a
rich man who spent the summer here a year ago.
He had her built for his son, who knew no more
about a boat than a two-year-old child.  He
capsized her one day, and nearly lost his life, and now
she is for sale.  Nothing is the matter with her,
except she carries too much canvas.  Cut off a foot of
her mast, trim down her sail and jib, ballast her a
little more heavily, and I'll warrant her to outsail
anything of her length about here, and to be a good
boat in a heavy sea also.  I've examined her a dozen
times, and talked with the man that made her.  He'll
tell you that it's just as I say.  Of course her
misfortune has prejudiced people against her, and that
is why she can be bought so low.  Once get her
fixed, and we can sail her under a reef until we have
earned the money to pay for the alterations.  I
wouldn't take a dollar less for her than she
originally cost."\par

"All right!  I'm ready to accept your judgment,
and we certainly will be equipped better than I
expected," remarked Budd.\par

"Then we must advertise our new firm and
business by posters and in the local paper.  I guess the
printer will do the work for us and take his pay in
trade, for I've sold him fish several times," went on
Judd.\par

"Yes, we must do that," admitted his partner;
"and we'll draw up our advertisement to-night.  In
the morning you can set me over onto 'The
Hummocks,' and I will go up to Mr. Wright's, and
consult with him about the hiring of the island and get
my things.  I'll join you in the village, where you
can await my coming; and if we are successful in
getting the island, we will make the other purchases,
and by night be in readiness to begin moving your
goods over here.  By Monday next we can be all
equipped for business."\par

"Let us keep together through all the
arrangements," suggested Judd.\par

"Very well," consented Budd; and they returned
to the house for the night.\par

Early the next morning the young partners set
out upon the various business enterprises necessary
to complete their arrangements.  Mr. Wright
willingly went with them to see the owners of the
island, and they secured it at a rental of two dollars
per month, and took a written lease to that effect.
The sailboat, lumber and gill-net were purchased in
rapid succession, and the matter of advertising
placed in the printer's hands.  The next day the
household articles were removed from the shanty to
the island and arranged in the house.  Only the
three rooms on the ground floor were needed by the
lads, and were settled as kitchen, sitting-room and
bedroom.  That day, also, posters were scattered
about the village, and an advertisement appeared in
the columns of the village weekly, as follows:\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
{\centering
{\normalsize{ NEW FIRM!  NEW FIRM!}}
\endgraf}
\par

{\centering
{\footnotesize{BOYD \& FLOYD.}}
\endgraf}
\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
We, the undersigned, would announce to the
citizens of this community that we have this day
formed a partnership, to be known as Boyd \& Floyd.
Our headquarters will be at Fox Island, which we
have rented of the owners.  We shall have fish,
oysters, clams, lobsters and scallops for sale, each in
their season.  On Tuesdays and Fridays of each
week we shall be in the surrounding villages, ready
to fill all orders in our line.  On the other days of
the week all orders dropped in the village post-office,
Box 118, will secure prompt attention.  Hotels
and boarding-houses will be supplied at wholesale
rates.  Sailing or fishing-parties will be taken out
in our sloop Sea Witch at reasonable prices.  This
boat is to be remodeled, and made sea-worthy in
every respect.  By honest dealing, fair charges, and
prompt attention, we hope to secure our share of
your patronage.\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ BUDD BOYD.
 \\
JUDD FLOYD.}}
\endgraf}
\par

{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ Fox Island, May 20, 18--.}}
\endgraf}
\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
It was late on Saturday evening when the lads
got back to the island after carrying around their
posters.  They were very tired from their long
tramp of the day and the other work their plans
had necessitated; but they were contented, for they
felt that their firm was now fully organized and
launched out upon the world.\par

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\label{chapter-vii-business-booms}%
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\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER VII.--BUSINESS BOOMS.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
The cry, "Wake up, Budd!  All hands
ahoy!" greeted Budd's ears early Monday
morning.  He opened his eyes at the command.\par

The sun had not yet risen.  The faint light of
early dawn was coming in through the last window
of the room.  Judd was out of bed and busily
dressing, and he it was who had given the call.  The
next moment Budd was beside him, and they
chatted away like magpies as they completed their
dressing.  The whole outline for the day's work
was soon laid out.\par

"It will be low tide at nine o'clock, and we must
have breakfast eaten and be on our clamming-grounds
at least two hours before that," Judd said,
by way of beginning the conversation.\par

"And where is it you said we would go?" Budd
responded.\par

"Down the bay to the upper end of Plum Beach
Point," was the answer.  "There hasn't been much
digging there this season, and we ought to find
clams plenty and of good size.  We'll dig there
until the turn of the tide; then we'll go across the
bay, under the lee of Conanicut, where there is a
sunken ledge, off which, if I'm not much mistaken,
I'll show you as good fishing as you ever enjoyed."\par

"What'll we be likely to catch?" Budd then
inquired, just as they both entered the kitchen and
began preparations for breakfast.\par

"Rock-bass, tautog, and the everywhere-present
and forever-biting sea-perch," Judd laughingly answered.\par

"What about the gill-net?"\par

"Oh, we'll put that in just at night, and get
another run of fish entirely different.  Scup,
butterfish, and succoteague, or weak-fish, will probably be
the principal kinds we shall haul then.  That will
give us quite a variety for our sale to-morrow,"
explained Judd.\par

Breakfast was eaten, a lunch packed, and lines,
baskets and hoes stowed on board the sloop by
sunrise.  In fact the golden orb peeped above
Conanicut, and sent a dazzling gleam down across the
dancing waters, just as the lads weighed anchor,
hoisted the sails, and with a gentle breeze from the
northwest started down the bay.  A half-hour later
they had run within fifty yards of Plum Beach
Point, where they anchored.  Putting baskets and
hoes in the yawl, which was in tow, they cast off
the painter and rowed ashore.  The tide was well
out.  Under the click of the hoes the clams sent up
their tiny spouts of water, revealing their hiding-places;
and, throwing off their coats, the boys were
soon at work.\par

For over two hours they toiled without
interruption; then Judd, who had been watching the waves
for an instant, cried out:\par

"Hold up, Budd!  The tide has turned, and we
must be off for our fishing-grounds.  First, however,
we will wash and sort over these bivalves--the large
and sound ones for the trade, the small and broken
ones for bait.  Here goes!"\par

Suiting the action to the word, he emptied his
basket in a shallow pool close beside him.\par

Budd followed his example, and with many an
exclamation of delight at the quantity they had
obtained, the lads soon completed this work, and
entering the yawl pulled back to the sloop.  Ten
minutes later she was tacking across the bay for the
fishing-grounds, known as "Hazard's pork-barrel."\par

Budd soon found that his comrade had not
over-estimated the piscatorial possibilities of the place.
Scarcely were their baited hooks cast into the briny
deep when the fish began to bite with a steadiness
and greed that would have delighted the most
ambitious angler.  For three hours this continued, then
suddenly all the biting ceased.\par

"Our luck is over for to-day," Judd announced,
pulling in his lines.  "We may as well weigh anchor
and start for home."\par

"We have done well, anyway," Budd said, with
a touch of pride, as he gazed at the fish they had
caught.\par

"We needn't be ashamed of the morning's work,"
put in his partner, laconically.  "We'll find a great
many mornings when we won't do as well."\par

The fish had been thrown, as they were caught,
into a sort of "well" that Judd had arranged in the
bow of the sloop for them, and the boys did not
overhaul them until they had reached the island.
Here, however, they were sorted and put into
"cars" that were anchored just off the wharf.\par

"Twenty tautog, a dozen rock-bass and three
dozen sea-perch make quite a showing," commented
Budd as the sorting was finished.  "Do you suppose
we will sell all of them?"\par

"Not any of the sea-perch," replied Judd.  "Some
of those we must eat ourselves.  There are several
ways to cook them, and you won't find them bad
eating.  We shall want the rest of them as bait for
our lobster-pots.  All the other fish will sell,
however, without trouble."\par

The lads had eaten their luncheon while sailing
homeward, but their appetites were only partially
appeased, and so they immediately set about
preparing what they called their "chief" meal.  The
fire was kindled, and a large kettle partly filled with
water fresh from the well was put over it.  Then a
dozen of the larger perch were dressed, cut into
small pieces, and put into the kettle just as the
water reached a boiling-point; some potatoes, nicely
peeled and sliced, were now added; and salt, pepper,
a few slices of salt pork, and an onion or two, for
seasoning, followed, and soon the delightful aroma
of a fish-chowder began to fill the kitchen.  While
that was cooking the table was set, the johnny-cake
baked, and the coffee made.  In a little over an
hour after landing the boys had everything in
readiness, and sat down to a dinner that, as they
expressed it, was "fit for a king."  Good appetites
made it indeed a royal feast, and scarcely a vestige
of the chowder remained when the lads rose from
the table.\par

An hour or two of rest followed the clearing of
the table, but just about six o'clock the partners put
the gill-net into the yawl and pulled over to "the
narrows," at the south of "The Hummocks."  Before
dark the net was stretched into place, made
secure to stout stakes, and the boys were ready to
return home.\par

"The tide is nearly out now," remarked Judd as
they were leaving, "and so our best catch to-night
will be on the incoming tide.  To get the full
advantage of this place, we want first an outgoing,
then an incoming tide upon the net; but of course
we have got to run our chances on that."\par

When back at the island, the day's work for the
lads was by no means done.  During the evening
the kitchen was turned into a workshop, and with
an old lobster-pot for a pattern, the partners began
the manufacture of their new ones.  Four of these
were completely finished before they went to bed,
and Judd expressed his satisfaction in the words:\par

"Four pots already done; and if, to-morrow
night, we can finish four more, we shall have eight
to put in on Wednesday morning, which will
doubtless furnish us with some lobsters for our Friday
trade."\par

At the pulling of the gill-net the next morning
there was not as large a catch as the boys had hoped
for; still what fish they did get were of good size
and of the very best quality.  There were six
succoteague, weighing from two to four pounds each,
one blue-fish, four scup and a striped bass.\par

Returning to the island for their other fish and
the clams, the lads' plans for the day were speedily
arranged.  Budd was to take the yawl and a minor
part of the stock in trade, and landing at "The
Hummocks," was to secure, if possible, a horse and
wagon of the nearest farmer, and peddle through
the manufacturing villages in the western part of
the county, while Judd was to take the larger part
of the stock into the sloop and go up to the large
town, a mile and a half up the bay.  Each lad had
provided himself with a note-book to take orders
for their Friday trade; and wishing each other the
best of success, they went their different ways.\par

Judd was the first to return to the island, arriving
there about two o'clock with nearly all of his stock
disposed of, and three dollars and twenty cents in
cash in his pocket.  Budd arrived an hour later,
having sold everything he had carried, but had only
two dollars and ten cents to show for his sales, as
he had paid the farmer a dollar for the use of his
horse and wagon.\par

Five dollars and a half was not, however, a bad
showing for their first day's sale; and greatly
encouraged by the outlook, the boys discussed further
plans for the increase of their business.\par

The rest of the week was given to hard work.  In
no sense could it be said the lads were idle.  Neither
one thought of making their undertaking a mere
pleasure; it was their {\itshape{business}}, and as such must
have their best thought and their hardest labor.
They took pride not only in success, but it must be
the very best success they could possibly achieve.\par

The eight lobster-pots were put down Wednesday
morning just off Thurston's Rocks, three miles down
the bay.  Each night saw a few more made, and
each day a few more put down, until there was a
string of the tiny buoys marking their whereabouts
for two miles along the coast.  Fish were angled
for and clams were dug; and when one place failed
others were visited, until the due quota of each had
been secured.  The gill-net was hauled and reset
with all the regularity of the rising and setting sun.
On Friday morning the persistent efforts of the lads
had been fairly rewarded, and with double the
amount of stock they had had on the previous
Tuesday they set out, each to go his chosen route.
But the demand equaled the supply, and both boys
returned to the island without fish or bivalve.\par

The firm had agreed that Saturday should be
their home day--the day they repaired their net,
and traps, and pots, overhauled and fixed their
boats, and attended to such other work as was
necessary to keep their island and house in thorough
order.  On that night, too, they were to cast up
accounts for each week, and find their financial
standing.\par

The partners sat in their little sitting-room when
this first casting was made and the result of the
week announced:\par

"Twelve dollars and fifty-two cents above all
expenses," declared Budd, who had been appointed
the book-keeper for the firm.\par

"Not a bad amount for our first week," said
Judd.  Then with a quizzical look he asked, "Do
you want to go back to Benton's, chum?"\par

"No, I guess not," replied Budd with a smile;
"but haven't we enough cash on hand now to have
the alterations made in the sloop?"\par

"Yes, I think so," replied his partner; "and if
you are agreed, we'll take her down to Saunderstown,
Monday morning, and leave her there for the
alterations.  We ought to get her again by
Wednesday or Thursday, and can spare her better the
fore part of the week than the last."\par

"All right," consented Judd.\par

It would be altogether too long a story, however
interesting it might be, to follow the lads in their
work day by day.  Not every day was a fortunate
one; nor did they always sell their stock
completely out.  Still, as June came in there began to
be some demand for the sloop for fishing or sailing-parties,
and this helped out the revenue.  There
also came occasionally an unusual haul of fish, which
added no small sum of money to their treasury.\par

For instance, one June morning the lads were
running down the bay to visit their lobster-pots.
All at once Budd, who was forward, called out:\par

"Judd, look at this school of fish!"\par

The lad addressed glanced in the direction his
companion had pointed, and the next moment had
altered the course of the sloop and was running
directly for the school.  When within a few rods of
it he exclaimed:\par

"It is as I thought; they are mackerel, and we
are in luck.  Get out our lines, take off the sinkers,
and tie on some bits of white rag as quick as you can."\par

In wonder, Budd obeyed the directions.  Meantime
Judd had brought the sloop directly into the
head of the school, and put up her helm and lashed it.\par

"Now throw over your lines, and pull in as fast
as possible," were Judd's orders.\par

What sport followed!  Up and down through
that school, and it was an immense one, the sloop
went, the lines trolling behind.  In and out were
the lines drawn and thrown until the boys' arms
ached, and their backs felt like breaking.  Larger
and larger grew the pile of great mackerel on the
bottom of the sloop, until the lads could literally
fish no longer.\par

"Enough!" Budd cried.  "I'm satisfied.  Let us quit."\par

His comrade was not loath to follow his suggestion.
A counting revealed the astonishing fact that
over three hundred mackerel had been caught,
and they were sold that afternoon in the city of
Newport, where the lads carried them, for
twenty-five dollars.\par

But just about the time the summer hotels were
opening a circumstance happened that put the young
partners in a position to do a larger work than even
their ambitions had anticipated.\par

A few days after the surprising capture of
mackerel the lads had taken a fishing-party down to
Beaver Tail.  On the return, late in the afternoon,
and just as the sloop passed Dutch Island, Budd
called his chum's attention to another sloop just
ahead of them that had suddenly luffed up into the
wind and nearly capsized.  A moment later she fell
off before the wind, her sail flapped loosely at the
mast, and then it was seen that the man at the tiller
had disappeared.\par

"Has the man fallen overboard?" was Budd's
startling question.\par

"No," replied Judd, putting up his helm and
running down toward the other sloop.  "That is Ben
Taylor's boat, and he is subject to fits.  He has
fallen into one, and that has let the vessel fall off
before the wind."\par

A few minutes later the Sea Witch ran alongside
of the drifting sloop; and, as Judd had said, her
owner was lying in her bottom, unconscious.  After
a little consultation, Budd and one of the
fishing-party boarded the craft, and carrying the man into
the cabin and laying him in a berth, they put the
boat before the wind and followed the Sea Witch up
the bay to Wickford, where the unfortunate man
belonged.\par

He was then taken to his home and a doctor
summoned, who pronounced the man alive, and under
skillfully-applied restoratives he soon began to
recover.  Budd waited just long enough to know the
man was out of danger; then he joined Judd at the
wharf, and together they sailed off to their island
home.\par

Three or four mornings later they were surprised
by a visit from Mr. Taylor himself.  After thanking
the lads for the part they had taken in his rescue, he
said:\par

"The doctor tells me I'm liable to have these turns
almost any time, and with recurring frequency.
That makes my wife opposed to my going on the
water any longer, and I've come over to see if you
lads won't take my business."\par

The boys knew he was the owner of three fish-pounds
at various points on the bay, and with some
eagerness they asked him his terms.\par

"Well," he said slowly, "I thought if you were
willing to take my pounds off my hands, and the
contract I have with city parties for the fish, I'd
give you two-thirds of the net profits.  The other
third ought to be a fair percentage on the money I
have invested.  Then if you chaps should want to
buy the pounds right out, you shall have them for
what they cost me."\par

It was altogether too good an opportunity to let
pass, and the boys promptly accepted the offer.\par

They still kept the home trade they had built
up, but shipped to city parties all the fish they had
exceeding the home demand, and thus found themselves
in the possession of a weekly income that
they had scarcely dreamed of.  It was very plain
that unless some unforeseen circumstance came in to
prevent, their business had taken a boom that would
insure them a most successful season.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-viii-the-lost-ox-cart}%
\hypertarget{chapter-viii-the-lost-ox-cart}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER VIII.--THE LOST OX-CART.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
It is Saturday, the seventeenth of June, and
therefore just four weeks since the new firm
was fairly organized.  The partners still use this
day of the week for their special home duties.  Let
us, then, cross over to the island, take a peep at
them, and see how they prosper.\par

As our visit is through the mind only, we will go
to the house first.  The windows and doors are
open, and the balmy air of the early summer is
circulating through the rooms with its life-giving
and purifying powers.  This suggests that the lads
cannot be far away, though we do not find them
within the building.  They will not, however, object
to our {\itshape{mental}} inspection of the premises, and
therefore we may safely enter.\par

This room is the kitchen, reaching across the
whole width of the house, and occupying what may
be termed the west end of the structure.  We notice
that the carpetless floor is still damp, where it has
been scrubbed to snowy whiteness; the stove shines
with its glossy blackness; pots, kettles, dishes, chairs
and table are all in place, and an air of exquisite
neatness pervades the room.\par

Passing to our right we enter the sitting-room,
not so large as the kitchen, and occupying the
southeast corner of the house.  There is a carpet on
the floor--the only one Judd's mother possessed.  A
small table stands in the center of the room, and on
it rests a lamp, a paper or two, and some books.  A
few cane-seated chairs, an old-fashioned and roomy
lounge, and curtains at the two windows, complete
the furnishings.\par

Back of the sitting-room is the bedroom, just
large enough to contain the bedstead, the
washstand, the bureau and two chairs.  One thing,
however, attracts our special attention.  The bed is not
a mere collection of blankets, thrown together and
never disturbed.  On the contrary, it would rival
the thriftiest housewife's for its plump feather-bed,
its white sheets and pillow-cases, and the neatness
with which it is made.  All the rooms, in fact, have
by their neat appearance disclosed to us what we
have already suspected--the lads have here {\itshape{a home}},
and not a mere abiding-place.\par

As we leave the house by the kitchen door we
find just at the western end of the building a huge
pile of stove-wood; and north of this, between the
house and well, a small garden-patch, already green
with its vegetables.  Judd had begun this before
Budd came; then it was enlarged somewhat, and
now promises to be an important item toward their
support.\par

Trusting the reader is not tired with this lengthy
description, and assuring him it is really necessary
for the better understanding of the chapters that
are immediately to follow, we will go on with our
story.\par

Taking the well-beaten path running west from
the kitchen door we are soon at the wharf, where
we find the young partners busily at work.  Judd
is repairing one of their pound-nets, which he has
spread out upon the grass just back of the dock.
The hole is a large one, for a ten-foot shark went
through the pound the morning before, letting out
no one knows how many fish, and compelling the
lads to take up the net for extensive repairs; but
they know this is a circumstance they must
occasionally look for, and Judd's cheery whistle, as he
works, shows that he has met with no special
discouragement in the mishap.\par

Budd is on board the sloop, which is anchored a
little north of the wharf and within its shelter,
scrubbing down her deck.  Before a great while he
finishes, and jumping into the yawl, sculls it rapidly
to the shore.  As he passes the outer end of the
dock he pauses a moment and bends down to look
underneath it.  Then he brings the boat up into
the opening, and catching hold of the top planking
calls out:\par

"I say, Judd, I'm going under here to take a look
at the cart-bed.  I meant before this time to have
taken it across to 'The Hummocks,' where Mr. Benton
could get it.  Perhaps I can do it to-day."\par

"Hold on a few minutes," responded Judd, looking
over to where his partner was, "and I'll go with
you.  You'll need help, and a lantern also.  Go to
the house and get that, and a stout rope; by that
time I'll be through here."\par

Budd secured the yawl and went on to the house.
Meantime Judd's needle flew swiftly in and out,
and when his chum arrived with the necessary
articles the last stitch in the seine had been taken.\par

Entering the boat, the lads pushed slowly in
under the wharf, and soon came to the cart-bed
which had brought Budd so providentially over to
the island.  It had been partly filled with sand by
the tides, and was covered with a green slime; but
the boys were dressed for dirty work, and soon got
the unwieldy body in a condition to launch.  Then
hitching the rope to it, they fastened the other end
to the yawl and slowly rowed out, dragging the
cart-bed after them.\par

They now took it on shore, and with sand and
broom and water scoured it until thoroughly clean;
then they again fastened it to the yawl and started
for "The Hummocks."  It was a long pull and a
hard one, but at length their task was accomplished,
and the cart-body was safely landed on the north
hummock and dragged up above high-water mark.\par

"There," said Budd, panting with his exertions;
"I wish I could find the under-gear, and then I
could return the whole vehicle to its owner, safe
and sound."\par

"Possibly we might find it if we searched for it,"
replied Judd, walking down to the roadway between
"The Hummocks" and where his comrade had been
swept off.  Turning about, he looked off toward the
island.  "There," he said, with a wave of his
hand--"a straight line from here touches the open end
of the dock.  Along that line somewhere you were
thrown into the cart-bed, probably as it came to the
surface; and beneath that spot, or somewhere near
it, lies the wheels.  How far off shore were you
when that happened?"\par

"I can't tell," answered Budd.  "It seemed to
me a terrible long distance, and yet it may not have
been.  If we only had a water-glass we might row
over to the island from this point, examining the
bottom of the bay the whole distance."\par

"What is a water-glass?" asked his chum, with
interest.\par

"I think I can make one," replied Budd, with
energy.  "You want a board tube about eighteen
inches deep, with a glass set in at one end.  You
then put your face at the other and put the glass
end a little beneath the surface, and the bottom
of the sea for some distance around can be seen."\par

"We'll make one right away and try it," declared
Judd, with enthusiasm.  "If it works well, we can
use it for a good many purposes.  There is an
eight-by-ten pane of glass over at the house.  Is that
large enough?"\par

"I think so--come on," responded his
companion; and the next moment the yawl was on its
way back to the island with a speed that fairly
made the water foam at its bow.\par

It took but a half-hour to make the glass.  Four
boards of the requisite length were nailed together,
forming a tube of just the size to take in the pane
of glass at one end.  A half-inch inside of this end
a row of tacks were driven nearly to their head;
then the glass was carefully dropped down until it
rested upon them.  Another row of tacks driven
just outside of the glass completed the arrangement
for holding it in place, and the instrument was
finished.  It now only remained to try it, and Budd
ran down to the yawl, followed by his chum.  They
pushed the boat forty or fifty feet off shore, and
put the water-glass to its test.  To their delight it
proved a perfect success, and through it the tiniest
objects on the sea-bottom were clearly discernible.\par

"We had better go over to the point where the
cart was swept off into the bay, to begin our search.
Doubtless the under-gear is nearer that shore than
this," suggested Budd.\par

His companion made no objection, and for the
second time that morning they crossed to "The
Hummocks."\par

Once opposite the road-bed, Judd took both oars
and backed water slowly toward the wharf on the
island, while Budd sat in the stern of the yawl, and
with his head in the tube watched the bottom of the
bay.\par

Rod after rod was gone over, when Budd
suddenly removed his head from the tube with an
exclamation of surprise.\par

"I say, Judd, the bottom here is covered solid
with scallops, and the bed seems to extend as far as
I can see in either direction."\par

"Let me see," answered Judd, pulling in his oars
and joining his companion at the stern of the boat.\par

Taking the glass, he examined the sea-bottom for
some minutes intently.\par

"It is as you say," he exclaimed, joyfully.  "Let
us see if we can find the size of the bed.  Row, if
you will, to the south, while I watch."\par

Budd good-naturedly took the oars and pulled in
the direction indicated.  He had gone about fifty
feet when Judd motioned him to stop.\par

"The bed ends here," he explained, removing his
head from the glass.  "Now row slowly east."\par

Budd did as directed for ten or twelve rods;
then Judd again motioned him to stop.\par

"That is the width of the bed," he explained.
"Now row north."\par

Again the boat shot in that direction, and for a
long distance, until Judd shouted:\par

"Hurrah!"\par

"What is it?" asked Budd, excitedly.\par

"That ends the bed; and did you ever see such a
one before?  It must be all of two hundred feet in
width and four or five hundred in length, and that
means bushels of scallops and many a dollar for us
when the law is off in September."\par

Budd needed no further explanation from his
partner.  He had heard him say again and again
that they must keep a sharp lookout for the beds of
these valuable bivalves, and here was a tremendous
one right almost at their island.  He, too, joined in
his companion's hurrah.\par

"I guess the glass has paid for its construction
already," he commented, joining his chum at the
stern.\par

Almost unconsciously he took the glass and looked
through it.  The yawl had drifted a little to the
right of the place where Judd had given his hurrah,
and was almost directly in line of the island's wharf.
Budd looked but an instant, then he sprung to his
feet and swung his hat.\par

"Judd," was his astonishing declaration, "those
cart-wheels are just below us, and at the very
north-east corner of the scallop-bed.  The sea-bottom goes
off suddenly, and the wheels are down the bank,
and the tongue is almost upright in the water!"\par

"You don't say so!" cried Judd, no less elated
than his comrade.  Then suddenly he added: "That
explains, too, chum, how the cart-bed was thrown
off, and it must have been somewhere near here you
were tossed within it."\par

"Yes," assented Budd; "but how are we going
to get the gear on shore?"\par

"Let me take a look at it," said Judd.\par

It took a moment or two to locate the under-gear,
and then Judd examined the sea-bottom carefully.
He finally arose from the examination with the air
of one who had come to a decision.\par

"Give me that rope," he said.\par

Budd handed him the rope that had been used to
drag the cart-bed over to "The Hummocks."\par

Making a running-noose in one end, Judd lowered
it into the water, at the same time directing Budd
to hold the yawl steady.  Again and again he
seemed to get his rope in the position he desired,
but it slipped away.  Finally he gave a quick jerk,
and then a cry of exultation.\par

"My noose has caught over the tongue and back
of the iron clevis, and no power can pull it away.
Let us see now if we can start the wheels."\par

He fastened the rope at the stern of the yawl and
took one oar.  Budd took the other, and together
they pulled with all their strength; but the wheels
did not move.  After several fruitless attempts to
start the ponderous under-gear the lads gave it up,
and looked around for some other way of
accomplishing their purpose.\par

"If it was not so far off shore," remarked Budd,
"we could run our rope in there and hitch a pair
of oxen to it, and then I guess the wheels would
have to come."\par

"What the oxen can't do our sloop can," said
Judd with animation.\par

"What is that?" asked Budd.\par

"Furnish us with power," was the reply.  "See--the
wind is rising.  By afternoon we will have a
strong breeze from the southwest.  We'll come
down here with the sloop, make fast, and take our
first tack to the northeast; that will haul the
wheels out from the sand in which they are
imbedded.  Then we'll make a tack due west and run
the wheels just as near inshore as we can with the
sloop; after that we can use the yawl to finish the
work."\par

A piece of board that lay in the bottom of the
yawl was fastened as a buoy to the rope, and then
the lads returned to the island, to wait until the
rising wind had reached a sufficient velocity to
warrant their undertaking.\par

It was not far from three o'clock that afternoon
when they boarded the sloop and ran down to their
improvised buoy.  Another rope was fastened to
that which had already been attached to the
cart-tongue, and this, after its other end had been made
secure to the stern of the sloop, was coiled in such a
way that it would easily pay out as the boat ran off
before the stiff breeze.\par

As soon as all was in readiness the head of the
Sea Witch was brought round before the wind and
her full sails spread.  Away she went like an arrow,
and the rope uncoiled with a swiftness that made
the lads brace themselves for the shock they knew
would immediately come.  But it was not so much
of a shock as they had anticipated.  The rope
suddenly stiffened, there was a quick jerk, and then the
sloop kept on her course, her speed somewhat
diminished by the load she was evidently towing
behind her.\par

"We have started them," the boys cried
simultaneously; and then Judd, who was at the helm,
brought the sloop around on her downward tack.\par

With no apparent difficulty the Sea Witch
dragged her load, and skirting the shore, she was
run down until nearly opposite the smaller
hummock.  Then she was anchored, and with the yawl
the lads completed the work of landing the
under-gear.  Then they dragged the wheels up to the
cart-bed, and the long-separated parts were once
more united.\par

"Now," said Budd, as he gazed at the restored
vehicle, "I believe I will go up to the next farm
and get a yoke of oxen, and surprise Mr. Benton by
bringing it home.  That will end the business, and
I shall have a great load off my mind."\par

"While you go up for the oxen, I'll take the sloop
back to the island and return in the yawl," said
Judd.  "I want to go with you and hear what the
old man will say."\par

Budd got the oxen and yoked them to the tongue.
The iron pin that he had so hastily pulled out at the
time he had been swept away was gone, and he was
obliged to make a wooden one before he could
secure the yoke.  He had barely got it done when
Judd returned, and they drove off for Mr. Benton's.\par

They found him at home, on their arrival, and he
came quickly out to see his long-lost cart.  The rays
of the sun had nearly dried its exterior, and it
scarcely looked the worse for its hard usage.  Over
and over the man examined the vehicle, but said not
a word until Budd took off the oxen.  Then his eye
caught sight of the wooden tongue pin, and he
asked, sharply:\par

"Where's the iron pin that was in there when you
lost the cart?"\par

"On the sea-bottom, I suppose," answered Budd.
"You didn't expect me to hang on to it, did you?"\par

"No," said the man, slowly, "but I should 'a'
thought ye'd 'a' got me another."\par

"How much will one cost?" asked Budd, in disgust.\par

"As much as a quarter," replied Mr. Benton.\par

"Here it is," said Budd, handing that amount to
him, "and I hope you are now satisfied?"\par

"Yes, unless"--rather hesitatingly--"unless
ye've a mind to pay me fer the time it has been
gone."\par

"I won't pay you a single cent for it!  I haven't
used your cart!" responded Budd, out of all patience.\par

The lads then turned and left the man, who had
in no way thanked them for restoring his cart, nor
seemed to appreciate the toil they had undergone
for its restoration.\par

It was night before the boys had returned the
borrowed oxen to their owner, paid for their use,
and reached their boat.  Almost out of patience
with themselves for having neglected some of their
own work to render a favor to an ungrateful man,
they embarked and rowed rapidly for the island.
Reaching the wharf a few minutes later, they
secured the boat and started for the house.
Suddenly Judd caught his companion's arm, saying:\par

"What light is that?"\par

Only a few rods off shore, and coming directly for
the island, was a light.  Soon it was near enough for
the lads to distinguish, even in the darkness, a boat
containing three men, one of whom was in the bow,
and held a lighted lantern in his hand.  As the boat
reached the shore they heard this man distinctly saying:\par

"This is the island, and the house is a few rods in
that direction.  We'll find a good shelter for the
night, and may perhaps find it worth our while to
keep quietly here for some time."\par

Budd drew his chum back into the shadow of an
adjacent tree and whispered:\par

"Let us find out who they are before me make
ourselves known."\par

Then the two lads crept carefully along the western
shore of the island until opposite the house; then
they crossed their garden-patch and concealed
themselves behind the huge wood-pile, waiting for the
new-comers to approach, and wondering what
purpose had brought them to the island.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-ix-the-three-intruders}%
\hypertarget{chapter-ix-the-three-intruders}{}%
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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER IX.--THE THREE INTRUDERS.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
The lads did not have long to wait.  Scarcely
had they recovered breath from their rapid
running when the three intruders appeared.  The
one in advance carried the lantern, and all carried
gripsacks.\par

"They have come to stay," whispered Budd.\par

Then he asked, softly:\par

"Are the doors locked, Judd?"\par

"Yes, and windows fastened," was the answer,
given in the same low whisper.  "I fortunately
attended to that when I came over with the sloop."\par

The men reached the house and tried the kitchen
door, but it withstood their most vigorous blows.\par

"I don't understand this," remarked the man with
the lantern.  "You could get in easily enough when
I was over here early in the spring."\par

"Perhaps some one is living here now," suggested
one of his companions, cautiously.  "There is a
wood-pile just beyond the corner."\par

"So there is," assented the first speaker, holding
up his lantern so that its rays fell on the heap; "but
if there is anyone here, I should have thought our
knocking would have aroused him."\par

"It may be some fisherman who has not yet come
home," remarked the third man.\par

"We'll try a window," said the leader; and he
stepped to the one just at the left of the door.\par

"It is also fastened," he added, after trying it,
"but it is with a stick just above it.  Tom, hand me
your cutter, and I'll take out a glass and remove
the stick."\par

The man addressed opened his gripsack.  For a
moment the listening lads heard the ring of metallic
tools striking together; then the searcher seemed to
find what he wanted, and handed his companion the
instrument he had asked for.\par

There was now heard for an instant a sharp
scratching sound, followed by a jingle of glass, and
then the window was raised up.\par

"We can get in now," remarked the one who had
opened the window; and tossing in his gripsack, he
sprung in after it, followed by his companions.\par

Budd and his partner rose and crept under the
window, listening eagerly yet apprehensively for
the next words the men should speak, for they now
suspected the character of their visitors, and knew it
would go hard with them if they were discovered.\par

"Some one does live here, boys, sure enough.
These things weren't here at all a few months ago,"
said the leader, a moment later.\par

"Well, whoever they are, evidently they are not
here just now, and we'll look around.  Perhaps
we'll find something worth taking, even if we have
to leave," said the man who had been called Tom.\par

As his voice reached the listening boys, Budd
caught Judd's arm convulsively.\par

"I believe I know that man," he whispered into
his astonished comrade's ear.\par

"All right," was the response of the other men to
Tom's suggestion, and they passed on into the
sitting-room.\par

Budd nudged his chum, crept around to the east
end of the house, and stood up by the sitting room
window.  The curtain was lowered, but not quite
far enough to reach the sill, and through this
narrow opening he gave a quick look at the three
men.  Then he pulled Judd, who had followed
him, back into the shadow of the building and said,
hoarsely:\par

"It is as I thought.  The man they call Tom is
Thomas H. Bagsley, who worked in the same office
with my father for several years, and he is as big a
rascal as there is outside of prison-walls.  If I only
had him in my power I'd wring a confession out of
him that would change my whole future life;" and
there was a bitterness in the lad's words that was
akin to hatred.\par

As though to substantiate Budd's declaration, a
singular thing happened within the house.  There
came a sharp exclamation that led the boys to again
look through the window into the room.  The man
called Tom stood by the center-table, with Budd's
Bible open in his hand, staring at the fly-leaf, and it
was he from whom the exclamation had come.\par

"What's the matter?" asked his companions.\par

"I want you to read that name," he said savagely
to them; and looking over his shoulder they read:\par

"Budd Boyd.  From his mother, Mary Boyd."\par

"Well, what of it?" asked one of the men.\par

"He's the son of Henry Boyd," answered Tom,
shrilly.  "I knew he'd left Boston, but didn't
suppose he had come down this way.  We'd better
leave before he gets his eyes on me."\par

"Why?" asked the same man who had spoken before.\par

"Because," answered the leader of the trio, "Tom
played a little trick that sent the father to prison,
where he is to-day, and he is afraid the son will take
revenge on him should he catch sight of him."\par

Tom swore a fearful oath.\par

"Not if I know myself," he replied, fiercely.  "Let
me see the son, and I'll serve him worse than the
father.  All I fear is he may see me and recognize
me; then the little job we contemplate will have
to be given over.  He'd set the authorities to
watching us, and the sooner we got out the neighborhood
the better."\par

"Hadn't we better keep watch here till the lad
returns, and then drop him off the island?"
suggested the leader, coolly.\par

"Yes, if we were sure he was alone," answered
Tom, readily.  "But I don't believe he is.  Likely
as not there is a family living here, and they may
have gone over to one of the villages for something,
and when the moon is up will return.  Before that
time we must be gone."\par

"Well, perhaps you are right," the leader
answered.  "We can row over to Hope Island and
make a stay there over Sunday, or until we have
formed our plans.  I believe there is no one there
as yet."\par

"That is old Johnson's summer residence, isn't
it?" asked Tom.\par

"Yes.  Are you afraid of him, too?"\par

"No more than I am of the boy.  In fact, I'd like
to ransack the house over there, if the way is clear
to do so."\par

"All right; we'll go over there pretty soon, then.
But let us first see what there is for us here.  Jed
had better run down by the boat, however, and
keep watch, while you and I pick up the things."\par

Jed departed, at his leader's suggestion, and the
two lads deemed it wise for them to keep out of his
way, and so worked cautiously back to the west
side of the island, where they could embark upon
their boat at the first evidence of their being
discovered by the intruders.\par

As they sat down near the wharf Judd said, in
low tones:\par

"I wish we had some way to scare those fellows
off before they make a very extended search of the
house.  I'm afraid they may find our money."\par

Before Budd could answer there was a sound of
steps coming down the path toward the wharf.  It
was evidently one of the robbers, but he came only
a short distance.\par

"Jed!  Jed!" he called in low but distinct tones.
"We have found just the jolliest supper!  Come on
up and help us eat it."\par

Jed, who was down by his boat, immediately
joined the speaker, and the two went hurriedly back
to the house.\par

"I wish we had something to eat, too,"
commented Judd, as the two men disappeared.  "I
confess, after working as we did this afternoon, I'm
hungry."\par

"We'll have something in a few minutes, and
those fellows will leave the house a good deal
quicker than they got into it--see if they don't,"
answered Budd.  "You just stay right here a few
minutes;" and then he ran down the wharf, jumped
into the yawl, and sculled quietly over to the sloop.\par

It was not over five minutes before he returned
with an old gun, that had belonged to Judd's father,
and which the boys kept on the sloop, having an
occasional use for it, as they went about the bay, to
shoot sea-fowl with, or the more voracious denizens
of the sea.\par

"Come on!" he said to Judd; and again the boys
approached the house.\par

Taking their station once more behind the
wood-pile, Budd called out, in stern tones:\par

"Hello, Judd!  There is some one in the house!
Hurry up with the gun!"\par

A great commotion in the house instantly followed
his words.  The robbers evidently were at the
kitchen-table eating when he cried out, and each
grabbing up his gripsack, sprung for the window.
As they tumbled, one over the other, out onto the
ground, Budd raised the gun and fired one barrel
into the air.\par

Not a sound save that of running followed the
report, and it was apparent that the intruders were
making the best time possible for their boat.  The
two boys followed them to the shore, and Budd
again fired into the air as the light craft swiftly
disappeared in the darkness--not, however, until there
had been two or three quick flashes from the boat,
followed by sharp reports, and some pistol-balls had
whistled harmlessly above the lads' heads.\par

Hurrying back to the house, the boys made a
careful examination of their rooms.  In the bedroom and
sitting-room nothing had been disturbed; and in the
kitchen the broken window, the lighted lantern, and
the partially-eaten food upon the table, were the
only evidences of the robbers' visit.\par

Somewhat excited, and very watchful lest the
intruders should return, the boys ate their
long-delayed supper, and then entered the sitting-room.
Budd sat down by the center-table and took up the
Bible that had caused the robber Tom so much
surprise.  His face flushed greatly, and he seemed
deeply moved by the emotions with which he was
struggling.  At length he said:\par

"Judd, you heard enough from Thomas Bagsley's
lips to-night to prove he was the man I had declared
him to be.  You also heard him allude to my father.
In justice to that father's memory, and also that you
may know who I am and how I came to be here, I
will now tell you what I have never before disclosed
to a single person."\par

With these words Budd began a story which
explained the mystery that had hung over him ever
since he had appeared in that neighborhood, and
revealed the tremendous burden that was weighing
down his young life.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-x-budd-s-story}%
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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER X.--BUDD'S STORY.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
Said he, "My father's name is Henry Boyd,
and my mother's, Mary Boyd, and my home
until last March was in Boston, Mass.  Father and
mother had been brought up in the western part of
that State, and were married there, but soon after
my birth they removed to Boston, and father
entered the store of N. B. Johnson, the wholesale dry
goods dealer on Sumner Street."\par

"He's the man who has spent the last summer or
two on Hope Island," interrupted Judd, "and the
one Bagsley called old Johnson."\par

"Yes," assented Budd; "though I did not know,
until he alluded to it to-night, that it was down this
way that Mr. Johnson spent his summers.\par

"To go on with my story, however.  Father
slowly worked his way up from one position to
another until he was Mr. Johnson's confidential clerk,
and held that position until last fall.  Of course his
salary was a comfortable one, and we lived nicely
out in the Roxbury suburbs.  I was kept constantly
in school, and as I seemed interested in my studies
father determined that I should have a college
education, and with that aim in view I last September
entered the Boston Latin School.\par

"How little we know what is before us,"
continued Budd after a momentary pause.  "Had
anyone then told me what I was to pass through in less
than a year I should have thought it simply
impossible.  In order to have you understand what is to
follow I must, however, go back a little in my
explanation.\par

"When I was about twelve years old, mother
began to show signs of a decline.  She had had a fever,
and never fully recovered.  Still, as she was able to
be around most of the time and direct our one
servant in the care of the house, I, at least, thought
but little about it.  Not so with father, however.
Always thoughtful of others rather than of himself,
he watched mother with an ever-increasing anxiety
until a year ago last spring.  Mother then
contracted a severe cold, and it was soon only too
apparent that she had entered the first stages of a
quick consumption.\par

"All that summer she grew worse, and last
October she was so feeble her physician declared that
the only hope of saving her life was to take her
immediately to a warmer climate for the winter.
Father determined that this should be done, but
how he was to accomplish it he did not know.
Mother was too feeble to go without him and a
woman attendant.  The fall drive at the store had
begun, and father could not well be spared.  Then,
too, there was the expense that would necessarily
follow.  This was an important item; for though
father had always had good pay, he had, on account
of his heavy expenses, saved scarcely anything.\par

"Father spoke to Mr. Johnson about a leave of
absence, and he reluctantly consented that father
should be gone long enough to take mother to
Florida and arrange for her comfort there.  The
woman who was taking care of her consented to go
and stay there with her; and much as father and
mother hated to be separated, this seemed the only
thing that could be done.  Father had about two
hundred dollars on hand, and deemed this enough
to meet the expenses of taking mother down to
Deland, the place where they had decided to go.  He
then intended to send mother money each month,
or as it should be needed.\par

"So our house was given up.  The goods were
stored.  A boarding-place was secured for me, and
on the first of the next week father and mother
were to start.  I shall never forget that last evening
we all spent together," and Budd's voice grew
husky.  "It was at a friend's of the family, where
mother had been temporarily removed while the
household goods were being packed and stored.  We
were alone in mother's room, and it almost seems as
if mother knew she should never see me again,
except for the brief moment I should say good-by to
her at the depot the following morning.  So she told
me her last wishes, and gave me her blessing.\par

"While we sat there a knock came at the door,
and mother's nurse entered.\par

"'Here, Mr. Boyd,' she said, 'is a letter for you.
It has just been left at the door.'\par

"Father took it, and noticing the firm-name on
the corner of the envelope, tore it open with some
misgiving.  It proved, however, to be a great cause
for rejoicing to us all, and no one dreamed that it
was otherwise than authentic.  Written on the
regular firm note-paper, and with the firm-heading, it
ran:\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ BOSTON, Mass., Oct. 15, 18--.}}
\endgraf}
\par

{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ MR. HENRY BOYD:}}
\endgraf}
\par

{\itshape{Dear Sir}}--Possibly my reluctance to allow you a
leave of absence may have led you to believe I do
not sympathize with you in your wife's illness; but
as a proof that I do, and also as a token of my
appreciation of your long and faithful service, I
inclose a check for five hundred (\$500) dollars.
Trusting you will return to us at the earliest possible
moment, and that your wife's sojourn in a warmer
climate may completely restore her to health,\par

\begin{description}
\item[
{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ I remain, yours truly,}}
\endgraf}
] 

{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ N. B. JOHNSON.}}
\endgraf}
\par
\end{description}


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
"Now, father had seen more or less of Mr. Johnson's
writing every day for years, and the quaint,
cramped penmanship of the letter, with the familiar
signature at the close, seemed identically those that
were also upon the check.  That was the regular
firm-check also, and the number and perforation
were in strict accordance with the firm-usages, and
therefore father, with a grateful heart, wrote a note
of thanks, and gave it to me to mail to Mr. Johnson
as I went back to my boarding-place.  With joyful
hearts, too--joyful in spite of mother's feebleness--father
and mother set out at an early hour the next
morning for the South.  They had taken this
unexpected generosity of Mr. Johnson as a good omen,
and neither had any suspicion that a cloud was
gathering above their heads that would soon mean
death to one and an incarceration in prison-walls for
the other.\par

"In New York father was known, and he thought
it wiser to cash his check there than wait until he
got farther South; so the next morning he delayed
one train, and at the opening of the bank where he
was acquainted presented his check for payment.
The money was handed him without any hesitation,
and two hours later he, with his little party, had
resumed the journey.\par

"At Richmond, Charleston and Jacksonville they
made brief stops, that mother might rest, and it was
not until the following week that they arrived at
their destination.  Imagine, now, father's surprise,
when he registered at the hotel in Deland, to have
an officer immediately step forward and arrest him
for forgery and theft.  As soon as father recovered
his composure he demanded a full explanation of the
outrage, and at whose instigation the charges had
been made.  He was completely overwhelmed when
told that it was Mr. Johnson, and that he was
charged not only with the forging of the check, but
also with taking a thousand dollars in cash from the
office safe.\par

"Father sent for a lawyer and consulted with him,
hoping to arrange the affair in some way so that
mother would have no knowledge of it, and having
arranged for her comfort, he would then return to
Boston and face the charges, sure that he could
prove them false.  But father was a stranger.  No
one was ready to offer bail for him, and the officer
clamored for his immediate requisition.  There
seemed but one alternative.  Mother must be told,
and father return immediately to Boston.\par

"When mother was told, the shock seemed to give
her new strength, and she declared she would not
leave father while he was in trouble.  The whole
party started on their return, therefore, with the
officer.  In New York mother was taken with a
hemorrhage, brought on, the doctors said, by
excitement and overdoing, and in six hours she was a
corpse.\par

"I saw the account of father's arrest in that
morning's paper, and a few hours later got a
telegram from father announcing mother's death, and
that night met him at the depot and took charge of
the corpse, while the officer took father to jail.\par

"The weeks that followed I cannot tell you of,"
continued Budd, after a paroxysm of sobs.  "Mother
was buried, and father's trial came.  Some friends
had rallied about him, good counsel was secured, and
we hoped confidently for his acquittal.  Father told
his story just as it was, but Mr. Johnson declared
he never either wrote the letter or sent the check;
and Bagsley, who had been an under-clerk in the
office, and had succeeded to father's position,
produced bits of paper that he declared he had found
hid in the office, on which there had evidently been
constant practice to imitate the firm-name.  This
testimony, together with the known facts that father
needed the money, and was the only clerk in the
office that at that time had access to the safe and
check-book, convicted him.  His story, and the
drawing of the check and the sending of it to the
house, were declared to be simply plans on his part
to cover his crimes in mother's and his friends' eyes,
and account to them for the extra money he
possessed, until he got safely out of the State.  The
thousand dollars that had disappeared from the safe
he was supposed to have concealed.  At the end,
those who had claimed to be friends deserted him,
and Mr. Johnson was openly complimented on the
promptness with which he had acted.  The Judge
who presided at the trial seemed to have caught the
popular belief, for he, when pronouncing the
sentences, said:\par

"'Had the prisoner confessed his guilt and thrown
himself upon the mercy of the Court, he might have
received the Court's clemency, since they were his
first offenses.  His obdurateness, however, compels
me to make the sentences correspondingly harsh.  I
therefore sentence him on the first charge to seven
years, and on the second charge to five years, at
hard labor in the State's prison; the second sentence
to begin when the first has ended.'\par

"It was last January when this took place.  From
that time I knew not a happy hour until I left the
city.  Our former friends refused to receive me at
their homes; school-mates treated me coldly or met
me with sneers; even the lady with whom I boarded
told me I must leave.  I at length determined to
seek a home where I was not known.\par

"The lawyer who had defended father at his trial
seemed friendly, and to him I went.  From him I
learned that father had returned to Mr. Johnson the
five hundred dollars he had got on the forged check,
and that he had told Mr. Johnson if he ever lived to
get out of prison he should pay the other thousand.
'You believe I have taken it,' he had said, 'and I
will not allow myself to rest until you at least are
convinced that I have not a cent that belongs to
you.'  The lawyer also added that father's own
money had paid the expenses South and return, and
also mother's funeral expenses, but that he had
received no compensation for his services.\par

"Through him I therefore disposed of all the
household goods, selling even my own, father's and
mother's watches; in fact, everything that would
sell.  After paying the lawyer in full, and all other
bills, I found I had five hundred and four dollars
and seventy-five cents.\par

"I took five hundred of this and went to Mr. Johnson's
office.  He was not in, and I sat down to
await his coming.  Bagsley was at the desk father
had occupied so long, and he scowled darkly at me.
I had always felt that he could tell all about the
forged check and the thousand dollars if he were
willing to do so, and I fixed my eyes steadily upon
him.  He grew uneasy at my fixed gaze, and
evidently would have spoken to me had not the
presence of the other clerks prevented.\par

"Mr. Johnson soon came in, and though he seemed
annoyed to see me, did not refuse my request to
see him privately.  Once in his inner office, I took
out the money I had brought and handed it to him.\par

"'I pay this money, Mr. Johnson,' I said, 'not
because father ever took a dollar from you, but
because you believe he did.  This five hundred
makes an even thousand.  The other five hundred I
will pay as soon as I can earn it.  Will you give me
a receipt for this?'"\par

Without a word he filled out the receipt, but on
handing it to me he said, not unkindly:\par

"'Will you tell me who did take it?  If I knew
I had wronged your father I would not leave a
stone unturned until I had made him full amends.'\par

"'Of course I have my suspicions,' I replied,
'but it is another thing to prove them.'\par

"'Do you mean Bagsley?' he asked, lowering his
voice and tapping thoughtfully on the desk with his
fingers.\par

"'Mr. Johnson,' I suddenly cried, a light flashing
in upon my mind, 'did you, the morning father
started South, get a note from him thanking you
for the check?' and as he shook his head in reply, I
went on: 'Well, the night before, I mailed one to
you.  Who opened your mail that morning?'\par

"'Bagsley,' he replied; 'but how did he get
access to the safe, and what could have been his
motive in so cruelly wronging your father, if
guilty?'\par

"'I don't know any more than you,' I answered,
turning to go.  As I laid my hand upon the office
door it opened, and Bagsley appeared.  By the look
of rage on his face as he glanced at me I knew he
had been listening to our conversation.  He walked
over to Mr. Johnson with a handful of papers he
wanted him to sign, and I departed.\par

"Going back to the place where I was stopping, I
remained all night, and early the next morning took
my pack and started out of the city.  I had so little
money I had decided to walk to Providence, looking
for work all the way.  Barely had I turned the first
street corner when I ran into Bagsley.  He at once
recognized me, and catching me by the arm, hissed
out the words:\par

"'You young rascal!  I've a good mind to throttle
you; and I will if you ever come about the office
again telling stories about me!'  Then he shook me
and hurled me from him with a force that sent me
into the nearest gutter.\par

"Thoroughly angered by the treatment I had
received, I sprung to my feet and foolishly said:\par

"'Bagsley, it was you who forged that check and
sent it to father to cover your theft of the thousand
dollars, and I'll prove it yet!'\par

"He came toward me, his eyes flashing with a
murderous light and his fists clinched.  I expected
ah encounter with him that would only end in
serious injury to one or the other of us, and braced
myself for it.  But just then he caught sight of a
gentleman coming down the street, and shaking his
fist in my face, he muttered:\par

"'The next time I meet you I'll kill you!' and
then he turned the corner and disappeared.\par

"I now know by his words here to-night that he
has been looking for me, and thus found out that I
had left the city.  His presence here indicates also
that he has been discharged for some reason from
Mr. Johnson's employ, and is allied with a gang of
burglars.  This only strengthens my belief that he
is guilty of the crimes for which my father is now
in prison.\par

"As to my tramp, it was a long and severe one.
I reached Providence finally without money and no
prospect of work.  Every effort there to secure a
job failed, and I continued my tramp.  In the
village over here I heard of Benton, and that he
wanted a lad about my age.  It was cold, a storm
threatened, I was hungry, and had nowhere to lay
my head.  His offer I was at the time thankful to
accept, and began my work for him."\par

"Does your father know where you are?" asked
Judd, as his partner finished and bowed his head
upon the table to conceal the emotions the narrating
of his story had awakened.\par

"I went to see him before I paid Mr. Johnson,"
Budd replied without raising his head, "and had his
approval of my course.  After I hired out to
Mr. Benton I sent a brief line to him explaining that I
had found work.  I did not give my address, for I
was afraid if I got a letter from the prison my
story might come out, and I should have to seek a
home in some other place.  I tell you, Judd, it's a
heavy burden I carry--one that will blight my
whole life, and that has already, as you see, changed
my whole future."\par

"Yes, Budd, I know it," replied his companion;
"and yet you know, and your father knows, he is
innocent, while I know my father is everything that
the people of this community may care to call him.
Your mother was confident of your father's
innocence, and died before she knew of his imprisonment,
while my mother all her married life had the
burden of knowing she was married to a brute.
Surely there is much yet for you to be thankful for,
and perhaps Bagsley's presence here means that you
are yet to prove his guilt and set your father free.
Some light has been thrown on the matter by this
incident of to-night."\par

"You are right, Judd, and I will take heart at
your words.  The darkest hour seems to have
passed, and light has begun to come.  I am
pleasantly situated, and can soon send Mr. Johnson a
payment on the last five hundred dollars.  In some
way, too, Bagsley may be led to confess the part he
has played, and then father can go free, and here
I'll have a home to which he can come until we
plan for the future.  But whatever comes, and
whatever plans are made, there will always be a place for
you.  Brief as the time has been since I knew you, I
love you like a brother."\par

"We will be brothers," Judd declared.  "Through
thick and thin we'll stand by each other;" and with
a hearty shake of the hands the lads went to bed,
and were soon asleep.\par

And neither one for a single moment supposed
that before the coming week was over a darker
cloud and a heavier burden would fall upon Budd's
heart, and that Judd's declaration would have a
severe test.\par

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CHAPTER XI.--AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
The young partners on the following day
talked over the adventure they had had with
the burglars, and decided to say nothing about the
affair to any one else for the present.\par

"Those fellows are up to some crime," Budd had
declared, "and possibly, if we say nothing about
their visit here, but keep a careful watch up and
down the bay, we may discover what it is and bring
them to justice.\par

"Once get Bagsley into jail charged with some
crime, and he may be willing to acknowledge his
guilt respecting the one of which my father has been
convicted.  Especially may this be so if he should
be able to lighten his sentence on the later charge
by a confession of the first; and if we are the means
of his and his companions' arrest, we may have the
power to bring about such an arrangement.  Then
my father's release is certain."\par

To all of which Judd agreed, and from that day
the lads became a self-appointed vigilance committee
patrolling the bay.\par

On both the following Monday and Tuesday
mornings, when the lads came to haul their nets at
the three pounds, they were delighted to find in
each the largest catches of fish they had yet made;
and it was nearly dark on Tuesday evening as they
got into their sloop at the village wharf, after
shipping off the large excess of fish they had had over
the demand of the home trade.\par

As Budd cast off the last rope and stepped forward
to hoist the sails of the Sea Witch, preparatory
to a departure for the island, a gentleman came
hurriedly to the dock and called out:\par

"Hello, there, boys; hold on a moment.  I want
to see you!"\par

Judd threw the man a rope, and the sloop was
refastened to the wharf.\par

"Are you Boyd \& Floyd of Fox Island?" the
stranger asked.\par

"Yes, sir," replied the lads.\par

"And you sometimes take out sailing-parties, do
you not?" was the next inquiry; and again the
young partners responded in the affirmative.\par

"I am Mr. Dane," continued the gentleman, "and
am over here with a party of friends, and we wish
you to take us across the bay to Bristol to-morrow.
Can you do it?"\par

"Do you wish to be simply taken over, or over
and back?" asked Budd, as spokesman for the firm.\par

"Just landed there.  We are from that side, and
thought, instead of going around by either Newport
or Providence, we would get you to set us over,"
explained Mr. Dane.\par

"What time do you wish to go, and how many
are there in the party?" asked Budd, with a prompt
business air.\par

"Six, with myself; and we would prefer not to
go until afternoon, leaving here, say, about two
o'clock."\par

Budd consulted with his partner; then he said:\par

"Yes, we can take you over."\par

"What are the charges?" inquired Mr. Dane, as
though the proposed trip depended greatly upon them.\par

"Three dollars for the party," answered Budd.\par

"That is fifty cents each, and is much less than it
will cost us to go around," Mr. Dane commented to
himself.\par

Then he said to the boys:\par

"All right; we'll give it."\par

"One of us will be here at the appointed hour, if
a suitable day for the trip," said Budd, casting off
the fastenings of the sloop for the second time; and
a moment later she was gliding down the harbor.\par

By half-past one o'clock the next day the lads had
got their regular work so well in hand that Judd
could easily finish the balance by night, and Budd
entered the Sea Witch and sailed over to the village.\par

The weather was delightful, and the breeze a
strong one, so he tied up at the village wharf five
minutes before the appointed hour.  But the party
he was to take over the bay was as prompt as
himself, and before the town clock had struck two all
were on board, and the sloop had begun the passage.\par

The wind was a southerly one, and running out
by the lighthouse, Budd took his first tack directly
for the lower end of Prudence Island.  When he
reached that, and threw around his tiller for his
second tack, it brought the wind almost directly
astern, and he ran straight for Bristol harbor,
where he safely landed his passengers in less than
two hours.\par

The party were delighted with the trip, and
promptly paid the amount that had been agreed
upon.  As they turned away from the landing,
Mr. Dane handed Budd one of his business cards, saying:\par

"You see, I'm in the grocery business just up the
street here.  Whenever over this way, give us a call."\par

Budd thanked the gentleman and put the card in
his pocket, scarcely realizing how soon it was to
prove serviceable.  Then he said, laughingly:\par

"We are in want of some groceries at the island.
I guess I'll go up to your store, and see if I can
trade better there than at our village.  It will
enable me, also, to go directly home from here."\par

"Come on; I go by there on my way to the
house, and will see that you are fairly treated,"
said Mr. Dane, in reply.\par

A few rods up the street they came to the store,
and Mr. Dane himself waited upon Budd, and made
a generous reduction, as the lad paid for the things.\par

Returning to the boat as soon as his purchases
were made, Budd cast off the lines and began his
return passage.  The wind, blowing as it did
strongly from a southern quarter, compelled him
to take quite a different course from the one taken
when he had come over.\par

Once out of Mount Hope Bay, he ran for the
north of Prudence Island.  Passing that on his left,
he tacked down by Patience Island toward the
mouth of the Potowomot River, on the main shore.
His third tack, to the southeast, brought him under
the lee of Hope Island, and from there he expected
to make his last tack directly for home.\par

As he came up under Hope Island, however, he
recalled the words of Tom Bagsley on the previous
Saturday evening about this island being Mr. Johnson's
summer residence; and remembering, also,
that Tom and his companions had left Fox Island
intending to make Hope Island their rendezvous for
a few days, a strong desire took possession of him
to land on the island and see if the burglars were
still there, or had ransacked the house and left.\par

Like an inspiration the thought came to him that
here might be his chance to bring a charge against
his enemy.  If the house had indeed been robbed,
his own and Judd's testimony as to the declaration
they had heard from the robbers' lips surely ought
to be sufficient to warrant their arrest for the deed.
He resolved, then, to land and make an investigation;
and if he found traces of the crime, as he felt
sure he would, then he would report to Mr. Johnson
at once.\par

He knew he was running some danger of discovery
by a man who would not hesitate to take his
life, but he believed the risk was very slight.  If
the house had been robbed, he argued, then the men
had already departed.  He believed this all the
more strongly because it was quite time for
Mr. Johnson to come to the island for the summer; and
the men, also knowing this, would not be apt to
make a long sojourn there.  So he ran in as close to
the island as possible and anchored the sloop.  Then,
jumping into the yawl, he went on shore, and
climbing up the steep bank, started boldly across
the fields toward the house.\par

He would have hesitated long before doing this,
however, had he been aware that Mr. Johnson had
only that morning come to the island, bringing
some men with him, to arrange for his summer
sojourn; and finding that the house had indeed been
robbed, and believing, from unmistakable evidences,
that a gang of men were making the house a place
of rendezvous, he had left everything just as it had
been found, and was lying in wait with his men for
the burglars' return.\par

Unconscious of all this, Budd went directly on to
the house, and found the shutters torn off from one
window and the window open.  Listening a
moment, and hearing no sound of anyone within the
house, he leaped into the window and began his
search of the rooms.\par

On every side were the signs of the robbers'
presence.  The table was covered with unwashed dishes,
beds had been slept in, and drawers and closets torn
open.  Budd of course could not tell what had been
carried off, but he felt sure that many things had
been taken.\par

From down-stairs he went upstairs, and wandered
through room after room until convinced that the
burglars had left no part of the house unvisited;
then he retraced his steps to the window by which
he had entered.\par

Exulting in his heart at the discovery he had
made, for he believed it was one link in the chain
toward his father's freedom, and utterly unconscious
of any danger to himself, he put his feet out of the
window and lowered himself to the ground.\par

Then he heard hurried steps behind him, and a
loud shout close at hand; but before he could turn
about and face the unseen danger strong hands
seized him and a stern voice said:\par

"So it is you, you young rascal, that has been
robbing me, and this is the place you have got, but
cannot send me any money until fall!  Not until
you sell the articles you have stolen, I suppose!"\par

Full of consternation, and wondering how he
could explain the awkward predicament in which he
found himself, Budd turned and stood face to face
with Mr. Johnson.\par

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CHAPTER XII.--BUDD'S TRIAL.}

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{\noindent}
For a moment Budd stood before the angry
man abashed, and not knowing what to say.
Then the consciousness of his innocence of any
wrong came to his rescue, and he quietly said:\par

"Mr. Johnson, I have not robbed your house, nor
have I ever been on the island before to-day.  If
you will permit me to explain, I will tell you how I
came to be here."\par

"None of your lies to me!" angrily answered
Mr. Johnson.  "Your father tried that when he robbed
me, and now you want to make use of the same
trick!  But whatever story you have got to tell you
may tell in the court-room, as he did; and, like him,
you'll find it won't save you from prison-walls;" and
he checked every effort of Budd to speak.\par

"Bring a rope here," he said to one of his men,
"and bind this fellow's arms behind his back, and
get ready to go with me over to the west shore.
I shall want your testimony to corroborate mine,
that we found the young rascal in the house.  The
rest of you can now put the house in order."\par

"How shall we go over to the main-land?" asked
the man, after he had finished tying Budd's arms.\par

"We'll go in the prisoner's boat," replied
Mr. Johnson, "and Bill, here, can come over after us
to-morrow noon.  We can't swear out a warrant
and have the boy tried before that time."\par

With Budd between them, the two men now
proceeded down to the shore where the yawl was
lying, and pushing her off, Went on board the sloop.\par

Scarcely had Mr. Johnson got on board the Sea
Witch, however, when he noticed the bundles Budd
had put on board at Bristol, and he directed his
man to examine them.\par

"They contain a ham, some crackers, cheese and
sugar," he reported.\par

"There is another proof of your guilt!" said
Mr. Johnson, sternly, to Budd.  "You had brought
along your provisions for another sojourn at the
house."\par

"Then why did I not carry them up there?"
retorted Budd.\par

Mr. Johnson was at first puzzled for an answer,
but at length said:\par

"You must have had accomplices, and it may be
you only stopped at the house while on your way to
your present rendezvous to see what else you could
find."\par

"But I had nothing when I got out of the window,"
replied Budd.\par

Then he added, earnestly:\par

"If you will just let me explain, Mr. Johnson, you
will see that I had good reason for being on your
island."\par

"Very likely," said Mr. Johnson, with a sarcasm
that stung the lad to the quick.  "But there is just
one chance I'll give you.  If you will tell where
the rest of your gang is, and help us to capture
them, I'll do my best to save you; otherwise the
law must take its course."\par

"How can I, when I have no accomplices and
have not robbed you?" asked Budd, out of patience
with the obstinacy of the angry man.\par

"The saying that 'A lie well stuck to is as good
as the truth' won't apply in your case, at least,"
remarked Mr. Johnson, with rising anger; and for
the remainder of the passage he in no way addressed
his prisoner.\par

Arriving at the village which Budd had left only
five hours before under such happy circumstances,
Mr. Johnson left him on the boat, with the hired
man to look out for him, while he went in search of
the proper authorities to perfect the lad's arrest.
He had no difficulty in finding the officers, and at
eight o'clock Budd had been put into the village
lock-up, with his preliminary trial before the local
justice assigned for ten o'clock the next day.\par

But Budd was in no sense desponding; his head
was never clearer, nor had he ever thought more
rapidly or planned better to meet a grave emergency.
He was growing older and wiser very fast.  He
knew, moreover, what were his rights.\par

"Mr. Avery," he had said to the constable, as he
was about to leave him for the night, "I want
Mr. John Benton and Peter Wright subpoenaed to
appear as witnesses for me in the morning.  I also
want a messenger sent over to Fox Island for Judd
Floyd.  Mr. Ben Taylor will go, and my boat, as
you know, is at the wharf.  Please hurry this part
of my request, for I have got to send Judd over to
Bristol before my trial.  Of course I will pay all
necessary expenses."\par

Mr. Avery promised to attend to these matters,
and evidently did so at once, for at nine o'clock he
appeared again with Judd Floyd, and also announced
that the two witnesses named had had due notice to
appear at the trial.\par

As soon as Judd and he were left alone Budd
took Mr. Dane's card from his pocket, and asked
his chum if he would go over to Bristol for that
gentleman and bring him over as a witness.\par

"I shall prove," he said, "that I have never been
on Hope Island before this afternoon, and that will
clear me from the charge brought against me; for
Mr. Johnson has not put into his warrant that I
robbed the house to-day, as he knew such a charge
could not be sustained, but that I committed the
burglary some time between the 1st of April (when
he was last on there) and to-day.\par

"I shall, of course, depend upon you as the
principal witness as to my residing on Fox Island.\par

"Mr. Wright and Mr. Benton can testify as to
where I was previous to my joining you, and
Mr. Dane can testify that I did not go to Hope Island
while with him; that I bought my provisions there
for our use on Fox Island; and that I did not leave
there until after four o'clock to-day.  Perhaps it is
not really necessary to have Mr. Dane's testimony,
but I had rather he would be here, and you can tell
him that I will pay his expenses, and also pay him
for his time."\par

"I'll bring him back, sure," promised Judd, rising
to go.\par

Then he drew near to Budd and whispered:\par

"Shall you allude to the visit of Bagsley and his
gang to Fox Island, and what they said about Hope
Island?  That will be an important item, but it will
give them the clew we are trying to follow up."\par

"No, it won't be necessary to mention that.  At
the worst they can only bind me over to a higher
court, and before that trial can come off I believe
we shall have found Bagsley, and that will clear me.
I don't see how, after I have proved I was never on
the island before to-day, they can hold me a single
moment."\par

Judd held the same opinion, and hurried off to
carry out his partner's request.\par

At ten o'clock the next morning the little village
court-room was crowded, for criminal trials were a
novelty then, and Budd's case had awakened a good
deal of curiosity.\par

The Trial Justice was a little, fussy man, knowing
far more about his grocery store down the street
than he did about law; but he had put on a pompous
air, and tried to manifest a dignity equal to the
important occasion.\par

Mr. Johnson and man were there, and with them
the one lawyer the village afforded as Prosecuting
Attorney.  It looked as though Mr. Johnson was
afraid he could not prove his case, and had sought
all the possible help he at that short notice could
obtain.\par

Budd's witnesses were all there also, Judd and
Mr. Dane having arrived an hour before, and Mr. Benton
and Mr. Wright having come in as the court
was called.\par

Budd was his own lawyer, and from his smiling
face one would have thought he felt fully able to
cope with the attorney for the prosecution.\par

When the charge was read, the lad in loud, clear
tones, answered "Not guilty," and the trial began.\par

Mr. Johnson was the first witness, and he stated
briefly the condition in which he had found his
house on arriving there the morning before, and how
he had laid in wait for the return of the burglars.
He described Budd's appearance, his entrance to the
house, and his capture.  As he ended his testimony,
the lawyer, evidently having been previously
instructed, asked:\par

"Have you ever seen the prisoner previous to the
time of his capture?"\par

"Yes," replied Mr. Johnson.  "I have known him,
and his father before him, for years."\par

"Where is his father?" asked the lawyer.\par

"I object to that question," cried Budd, jumping
to his feet, his cheeks all aflame with indignation.\par

Before the Justice could give his ruling the
answer had been given, loud and clear:\par

"In the Massachusetts State Prison, serving out
a twelve years' sentence for forgery and theft."\par

Budd sunk back in his chair sick at heart, and
almost in despair.  The mischief had been done, and
the crowd knew the dread secret he had so long hid
within his own bosom.  He felt for a moment that
he would have been glad to have had the prison-walls
close around him, too, shutting him from the
gaze of all eyes.\par

Nor was the answer lost in its influence on the
Justice.\par

"I think," he said, slowly, "that anything that
throws light on the prisoner's previous life or
training will be in order here.  It will help the Court to
decide whether he would have been likely to commit
the crime with which he is charged;" and the man
tried to conceal the curiosity which was already
beaming from his face.\par

Without further interruption Mr. Johnson told
his side of the story, with which the reader is
already familiar, and left the stand, having given
Justice and audience alike the impression that
Mr. Boyd was a most hardened criminal, and that the
son was already following in his father's footsteps.\par

His hired man then took the stand, and corroborated
his employer's testimony respecting the burglary
and the capture of the prisoner.  Then the
prosecution rested its case.\par

While Mr. Johnson was telling about Budd's
father the lad sat with head bowed, and appeared
to no longer care what became of himself; but just
before the hired man finished his testimony Judd
leaned over and whispered in his comrade's ear:\par

"For your father's sake, make a defense."\par

He could not have whispered more effective
words.  Budd at once raised his head and proudly
faced the Court, and when the prosecution had
done he rose quickly to his feet.\par

"The charge with which I am accused," he said,
taking the paper up, "reads that I entered
Mr. Johnson's house some time between April 1st and
yesterday, June 20th.  It does not specify any
charge for yesterday at all, as I forced no entrance
into the house, nor took anything away.  I shall,
then, prove to this Court that previous to yesterday
I had never been upon Hope Island.  I will also tell
why I went there."\par

With these words he called Mr. Benton as his first
witness.  Mr. Wright followed, and then Judd
Floyd and Mr. Dane came in the order named.\par

All swore positively that if the prisoner had been
upon Hope Island during the specific time each was
called to testify to, they would certainly have known it.\par

Judd, realizing that his partner's liberty depended
largely upon his testimony, with note-book in hand
told where, from day to day, he and Budd had been,
and what they had done.  The testimony was
absolute, and should have been conclusive.\par

Budd then had himself put under oath, and
testified that though he knew Hope Island was
Mr. Johnson's summer residence, no thought had ever
come to him to visit it until the previous afternoon,
when he found himself near the island.\par

"I then felt," he continued, "a curiosity to see
the place, and landing, went, as they have testified,
boldly across the fields, because I had nothing to be
ashamed of.  Finding a window open, I at once
concluded that burglars had been there, and I went
in to see to what extent the property had been
injured, and it was my purpose to report to
Mr. Johnson at once the crime that had been committed.
Now I would like Mr. Johnson to be put upon the
stand, that I may ask him a few questions."\par

Mr. Johnson, with evident reluctance, took the
witness-chair for his cross-examination.\par

"How long had my father worked for you previous
to the crime he is said to have committed?"\par

"Fifteen or sixteen years," was the reply.\par

"Why did you keep him so long in your employ?"
Budd now asked.\par

"I object," said the Prosecuting Attorney.\par

"Your Honor," said Budd, "the prosecution have
tried to injure my character to-day by telling about
my father.  They have told only evil.  I wish now
to show there is some good."\par

"I don't know as Mr. Johnson is obliged to answer
these questions," said the Justice, nodding blandly
to the wealthy man, "but he may, if he chooses."\par

"I decline to answer," said Mr. Johnson, after
consulting with his attorney.\par

"I will ask the witness one other question--one
with reference to myself--with the Court's
permission," said Budd.\par

"Have I not, Mr. Johnson, paid you a portion of
the money you claim my father took from you?"\par

"I decline to answer that question also," replied
Mr. Johnson, noticing that his attorney shook his
head negatively.\par

"May I then put in this paper as testimony?"
asked Budd, taking a slip from his pocket and
extending it toward the Justice.  "It is Mr. Johnson's
receipt for five hundred dollars that I paid him last
March."\par

"I hardly think it would be proper," said the
Justice, looking toward Mr. Johnson for his
approval of the ruling.\par

"I then rest my case," said Budd, shortly, and
with some show of indignation.\par

The Prosecuting Attorney now began his argument.
He dwelt mainly upon the facts that Budd
had been found where he ought not to have been,
and that Judd Floyd, as his partner, was of course
interested in acquitting the prisoner.  Though that
witness had shown where he and the accused were
in the daytime since May 20th, he had failed to show
where they were in the {\itshape{nights}}, and the burglary
had doubtless been committed in the night time;
burglaries usually were.  He concluded by reminding
the Justice that it was not for him to find the
prisoner guilty; but if, in his judgment, he thought
there was a {\itshape{probability}} of his guilt, it was his duty
to bind him over to a higher court.\par

Budd, already aware that the Justice seemed to
favor the prosecution, simply stated in his
argument for the defense what he had proved by his
witnesses, and that that acquitted him of the special
charge included in the warrant.  He alluded to the
general good character he had borne since he came
into the neighborhood, and concluded with the words:\par

"I am innocent of the crime with which I am
accused.  My father is also innocent of the crime
for which he is in prison to-day.  One link in the
chain of establishing his innocence I have already
discovered.  Whatever may be the decision of the Court
to-day respecting myself, as sure as there is a just
God in Heaven, a few weeks more will see every
shadow of disgrace swept away from our names."\par

So positive were the lad's tones, so triumphant his
gestures, so confident his looks, that many of the
audience were thrilled as though they heard a voice
of prophecy--a prophecy soon to be fulfilled.\par

The Justice may himself have felt, somewhat, the
influence of the lad's declaration, for he gathered up
his papers with an unsteady hand, and looked
uneasily about the room and into the upturned faces
waiting for his decision.  The stillness grew
oppressive.  Finally the eye of the Justice rested upon
Mr. Johnson, who was gazing expectantly up into
the little man's face, and the great and wealthy
man's wish became the law of the baser one's soul:\par

"I think," he said, speaking sharply and looking
directly at Mr. Johnson, "there is sufficient
probability of the prisoner's guilt to warrant my binding
him over to the higher court, which meets at the
county seat in November."\par

Then, to Budd:\par

"I'll fix your bond at one thousand dollars, and
unless you can furnish a bondsman I will have to
commit you to the county jail to await your trial."\par

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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XIII.--MR. BENTON'S LITTLE GAME.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
Budd was partially prepared for the Trial
Justice's decision, as it was but the natural result
of the bias he had shown in his rulings; but the
excessive amount of the bond astonished him and
filled him with alarm.  He had thought, in case he
was bound over to the higher court, the bond would
be fixed at a few hundred dollars, and that some of
his or Judd's friends would be willing to become
surety for so small an amount; but when the
Justice named the sum of one thousand dollars he felt
there was but one alternative--he must go to jail.\par

His alarm at the prospect was not due so much to
the fact that he shrunk from confinement in the
jail as that the confinement would defeat his whole
plans.  Just as he had some hope of proving his
father's innocence, and of rescuing him from an
unjust imprisonment, his hopes were to be ruthlessly
crushed, his purpose thwarted, and he himself
stigmatized as a criminal.  It was with difficultly that
he could restrain the hot tears that were struggling
to flow.\par

The Justice had been rapidly filling out a paper
since he had rendered his decision, and now he
looked up:\par

"Your bond is ready," he said.  "Whom do you
name for bondsman?"\par

"I have none," faltered the lad, "unless some
gentleman here will give bond for me."\par

Mr. Wright, who sat near the boy, felt that this
touching appeal was meant for him, and at once
there began a struggle in his heart.  He had always
liked Budd.  So far as he knew, Budd had always
been perfectly honorable; and he could not help
thinking the lad had established his innocence
beyond a shadow of a doubt.  Still Mr. Johnson's
testimony as to the father's character had had its
influence upon him, and he was not quite sure it would
be just wise to become the boy's bondsman.  While
he hesitated, he and the others in the court-room
were surprised to hear a voice say:\par

"I'll sign his bond."\par

The speaker was Mr. Benton, and that gentleman
walked forward to the Justice's stand and
deliberately wrote his name across the paper.\par

"I guess that'll stand the law," he remarked; and
before Budd could even thank him he strode from
the court-room, as though ashamed of his act.\par

No sooner had he disappeared than Mr. Wright
walked up to the Justice's desk, saying, quietly:\par

"Put my name on the bond also.  Two bondsmen
are better than one;" and he wrote his name under
that of Mr. Benton's.\par

Then, crossing over to Budd's side, he shook
hands with him, remarking:\par

"Mr. Benton got the start of me; but I have
shown my good-will, all the same.  Shall we go, now?"\par

Budd thought, by his look more than his words,
that he desired to see him alone, and so followed
him out of the court-room.\par

When they reached the street, Mr. Wright took
Budd by the arm and led him away from the throng
that was pouring out of the building, and said:\par

"Look out for Mr. Benton.  His name on your bond
to-day means mischief.  I don't know what game he
is about to play, but by putting my own there I hope
to baffle him."\par

Before Budd could express his surprise at
Mr. Wright's words they were joined by Judd and
Mr. Dane.  That gentleman shook hands with the
released lad and said:\par

"Had I been known to the Justice I should have
offered myself for your bondsman, though you
should never have needed one.  How in the world
that thick-headed Justice could have given such a
decision is a mystery to me.  I----"\par

But what the speaker was to have said was cut
short by a nudge from Judd.\par

Mr. Johnson and the Justice were passing, and
that his words had been heard was only too evident
by Mr. Johnson's frown and the Justice's ridiculous
action.\par

"I fine you ten dollars for contempt of court," he
said, angrily, stopping and facing Mr. Dane.\par

"I believe your court is adjourned, and I am on
the public highway, expressing my private opinion to
friends," replied Mr. Dane, coolly.  "But I am not
surprised at your want of judgment.  It is only on a
par with that you showed in the court-room, and
suggests the fact that this town is sadly in need of
at least one new Justice."\par

A laugh from the gathering crowd sent the hot
blood to the Justice's face, and catching some idea
of the foolish position into which he had allowed
himself to be drawn by his anger, he hurried off
down the street.\par

"Will you return to Bristol at once?" Budd asked.
"If so, we will arrange to take you over."\par

"No," replied Mr. Dane; "I have business in
Providence, and will go round that way.  Good-by;"
and refusing to take the slightest compensation for
coming over as a witness, he shook hands with
Mr. Wright and the lads and departed.\par

Budd spoke a few words in a low tone to his
partner; then he said to Mr. Wright:\par

"Can you go over to the island with us?  There
is something special we wish to talk over with you."\par

"My man is down here with me, and can drive the
team along to 'The Hummocks' and wait for me
there, if you will put me ashore after this matter is
talked over," answered Mr. Wright.\par

The lads consented to that arrangement gladly, and
a few minutes later, with Mr. Wright on board the
sloop with them, they sailed for home.\par

As soon as they were a short distance off shore,
Budd left his partner to look out for the boat, and in
low tones told Mr. Wright the true story of his
father's trial and imprisonment.  He then related
Judd's and his own experience with Bagsley and his
companions, and stated that this was the real
purpose that called him over to Hope Island.\par

"Why didn't you tell this in the court-room?  It
would have acquitted you," said Mr. Wright, in
astonishment.\par

"Because the burglars are still around here
contemplating some more daring crime, and we are
watching for them, and hope to cause their arrest,"
explained Budd, going on to relate how he believed
this would react in his father's favor.\par

"What we want of you," continued Budd, "is to
come over to the island and see the window, with its
cut pane, and the lantern the burglars left behind,
so that you can testify as to these facts at the trial
before the higher court."\par

A few moments later the island was reached, and
Mr. Wright was taken from point to point, the
whole story of that night's experience was told
anew, and the evidence of it exhibited.\par

"I wish you all success in your plans," Mr. Wright
said, as he got into the yawl to be taken over to
"The Hummocks," where they could see his team
was already waiting.  "But don't run into any
danger; and as soon as you locate the rascals, notify
the authorities without waiting for them to commit
any other crime.  Their visit here and over at
Hope Island is enough to send them up for a long
term of years."\par

As he parted with them on the main shore he
said to Budd:\par

"I ought to tell you that for a few minutes I
hesitated about becoming your bondsman, and
Mr. Benton's act led me to a decision.  I now thoroughly
believe in your and your father's innocence, and
shall stand by you, whatever comes.  Only, look
out for Mr. Benton."\par

"What does he mean?" asked Judd, as the sloop
started down the bay to visit the pounds, which the
incidents of the morning had till then prevented.\par

"He is sure Mr. Benton did not sign my bond
from any good motive; and I confess it does seem
queer, come to think of it.  What do you suppose
he is up to?"\par

"I don't know any more than you do," responded
his chum; "but, like Mr. Wright, I distrust him.
And there is one thing you may be sure of.  If he
is up to any game he will show himself very soon;
he isn't going to give you time to run away and
make him pay that thousand dollars.  You see, he
don't know Mr. Wright signed the bond also, for he
had left the court-room before that was done."\par

"That's so," said Budd, thoughtfully; "and I
think, with you, we shall hear from him before a
great while, if his act sprung from any sinister
motive."\par

"There is your man," Judd announced a few
hours later, as they approached their wharf; and
Mr. Benton was indeed sitting on the dock,
awaiting their coming.\par

"How are you, boys, and what luck with your
fish?" he remarked pleasantly, as they came ashore.\par

The young partners responded good-naturedly,
and he watched them as they sorted and put their
fish into the "cars."\par

"My, what a large one!" he exclaimed, as Budd
picked up a six-pound mackerel, and was about to
toss it into the proper "car."\par

"Would you like it?" asked the lad; and as
Mr. Benton gave assent he tossed it into the man's boat,
which had been fastened near by.\par

"Have you been here long waiting for us?" Judd
asked, with a wink at his chum.\par

"Well, yes," responded Mr. Benton.  "I come
over here 'bout as soon as I could after I went home
from the village; but you'd gone."\par

"We hadn't been to the pounds to-day, and so
hurried off to them," explained Budd.\par

"I thought that was it," said Mr. Benton,
following the lads on to the house.\par

"Come in and take supper with us," said Budd.\par

"I don't know but I will, seeing I have a little
business with ye."\par

Judd gave his partner a significant look.\par

Supper was soon ready, and they sat down at the
table.  Mr. Benton showed that whatever his
business with them was he had not lost his appetite, and
a half-hour elapsed before the meal was finished.
Then Budd led the way into the sitting-room, and
showing Mr. Benton to a chair, ventured to hasten
matters by asking:\par

"What is your business, Mr. Benton?"\par

"Ahem! ahem!" said he, as though clearing his
throat from some impediment.  "I signed yer bond
fer ye to-day, Budd, or else ye'd now be on yer way
to Kingston jail.  Hev ye thought o' that?"\par

"Do you really think so?" responded Budd, and
waiting for Mr. Benton to go on.\par

"Yes, ye would," said the man, shortly; "an' ye
know it, well as I do."\par

"It was very good of you," said the boy, meaningly.\par

"An' I thought, as I'd done ye the favor, ye might
pay me back that thirty dollers that don't belong to
ye," said the miser, coming to the point of his
business with Budd.\par

"Why should I?  It belonged to me, not to you,"
Budd retorted.\par

"No it don't, either.  Ye have quit work, an'
'cordin' to the barg'in it never did belong to ye."\par

"What will you do if I don't pay it?" asked
Budd, as though yielding.\par

"I'll go an' cancel the bond, an' have ye in jail
'fore mornin'," he said, savagely.\par

"And if I do pay it you will cancel the bond, just
the same, and land me in jail.  Confess, now, that's
your game," remarked Budd, seeing through
Mr. Benton's purpose.\par

The man twisted in his chair.\par

"Ye'd better pay it," he finally said.\par

"Not one cent," replied Budd, decidedly.\par

"Then I'll go to the village right off an' cancel
the bond, an' bring down the officer," declared
Mr. Benton, grabbing up his hat and starting for the
door.\par

With a laugh Budd and his partner followed the
man to his boat.\par

He got into it and rowed off a rod or two from
the shore; then he paused and said:\par

"Ye'd better change yer mind, Budd."\par

"How do you know I'll be here when you get
back?" asked Budd, mischievously.  "I can take the
sloop and be miles away from here before you get
to the village."\par

"Judd, ye hold on to him!" cried the man in
alarm; "I command ye in the name o' the law to
do so!"\par

Judd laughed, and catching the spirit of mischief
Budd had displayed, asked:\par

"What'll you give me, if I do?"\par

"A doller," said Mr. Benton, with some hesitation.\par

"Oh!  Budd will give me more than that to let
him go," replied Judd, "and you will have the
thousand dollars to pay!"\par

"I'll give ye five dollers," cried Mr. Benton, in
alarm.\par

"Budd will give ten to go free," was the answer.\par

"I'll give ye 'leven," said the man, desperately;
and in his eagerness he rowed back inshore.\par

"Where's the money?  It must be cash down,"
said Judd, seriously.\par

"I left my money at home 'fore I come down
here," explained the man, "fer I didn't know what
ye fellers might do; but I'll pay ye to-morrow."\par

Before Judd could make answer, Budd, pitying
the man, said:\par

"I promise not to go away before morning, Mr. Benton.
But even if you go to the village, no officer
will return with you, for after you left Mr. Wright
also signed my bond."\par

Mr. Benton gave an exclamation of anger.\par

"He's always interferin' with me," he said; "but
I'll go up an' see if it's as you say.  Remember yer
promise now," and he rowed off toward the village.\par

He found, on arriving there, that Budd had told
the truth, but succeeded in getting his own name
released after much persuasion; and realizing that
his little game had been completely baffled, he
started sullenly for home.\par

As he passed Fox Island his anger was again
aroused, and he exclaimed, bitterly:\par

"'Twas all owin' to Wright's meddlin', an' that's
what made Budd so lively.  I wish I could get hold
of su'thin' o' his; he'd not see it ag'in till he paid
me them thirty dollers."\par

His eye just then caught the outline of the boys'
sloop through the darkness.\par

"I have it!" exclaimed he.  "I'll take their
boats;" and without thinking that his act was theft
he rowed quietly in to the island.\par

Five minutes later he sailed off in the sloop,
having the yawl and his own boat in tow.\par

Going down the bay a mile, he ran the boats into
a secluded bay adjacent to his own land, and then
tramping up to his house for chains and padlocks, he
fastened them all securely.  Then he tramped up
the hill to his house chuckling to himself:\par

"I've not only got twice the value o' them thirty
dollers, but I've taken away every means for the
boys to leave the island."\par

\penalty-300%
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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XIV.--TWO OPPORTUNITIES.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
When Mr. Benton, in his chuckling, had
declared that he had taken away every means
the young firm had for reaching the main shore, he
overlooked two important facts: first, that the island
at its nearest point was not over a half-mile from
the main-land; and, second, that there was an
abundance of material on the island from which to
construct a temporary float, even were there not
other ways of effecting a landing.\par

Now the events of the previous chapter, it will
be remembered, occurred on a Thursday;
consequently the next day was Friday, and the young
firm's greatest salesday of all the week.  The trial
and the incidents antecedent to it had greatly
hindered the lads' work, also; and when they
retired at an early hour on Thursday night,
therefore, it was with a determination to be up the next
morning long before their usual time, which was in
no sense late.\par

There was, moreover, a special reason for the
boys to be up early this particular morning, for a
telegram the day before had brought an order for
an extra supply of fish to be shipped that morning
by the earliest train to the city.  That train left at
six o'clock, and the fish must be packed and at the
depot before that hour.  So it happened that the
lads were up at a little past three o'clock, and
breakfast was eaten and they were out at the
wharf before four.\par

Immediately after their first exclamations of
surprise at the disappearance of the boats Judd asked:\par

"Who do you suppose has taken them, chum?"\par

"One of two parties," responded Budd, promptly;
"either Bagsley and his gang, or Mr. Benton."\par

"It makes a vast difference to us which," remarked
Judd, with his favorite whistle.  "How are
we going to find out which party it was?"\par

"By using a little reason, first of all things," said
Budd, with a smile.  "There are some things that
make it improbable that it was Bagsley and his
companions.  To have taken the boats they must
have been prowling around here before last night,
and that isn't likely, for with our sharp lookout we
would have discovered some trace of them.  Again,
if it were him and his crew, they must have
discovered that you were my only companion here, and
they would have done something more serious than
simply to take the boats.  I don't say that these are
positive proofs that they are not the ones who have
taken the boats, but they make it look at least
improbable.  Then, again, if it were those fellows,
they have carried out 'the little job' they talked of,
and used the boats as a means of escape.  If we
don't hear within a few hours of some burglary
near at hand, I shall feel conclusively that they are
not guilty of this act."\par

"You think, then, that Benton has done it?"
inquired Judd.  "What could have been his object?"\par

"Just this," replied his partner, earnestly: "He
left the house angry that he had been baffled in his
purpose.  Coming down by the wharf, here, he
thought of the boats, and has taken them, either to
hold them until I pay him the thirty dollars he has
asked for, or by shutting us on the island and
hindering our work he hopes to find a partial
revenge for his disappointment."\par

"But don't he know it was a theft?" asked Judd,
hotly.\par

"He probably don't call it so, and may not really
mean to keep the boats; but the law will put that
interpretation upon his act, and that gives us a great
opportunity."\par

"What do you mean?" asked Judd, a little mystified.\par

"To have him arrested, and, even if we do not
push the matter to the end, frighten him so
thoroughly he will let us alone after this;" and Budd
went on to explain that this had been Mr. Wright's
way of dealing with the man.\par

"But before we can do this we will have to get
ashore, and then our fish must be at the depot
before six o'clock," said Judd, dryly.\par

"I know it," assented his comrade, "and we must
stop this talk and go ashore.  Once on shore, you
must go to the village and get Ben Taylor's boat for
the day and come back here.  Meanwhile I will
go down along the shore, and see if Mr. Benton has
taken the boats down to that little cove adjacent to
his farm.  I'll try and be back at 'The
Hummocks,' so you can pick me up as you come down
with the boat.  It is about four o'clock, now, and
by five we must be back here; then, by stirring
lively, we can get the fish packed and down to the
depot in time for the train."\par

"You talk just as though we could go right over
to the main shore without the slightest trouble,"
said Judd, laughingly.  "Are you going to walk over?"\par

"No," said Budd, briefly; "but I'm going to put
my clothes into our smallest tub, and pushing that
ahead of me, swim over.  We could, of course, make
a raft, but we haven't the time for it;" and Budd
ran back to the house, appearing again in a moment
with the tub.\par

He found his companion already undressing, and
not three minutes had elapsed before both boys,
pushing the tub before them, were swimming for
the nearest point of the main shore.  They were
equally good swimmers, and in about fifteen minutes
reached the point, and dressing, each hurried off his
appointed way.\par

Budd's way was down across "The Hummocks"
to "the narrows," which he was obliged to swim;
but as the distance was short, he managed to do it
carrying his clothes in a bundle on his head.  Dressing
again, he ran along the shore to the cove he had
mentioned, and laughed aloud when he came to the
boats so securely padlocked.\par

"My dear Mr. Benton," he said, mockingly, as he
started back up the bay, "had you hitched them
with a tow-line I would not have disturbed them.
You will yourself be glad to bring them back before
the day is over."\par

He re-swam "the narrows," and reached the
point of land opposite the island before Judd had
returned.  But he had not long to wait; and when
he had taken a seat in Mr. Taylor's yawl with his
partner, under their united strokes the light boat
sped through the water like a racer.  With quick
and dexterous hands the fish were packed, and ten
minutes before the appointed hour the box was
landed at the railroad station.\par

Budd had told his chum, as soon as he had
rejoined him, of the discovery he had made, and so
the young partners went directly from the depot to
the house of the proper officer for swearing out a
warrant against Mr. Benton, and in half an hour
Mr. Avery, the constable, was driving toward that
gentleman's residence with the warrant in his
pocket.\par

Arriving at the farm a little past seven o'clock, he
was told that Mr. Benton had gone down to the
shore.  He followed him down there, and found the
unsuspecting man standing by the stolen boats.\par

"Good-morning, Mr. Benton," he said.  "You
have quite a collection of craft here.  Isn't that
Boyd \& Floyd's sloop and yawl?"\par

It seems almost incredible that Mr. Benton did
not even now suspect the officer's errand, or the
nature of his own act; and realizing this, Mr. Avery
enjoyed the situation immensely.\par

"Well, yes," assented the farmer.  "Ye see, Budd
owes me, an' I thought I'd take his sloop until he
paid me."\par

"But running off in the night with another
person's property is not a legal way to collect one's
debts," said the officer, dryly, "and I am obliged to
arrest you for stealing those boats.  You will hardly
deny the theft now, since your own confession;" and
the officer took out his warrant.\par

Mr. Benton fairly shook with excitement and rage.\par

"Me 'rested!" he cried.  "Who's dared to do it?"\par

"I have," remarked the officer, quietly; "and you
can come along with me without fuss or I'll put
these on you;" and he took a pair of iron bracelets
from his pocket.\par

For the first time comprehending the real
situation into which his thoughtless act of the night
before had brought him, the man turned pale and
stammered out the words:\par

"But I didn't really mean to keep the boats.  I
only took them to bring Budd to terms, an' then I
was goin' to let him have them ag'in."\par

"It looks as though you did mean to keep them;
you certainly have secured them very thoroughly,"
responded the officer, significantly.  "But as to your
real motive, you can settle that with the Court.
But I cannot stop here talking with you.  Would
you like to go to the house and change your clothes
before you go with me, Mr. Benton?"\par

"Go where with you--up to the village?" asked
he, quickly.\par

"No; I've got to take you to the county jail.
Your offense, owing to the amount you have taken,
is made returnable to the Court of Common Pleas,
and that does not sit until September.  I shall have
to take you to the jail until the time for your trial,"
explained Mr. Avery.\par

Dazed and overwhelmed at the prospect before
him, Mr. Benton followed the officer back to the house.\par

"See here," he said, as they reached the threshold
and a sudden hope came to him, "can't I settle this
with the boys?  I don't want to go to jail.  I've no
one to look out for things, it's a'most hayin' time,
and I want to be here to home.  I'll take the boats
right back, if ye say so."\par

"You will have to see the lads for yourself," said
Mr. Avery, shortly.\par

"Can't you take me where they are an' let me
talk it over with them?" he asked, eagerly.\par

"Yes, if you will pay for it," consented
Mr. Avery.  "My orders were to arrest you and carry
you to jail, and that is all the law will allow me to
collect fees for; but if you will pay me for my
time, I'm willing to ride around with you all day."\par

"How much will ye charge?" asked Mr. Benton, cautiously.\par

"Thirty cents an hour," said the officer, looking
at his watch.\par

It was a hard thing for the grasping man to do,
but he finally consented; and taking him into his
buggy, Mr. Avery drove off in search of the boys.\par

Judd was found in the village, but would consent
to no settlement until his partner was found.  There
was little prospect of finding Budd until he returned
from his peddling trip, and Mr. Benton groaned
more and more as the hours ran by and he knew it
was adding to the amount he should have to pay the
officer.  But he soon found that amount was but a
trifle compared with what he should have to pay
before the young firm consented to his release.\par

About two o'clock Budd came back to the village,
where he had agreed to meet Judd in anticipation of
the very event for which his presence was now
desired.  The lads had time to talk the matter over
before they saw Mr. Benton, and when he appeared
they were ready to state their terms.\par

After listening to Mr. Benton's proposition to
return the boats, Budd, as spokesman for the firm,
replied:\par

"Mr. Benton's act not only caused us a great deal
of personal annoyance, but it interfered with our
business arrangements.  Again, we do not know how
soon he may annoy us in some other way.  We
propose to make this affair a good lesson to him, and we
will therefore settle it on three conditions:\par

"First, that he shall return the boats unharmed
to our dock at the island.\par

"Second, that he pay all costs that have accrued
on account of his arrest.\par

"Third, that he pay us twenty-five dollars for the
annoyance and business delays he has caused, and
give bonds for his future good behavior.\par

"These are the only conditions on which we will
settle, and he can accept them or stand his trial in
court."\par

After a great deal of protestation Mr. Benton
agreed to all but the giving of bonds for his good
behavior, and as he solemnly promised to let them
alone in the future, the lads yielded.  The money
was paid to them, the costs were settled, the boats
returned before night, and the young firm withdrew
their complaint.\par

"You have completely silenced one of your
enemies, Budd," remarked Judd, that evening.
"Now, if only some opportunity will come for you
to bring Bagsley into a spot where you can dictate
your terms, your triumph will be complete."\par

"I hope it may," was the response.\par

That opportunity was nearer at hand than either
of the lads thought, for on the following Monday
the whole community was startled by learning that
the most daring robbery ever committed in that
vicinity had taken place some time between the
hours of twelve o'clock on Saturday night and six
o'clock on Monday morning.  A jeweler's store on
the main street of the village had during that time
been entered and completely gutted.  Watches,
gold and silverware, jewelry and precious stones,
had been carried away to the amount of over five
thousand dollars.\par

The store ran back from the main street to a
narrow alley.  A window opening on this alley had
been forced, the safe blown open, and all the stock
of any real value carried off.  The work had
evidently been done by experts, and they had
disappeared without leaving a single trace behind them.\par

Budd learned of the robbery about ten o'clock on
Monday morning.  He had gone over to the village
in the sloop to make a deposit of money and checks
at the bank, for the young firm had reached the
dignity of having a bank account, and while in the
banking-rooms had his attention called to a poster
which had already appeared about the village.  It
read:\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
{\centering
{\normalsize{ \$1,500 REWARD.}}
\endgraf}
\par

One thousand dollars will be paid for the arrest
and conviction of the burglars who entered our
store some time between the hours of twelve o'clock
on Saturday night, June 24th, and six o'clock on
Monday morning, June 26th.  Five hundred dollars
additional will be given for the return of the goods
that were carried off, or ten per cent. of that
amount for each thousand dollars worth of goods
restored.\par

\begin{description}
\item[
{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ Respectfully,}}
\endgraf}
] 

{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ CLAPP \& ST. JOHN.}}
\endgraf}
\par
\end{description}


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
After inquiring of the bank-teller more of the
particulars respecting the robbery, Budd went
around to the store and made a careful examination
of the premises.  He found the shutter of the
window had been opened by forcing some powerful
instrument under the iron bar that ran across the
outside, and thus prying the bar out of its socket.
Then a pane of glass had been cut out as neatly and
deftly as the one over at the island.  The fastening
of the window had in this way been reached, and
the window shoved up.  As soon as Budd had
noticed these details he left the building and started
down toward his boat.\par

"That was the work of Bagsley and his gang," he
murmured, "and our opportunity, if we can only
find them, has come."\par

\penalty-300%
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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XV.--BUDD ENTRAPPED.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
Just before Budd reached the wharf he
noticed another poster tacked up on the side of
a storehouse, and paused to read it, that he might
be sure of the terms under which the reward was
offered.\par

As he stood there a well-dressed stranger came
up behind him, and also paused to read the notice.\par

"That is quite a reward," he remarked, after
reading it; "a nice little sum for some one to earn.
Do you know whether any particular persons are
suspected of the crime?"\par

"They are simply believed to have been experts,"
answered Budd.\par

"It was a neat job, that's a fact," said the man,
complacently.\par

Then as Budd turned away he asked, politely:\par

"Do you know of any one about the wharf here
who has boats to let?"\par

"I have a sloop," replied Budd, "that I use to
take out sailing-parties."\par

"Is it near here?  Could I see it?" asked the
man, looking Budd carefully over from head to foot.\par

The lad led the way down to the dock and pointed
out the Sea Witch.\par

"She would do nicely," said the man, jumping
into her and examining her cabin.  "Is she a fast
sailer?"\par

"Nothing of her size on this bay can overhaul
her," replied Budd, with a touch of pride.\par

"Indeed!" remarked the man, with apparent
satisfaction.  "What do you ask a day for her use?"\par

"We never let her except myself or my partner
go with her," explained Budd, "and our prices
depend on the party and the time we are gone."\par

"Which of course is a very nice way to arrange
it, I'm sure," said the stranger.\par

"Well, to come to business.  My name is Wilson--Thomas
Kortright Wilson--a direct descendant of
James Wilson, of Philadelphia, one of the Signers
of the Declaration of Independence, and once a
Judge of the United States Supreme Court.
Doubtless you have heard of him;" and Mr. Wilson said
this with an air and tone that implied "You are
very ignorant if you have not."\par

Budd modestly admitted that he had heard of
that distinguished gentleman, and then his
companion went on:\par

"I am camping out with a party of friends upon
Patience Island.  We have been there a week, but
we can stand it no longer.  It is horribly lonesome
there; not a house on the island, not a solitary
person there but ourselves.  There is no gunning or
fishing worth speaking of, and this morning the
boys voted for a change, and sent me over here to
hire a boat to take us and our camping outfit to Block
Island, so I rowed over in that boat," and Mr. Wilson
here pointed to a small skiff a few rods below the
wharf, "and walked up the street till I met you.
It is wonderful good fortune that I should have run
in with you at once.  Now, what will you ask to
move our camp?"\par

"How many are there in your party, and how
much of an outfit have you?" asked Budd.\par

"There are five of us, and we have only a few
traps; you can carry everything at one trip," said
Mr. Wilson, briskly.\par

"I ought to have five dollars," Budd declared:
"and I shall have to go home before I can make the
trip."\par

"Well, can you go right after dinner?" asked the
stranger.\par

"Yes, at one o'clock I'll be here," said the lad.\par

"All right; we'll give you your price.  Meantime,
where can I get a good dinner?"\par

Budd gave him directions how to find the leading
hotel, and then cast off the fastenings of the sloop
and sped away for the island.\par

Promptly at one o'clock he was at the village, and
as he took Mr. Wilson on board he asked if he
should run down and take the gentleman's skiff in
tow; for, expecting to do this, he had left his own
yawl with Judd.\par

"No, never mind that; it isn't worth taking with
us," replied Mr. Wilson.\par

Budd thought it a little strange, but had not the
slightest suspicion that the skiff was not the
property of the stranger, and that his story about
crossing over in it that morning was a sheer fabrication.\par

There was another statement in the man's story
that would have seemed very strange to Budd had
he only thought of it.  He had stated that he and
his party had been camping out on Patience Island
for a week; yet the island was small, and Budd had
himself been down by it but five days before, and
at that time there was no sign of a camping-party
upon it.  But utterly unconscious of the man's
falsehoods, the lad sailed straight on into what was
destined to be the most trying experience through
which he had yet passed.\par

The gentleman chatted away pleasantly as he sat
by Budd in the stern of the sloop.  He asked
questions about the islands and the main-land they were
passing.  He wanted to know how long before they
would reach Patience Island, and how long it would
take to run out to Block Island with that breeze.
He assured Budd his companions would have
everything packed on their arrival, and there would be no
unnecessary delay in starting on their long trip.\par

As they neared the island of their destination he
informed the lad that the camp had been on the east
side, and on running around the south end, Budd
saw, no great distance away, the place of the
encampment.  It was true the tent was down, and the
boxes and bags were piled close by the shore, but
this was just as Mr. Wilson had said it would be;
and when four men came out from behind a large
rock, and walked down to the heap of stuff, Budd said:\par

"They are ready and waiting for us, it seems,
Mr. Wilson; but I can't get in to the shore with the
sloop, and how will you get your goods on board?
You ought to have brought your skiff."\par

"They have a boat, a better one; that's why I
left the other," said he; "but run in as close as you
can and anchor, and I'll tell them to load up and
come on board."\par

Not a shadow of the coming evil was as yet
apparent to the unsuspicious boy.  Giving his whole
attention to his sloop, he only cast the merest glance
at the men on shore until he had anchored.  At
liberty now, however, he looked steadily at the men, to
whom Mr. Wilson was already shouting.  Then he
gave a sharp cry of alarm, and drawing his
pocket-knife he sprung forward to cut the anchor-cable.
His words were:\par

"Gracious!  There is Bagsley, and you are the robbers!"\par

But quick as he was, Mr. Wilson was quicker.
Springing upon the lad, he bore him down upon the
forward deck and called loudly for help.  Two of
the men on shore jumped into a yawl that lay
hidden behind a projecting rock, and without stopping
to load their stuff pushed out to the sloop.  One of
the men was Bagsley himself, and when he had
assisted Mr. Wilson in tying the lad, hand and foot,
he gave a look at him, and then with a terrible oath
exclaimed:\par

"It is Budd Boyd!  Where did you run in with him?"\par

Mr. Wilson briefly explained how he had hired
the boy, not supposing for an instant that he knew
any of the gang.  "But," he went on, "the moment
the lad caught sight of you he called your name, and
said we were the robbers.  He then tried to cut the
anchor-cable, but I spoiled that little game.  The
question is, what shall we do with him?"\par

"Tie a big stone to his neck and to his feet and
drop him overboard," answered Bagsley.  "I told
him I'd kill him the next time I saw him.  He'll be
sure to give us away, too, if we let him go, and our
only safety is to put him out of the way."\par

Budd, as he lay bound only a few feet away,
shuddered at the coolness with which the villain said
these words, and felt that his very moments were
numbered.  To his surprise, however, the man who
had come off from the shore with Bagsley, and
whom he recognized as the leader of the gang
when they were at Fox Island, said:\par

"No, there is to be no murder, boys, as long as we
can get along without it.  Put the boy into the
yawl and take him ashore.  We'll change our plans,
and put him where he cannot give any alarm until
we are out of all danger."\par

Wilson and Bagsley lifted the lad into the boat,
and the captain following them, they rowed ashore.\par

A hurried consultation was now held, but in such
low tones that Budd could only catch here and
there a word.  He was able to recognize, however,
in one of the two men who had remained on the
island while the captain and Bagsley came to
Wilson's help, the third man of the trio that had been
at his home.  The other man, like Wilson, was a
stranger, and had evidently joined the gang since
the time of that visitation.  After awhile he caught
the words of the leader of the party:\par

"I tell you, boys, that is the only safe way for us
to do.  As we'll fix the lad, he can't get away for a
day or two, perhaps longer, and by that time we will
be where he cannot harm us."\par

"If he ever gets away he'll mark me for this
affair, and will leave no stone unturned till I'm
found," said Bagsley, moodily.\par

"I think even you will be satisfied with the way
we'll fix him," laughed the leader.  "Untie his
feet, get another rope, and bring him on."\par

Bagsley obeyed with alacrity, and the captain led
the way over into the center of the island where a
small depression in the surface cut off all view of
the bay.  A tree stood very near the lowest point
of the hollow, and standing Budd up against the
trunk of this, the captain, with Bagsley's help, tied
him so firmly to it that there seemed no possibility
of his untying himself.\par

\begin{figure}[h!tbp]
\label{figure-297}%
\hypertarget{figure-297}{}%
\noindent\hfill{}\begin{minipage}{0.460\textwidth}
{\hbox to \hsize{\hfill\includegraphics[width=1.000\textwidth,keepaspectratio=true]{images/img-154.jpg}\hfill}}
\vs{1}
{\noindent}
{\centerleft{{\itshape{The captain with Bagsley's help tied Budd so firmly to the tree that there seemed no possibility of his untying himself.}}
}}
\end{minipage}
\hfill{}
\end{figure}

"There, Bagsley," the leader now said, stepping
off a few feet to view the lad, "he is where he can
see no one, and no one can see him.  He may
possibly attract the attention of some passing boat by
hallooing, but it is a mere chance.  He may possibly
untie himself after awhile, but that, too, is a mere
possibility.  His friends, searching for him, will go
to Block Island first; and if, after awhile, they
think of coming here, they may be in time to rescue
him, and they may not.  Still you and I don't know
that he will die here, and our consciences need not
be troubled with any thoughts of his murder, for
we know, and can make oath to it, that we left him
here alive and in good health; only, his
opportunities for locomotion are exceedingly limited."\par

With this heartless remark the two villains walked
slowly away, leaving Budd to his uncertain fate.\par

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\label{chapter-xvi-judd-makes-an-important-discovery}%
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\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XVI.--JUDD MAKES AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
An hour or so after Budd had sailed away
from Fox Island to meet Mr. Wilson at the
village and go on the prearranged trip, Judd got
into the yawl and started down the bay to visit the
fish-pounds.  Some impulse came to him, as he rowed
along, to first visit (though it was contrary to their
usual way of doing) the pound over on the shore of
Conanicut Island.  Just before reaching it he
happened to glance up the bay, and saw the Sea Witch
tacking down toward him.\par

"Budd will get down along here before I leave
the pound," he remarked to himself, "and I'll hail
him and find out what time he expects to get back
to-night."\par

Then he rowed leisurely on to the pound and
began his work.  It was no easy job to handle the
seine alone; and for those readers who are not
familiar with this fish-trap, so common to the New
England coast, we will accompany Judd in his task.\par

It is low tide, and thus the very best time for the
work, as the net is now fully exposed to view, and
can therefore be the more readily examined for any
breaks, and all foreign substances that have collected
in its meshes can be the more easily discovered and
removed.  The various times of day, then, at which
the young firm have heretofore been represented as
visiting the pounds were not a mere matter of
choice on their part, but were the times that the
ebbing tide had made it best to do so, and it is the
same reason that has brought Judd here just at this
hour.\par

He rows in to the first stake, just a few feet below
low-water mark, where his leader begins.  Slowly
along this he works his way toward the pound, five
hundred feet off shore.  He sees that every stake is
still firm, and that the net is stretched tautly
between the posts; that the sinkers are still holding
its lower edge down to the bottom of the bay, and
that its upper edge is properly attached to the top
of each stake.\par

Here and there he pulls away a bunch of
seaweed, or some floating log or plank that the tide
has brought up against the net, and which, if
allowed to remain there, might under a heavy sea do
great damage to the leader.  By and by he has
reached the great circular pound or trap, which, like
a tremendous basin, rounds out each way from his
lead-line; and now the hard work begins.  Round
and round the basin he goes, pulling here and
pulling there, all the while drawing the great purse
into a smaller circumference, and nearer to the
surface.  The splashing and boiling water within, here
and there the flash of a fin, and then a tremendous
surge to the right or the left, as the case may be,
tell of the fish imprisoned in the seine.\par

More than once Judd wishes for his partner's
strong arm to help him; more than once the
struggling mass of fish pull back into the deep all the
slack seine, compelling the lad to do his work over
again; but at last he is successful, and the fish are
bagged into a corner of the net, and held there
so firmly that there is no possible escape.  The
scoop-net is now brought into play, and rapidly the
fish are dipped up and emptied down into the
bottom of the yawl.  When the last one has been
removed the great purse-net is again lowered into
the water, and the openings at each side of the
leader, wide at the outer edge, but extremely
narrow at the inner, are properly adjusted, and the
work for that day is over--unless, indeed, some
huge rent in the meshes of the seine compel it to be
loosened from its stakes and carried ashore for
extensive repairs.\par

This time there is no rent, and Judd has about
got the net into its place, when, glancing up, he
sees that the next tack of the Sea Witch will bring
her down near him.  Adjusting the net here and
there, he waits for her approach.  Ten minutes later
she is evidently as near to him as she is coming, for
her tiller is thrown about, and slowly she swings
around for the next tack.  He raises his hands to his
mouth, like a trumpet, and is about to utter a
prolonged whoop, to attract Budd's attention; but no
sound issues from his lips.  Instead, he drops his
hands, catches hold of the net, pulls his yawl rapidly
around to the leader, and then works along it
toward the shore.\par

Why is this sudden change?  Because, as the sail
of the Sea Witch swung slowly around for the
reverse tack, he saw Budd was not on board.  Nor
was this all.  In three of those passengers he
recognized Bagsley and his two companions when at Fox
Island eight or ten days before, and like a flash it
comes to him that Budd is a prisoner, and the
robbers are running away with the sloop.\par

As he works his way to the shore he watches the
sloop furtively, to be sure that his action has not
awakened any suspicion on the part of the men in
her; but he knows there is little danger of this, for
though he recognizes them, they are not likely to
think that he, who is at work so innocently there
by that fish-trap, is the other owner of the boat, and
has already divined their purpose.\par

Not too fast, so as not to specially attract their
attention, he goes along the leader, stopping just an
instant now and then in mere pretense to adjust the
netting.  But the moment their tack has taken the
sloop so far across the bay that his movements
cannot be readily discerned, he suddenly becomes the
very embodiment of activity and purpose.\par

Two or three vigorous pulls send the yawl
inshore, where it is promptly secured beyond the
reach of a rising tide, for Judd has no idea just
when he will come to claim it again.  Even the fish
are forgotten as the boy runs rapidly up the west
slope of the island to the nearest farm-house; and
he gives a cry of joy, as he reaches it, to find the
farmer, with whom he is slightly acquainted, just
driving his horse and wagon out of the yard.\par

"Are you going down to Jamestown Ferry, Mr. Niles?"
he eagerly asks.\par

"Yes, jump in," replies the kind-hearted farmer.\par

Judd waits for no second invitation, but springing
into the wagon, he points off to the west bay, saying:\par

"Do you see that sloop over under the west
shore, Mr. Niles?"\par

"Yes," replies he, "and it looks like yours."\par

"It is; and a gang of fellows are running off with
her, and I wish you would get me to the ferry about
as quick as you can.  I want to get over to
Newport, hire a tug, and head them off before they
reach Beaver Tail, if possible.  I'll pay you
whatever you ask for driving me down there," was
Judd's surprising statement.\par

The interest of the farmer was at once awakened.\par

"Sho', now, you don't say so!" he exclaimed.
"Lor'!  I'll get you there for the next boat over to
the city, and won't ask you anything, either.  I just
hope you'll get them;" and the farmer plied his
whip to the horse with a force that sent him tearing
down the island at a rate that must have been
a source of astonishment to the usually sedate animal.\par

He kept his promise, too, and drove on to the
ferry wharf just in time for Judd to jump on the
already moving boat as she left on her half-past
three o'clock trip.  At four o'clock, therefore, he
was in the city, and running up to Thames Street,
he hurried around to the wharf of the Providence
and Newport Steamboat Company, where he had
noticed that a tug with her steam up was lying.\par

As he turned off from the street onto the passageway
leading to the wharf he saw just ahead of him
Mr. Avery, the constable.  Quickening his pace to a
run, Judd overtook him.\par

"Mr. Avery," he exclaimed, "where are you going?"\par

"Home on the next boat," replied Mr. Avery,
shaking hands with the lad, "and while I was
waiting for the boat I walked around here.  But did
you wish to see me for anything special?"\par

Drawing him to one side, Judd in a low voice told
him of the discovery he had made, and what he had
come to the city for.\par

"Now," he said, "I want you to come along with
me, if we can agree as to the division of the reward."\par

"Budd, you say, is in their clutches, and he
certainly deserves one share; you ought to have a
second for your discovery; and I a third, for going
with you, chartering the tug, running a risk of the
capture, and assuming the legal responsibility of the
arrest.  How does that strike you?" asked Mr. Avery,
with the tones of a man who wanted to do
the fair thing.\par

"Agreed; and we have no time to lose," responded
Judd.  "There is a tug right below here with her
steam up."\par

Two minutes later the officer and lad stood on the
dock looking down into a neat and trim tug, named
the Thetis.\par

"Ho! ho!" exclaimed Mr. Avery as he read her
name.  "I know her captain, and I wonder where
he is."\par

"Right here, Avery," exclaimed a voice behind
them.  "What do you wish?"\par

They turned to see a great six-footer coming
toward them, and as he reached the dock he went on:\par

"I thought it was you, Avery, as I came down the
street behind you.  How are you all at home?"\par

"Very well, Captain Bradley," replied Mr. Avery.\par

Then he introduced Judd, and proceeded to state
his business.\par

The stalwart captain pulled his beard vigorously
as the officer told his story, and then he said,
heartily:\par

"I'm your man, Avery.  Steam is up, and we can
be off in five minutes.  If we don't catch the rascals
you are to give me twenty dollars; if we do, make
it one hundred."\par

Mr. Avery, after consulting with Judd, agreed to
this, and then he suggested putting on a number of
extra men.\par

"Well, of course I will, if you want them," said
the captain; "but I have three men beside myself,
and I'm good for any two of those rascals.  You
and the boy make six in all.  We have two guns
and two revolvers on board, and if you will wait five
minutes I'll borrow a couple more;" and as
Mr. Avery nodded his approval, he disappeared around
the corner of an adjacent building.\par

In the specified time he returned with revolvers
and a Winchester rifle.\par

"I happened to think that this," holding out the
rifle, "was up here in an office, and brought it along
also," he exclaimed.  "It may come handy if we
have to back off and take the robbers at long range."\par

But while this large collection of deadly weapons
may have been wise it was hardly necessary, as the
sequel will prove.\par

It was not far from half-past four o'clock when the
tug left the wharf.  She steamed rapidly around the
lighthouse, and down by Fort Adams to the mouth
the of bay.\par

Mr. Avery and Judd stood on her bow, looking
eagerly off toward the great expanse of ocean
opening up to their view.  Both were confident that if
the burglars had ever intended to go over to Block
Island their plan would be changed on discovering
that Budd knew them.  The question of greatest
moment to them, then, was, had the Sea Witch, on
leaving the bay, gone to the east or to the west? for
they were sure she had already had time enough to
reach the open sea.  Their hope was, and to this
end the tug was pushed rapidly forward, that they
might reach Beaver Tail before the sloop had
entirely disappeared.\par

"Do you suppose they have carried Budd off as a
prisoner?" asked Judd of Mr. Avery as they stood
there together.\par

He asked the question with much anxiety, for
there had been a growing fear at his heart that a
worse calamity might have befallen his chum.\par

"It depends largely upon how he came to fall into
their hands," said Mr. Avery, slowly.  "If they have
watched for him, and purposely enticed him away,
the probabilities are that he is on board the sloop,
and that they will dispose of him in such a way that
he cannot be traced.  By your tale, this Bagsley is
equal to so serious a crime.  On the other hand, if
that Wilson hired him ignorantly, and not until they
reached the island, where his companions were, was
it known who he really was, then I am inclined to
think they have left him on the island, but bound in
such a way that he cannot escape until rescued by
his friends.  This would give them ample time to
get out of the way with their booty before he could
give an alarm, and is probably the thing they have
done.  But we cannot really tell until we overhaul them.\par

"If I were asked to give my idea of the burglars'
plans from beginning to end," the officer went on
with a smile, "it would be about this: Wilson, and
the other robber you did not know, have been the
forerunners of the other men, and have doubtless
hung about the village for some time, locating the
store and planning for the robbery.  Bagsley and
his gang came to Fox Island intending to make that
a rendezvous until their confederates notified them
everything was ready; but finding that was
inhabited, they went to Hope Island and robbed
Mr. Johnson's house of all that they needed to make a
camping outfit, and have been all the time on
Patience Island, waiting for their allies' message.
When it came, they dropped over to the village,
gutted the store, and returned with one of their
confederates to Patience Island, while the other,
Wilson, remained behind to see what effect the
robbery had on the community, and what efforts were
put forth to find the criminals.  If, in his judgment,
it seemed best to leave the neighborhood, he was to
hire a boat to take them as a camping-party over to
Block Island, where they would have quietly
separated and sought places of safety.\par

"When Wilson appeared, however, bringing a lad
who knew one of their number, they were forced to
plan differently, and so they ran away with the
sloop, intending doubtless to go to some quiet nook
up or down the coast, scuttle her, and then disappear
without leaving a clew as to the direction they had
gone.  But here we are, rounding out into the
ocean; and now where is your boat?"\par

Anxiously Judd scanned the surface of the water
to the westward.  Numerous sails of all sizes were
discernible as far as Point Judith, but not one of
them, he was sure, could be the Sea Witch.  If the
burglars had gone in that direction they had already
disappeared around the distant point.  But to have
sailed that way would have been against a strong
southwest wind, necessitating constant tacking, and as
fast a sailer as the sloop was, Judd was confident she
had not had time enough to accomplish that feat.
He therefore turned at once, and hopefully, to scan
the eastern horizon.  His look was but for a
moment; then he exclaimed, triumphantly:\par

"There she is, Mr. Avery."\par

He pointed out a small sloop about two miles
away, which was sailing due east.\par

"Has the captain a glass?" he then asked; "though
without one I am quite positive she is the sloop," he
added, quickly.\par

A glass was brought him, and adjusting it to his
eye, he looked long and anxiously at the retreating
boat.\par

"One, two, three, four," he counted, slowly.  "Ah! yes,
there is the fifth man 'way forward; and the
color and rig of the vessel make it sure she is the
Sea Witch."\par

Captain Bradley stood beside him, and at his
words gave the requisite orders for the course of the
tug to be changed.  Fresh fuel was thrown on her
fires, and with full steam on she bounded off toward
the distant sloop at a high rate of speed.\par

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CHAPTER XVII.--BUDD'S ESCAPE.}

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{\noindent}
As Budd watched the retreating forms of the
robbers, so unceremoniously abandoning him
on Patience Island, he was very far from being
disposed to grumble at his fate.  On the other hand,
he felt extremely grateful; for his condition,
deplorable as it was, was a great deal better than he had
expected it would be when he found he had fallen
into Bagsley hands.  He was, as the captain of the
robber-gang had declared, alive and in good health,
and he knew he could hold out until his absence
should alarm Judd and send him to his rescue, even
if he could not free himself.  But of this latter he
did not yet despair; for while lying in the yawl,
waiting for the decision of the burglars as to what
should be done with him, he had found he could
slightly work his wrists in the cords that bound
them, and he hoped, after some effort, to get them
free.  But lest the men should at the last moment of
their departure take a notion to revisit him, he
decided to make no effort in this direction until sure
he was alone.\par

Around about him he could see the evidences of an
encampment, and he quickly concluded that this had
been the rendezvous of Bagsley and his companions
since robbing Mr. Johnson's house on Hope Island.
Their tent could not have been seen by anyone
passing up or down the bay, and so they ran very little
risk of discovery, while they were sufficiently near
the scene of their robbery to easily communicate
with their confederates, for such he now knew
Wilson and the other strangers to be.  But it was not
until later that Budd learned that Mr. Johnson's
house had been made to furnish the principal
essentials of the burglars' camping outfit.\par

Budd now wondered which way the villains would
go with the sloop, for he felt sure the Block Island
plan had been abandoned.  If they went down the
bay, Judd, whom he knew was at the fish-pounds,
would be likely to see them, and a great hope came
to the bound lad that his partner might recognize
the fleeing robbers; for he then knew Judd would
at once suspect their plans and try to capture them.
This hope now became his inspiration and his prayer.\par

But he did not mean for a single instant to give
up his own efforts to escape and to warn the proper
authorities of his discovery; for Budd was not
thinking so much of the reward that had been
offered for the apprehension of the burglars as he
was of the bringing of them to justice, and thus
securing a hold upon Bagsley.  Still, first in his
thoughts was the releasing of his father and the
vindication of his name.\par

He had been bound with his hands in front of
him, tied simply at the wrists.  He had been secured
to the tree by wrappings of the cord from his feet
to his shoulders, and the knot that held the cord was
on the opposite side of the tree.  His first effort was,
then, to slip the rope from his wrists.  This he
accomplished after quite a struggle, that bruised and
lacerated his arms and hands until they bled.\par

His next effort was to raise his arms up out from
the wrappings of the cord that bound him to the
tree.  First the right, then the left arm was released,
and to Budd's satisfaction he found their release
loosened the cord so that he could move himself a
little in his wrappings.  Had he only had his
jackknife, the question of release would have been
decided in a moment; but this he had lost in his
struggle with Wilson on the sloop's deck.  He must,
then, find some other way to remove the rope.\par

The ground where the tree stood was uneven,
being higher where he was than on the opposite
side of the tree.  Could he not, then, work slowly
about the tree inside of his wrappings until he could
with his right hand reach the knot that secured the
rope?  He knew it must be slow work, and he must
be sure the rope did not turn with him, or else his
efforts would be in vain.  He determined to make
the attempt.\par

First he strained his wrappings to their fullest
extent, and then, before they could slip back against
him, he made a sudden hitch to the right.  He
thought he gained a trifle, and thus encouraged, he
tried again.  Once, twice, ten, fifty times he
repeated the effort, and then he knew he had gained.
Objects had been brought into vision that he had
not seen when first bound to the tree; objects he
had seen were now lost to view.\par

All that afternoon, with frequent intervals of
rest, he kept up his struggle, and just at dark he
found he could touch the end of the rope that
formed the knot, and a thrill of joy filled his heart.
A few minutes later he was able to take a full,
strong hold upon this end of the rope, and from that
moment his progress was accelerated.  Then, tired,
aching in every bone, with his coat worn thread-bare
by its constant rubbing against the tree, he at
length reached a place where he could use both
hands upon the knot and untie it.  To unwind the
wrappings was now but a few minutes' work, and
somewhere about six hours after he had been
fastened to the tree he found himself free again.\par

It was, however, too dark for him to attempt to
leave the island, or to search out a way to leave it;
and so, crawling under the shelter of the great rock
from behind which the robbers had first appeared
that afternoon, he, without supper and without
covering, laid himself down to sleep.\par

It was a restless, wakeful sleep, and with the very
first show of morning light Budd was astir.  He
first ran up and down the shore until his quickened
blood brought warmth to his chilled body; for
though it was summer weather, there had been a
dampness and low temperature in the sea air
sufficient to make him uncomfortable.  Then he sought
along the beach for some signs of shell-fish, and
soon found clinging to the rocks some yellow
mussels.  Though not the most delicious of bivalves he
managed to swallow a dozen or two of them, and
their sharp, peppery taste served as a stimulant.
A drink of brackish water from a tiny stream trickling
down a rock into the sea completed his breakfast.\par

As the sun rose, Budd's spirits rose with it, and
he searched the island completely around for some
log or plank, on which he could venture to leave the
island.  He was not successful in his search,
however, and finally came back to his starting-point
empty-handed.\par

"I've got to swim for it," he commented, "and if
I do that, Prudence Island should be my landing-place.
Once there, I can get food, and doubtless a
boat to take me over to the west shore."\par

With these words he walked along to the south-east
point of the island, and looked across to its
nearest and larger neighbor.\par

"It would not be much of a swim if I had a
decent breakfast to work upon," he said to himself;
"but I shall have to wait until I get over there
before I get it.\par

"I presume I might wait awhile, and some boat
would come along and take me off," he went on,
gazing up and down the bay.  "But the quickest
way is to depend on myself, and it is time I was
going, if I am going to put any one on Bagsley's
track.  I wonder where Judd is, and if he has
started to look me up?"\par

There was no one to answer his question, and he
did not stop long to deliberate.\par

Taking off his clothes, he wrapped them in as
small a bundle as possible, and tying them together
with his suspenders he fastened them on top of his
head.  He then entered the water, and swam slowly
across the narrow channel that separated him from
Prudence Island.  He was quite used up when he
crawled out on the beach and began to dress
himself.  Then he walked down along the narrow neck
of land that is at the north end of the island until
he came to a farm-house, where he stopped and
asked for food.\par

He simply told the farmer that he had got left
on Patience Island, and had remained there all
night; that he had with the coming morning swam
across to that island, and would like, first, some
food, and then to secure a boat to take him across
to the main shore.  The farmer at once asked him
into breakfast, which was already upon the table,
but told him he would have to go farther down the
island to obtain a boat.\par

Budd accepted the kind invitation, and ate with
relish the food put before him; and if the greatest
compliment that can be paid a housewife is to show
an appreciation of her cookery, then that farmer's
wife received from Budd that morning a stupendous
compliment.\par

He had a little money with him, and on leaving
he offered to pay his host for the breakfast; but the
man refused.\par

"I may be in the same box some day," he
remarked, "and it I'm not, some one else may be
whom you can help.  So just pass the favor on to him."\par

Budd readily promised to do this, and with a
hearty "Thank you" for his entertainment, hurried
down the shore.\par

His breakfast had given him new strength, his
bath in the cool salt water had soothed his bruised
and aching body, and he felt equal to almost his
usual amount of work.  When, therefore, he stopped
at the house where he had been told he could secure
a boat and received the reply:\par

"I can let you have a boat, but you will have to
row yourself over, and bring back the boat at your
earliest convenience, for we are too busy to spare a
single hand," he accepted the offer.\par

The farmer accompanied him down to the shore,
and showing him which boat he was to take,
cautioned him about being sure to return it.  Budd
assured the man that he need have no fears on that
score; but he little knew how soon he was to return it.\par

Shoving off the boat, he embarked upon it and
rowed rapidly out into the bay.  Hope Island was
plainly visible to the west, and he shaped his course
so as to pass the south end of it, for he had no desire
to visit Mr. Johnson again.  Yet he of his own
accord was in an hour to land there and hold a
remarkable interview with that gentleman.  So little
is it that we really know what we shall do from
hour to hour.\par

Half the distance between the two islands had
been accomplished, and Budd had a clear,
uninterrupted view down between Prudence and Conanicut
Islands into the east bay.  His first glance in that
direction filled him with sheer amazement, for just
emerging from the east passage, and coming directly
toward him, was a sloop, and even at that distance
he had no difficulty in recognizing her as the Sea
Witch.  He could see but two persons upon her, and
yet there might be more in the cabin.  Was it the
burglars returning to carry out some forgotten or
newly-formed purpose, and should he flee from them
as for his life?  Or had Judd, as he had hoped and
prayed, rescued the sloop from the robbers' hands,
and was he now coming to look for his missing chum?\par

These were questions Budd could not answer, and
with a deep misgiving he turned the bow of his boat
and rowed directly for Hope Island, believing that
it was preferable to meet Mr. Johnson and his hot
displeasure to falling again into the hands of
Bagsley and his gang.\par

But before he had rowed half the distance
necessary to reach the island the sloop had come up
before the morning breeze with a rapidity to be in
hailing distance.  Then there rang out from her
three such yells as only Judd could give; and full of
surprise and joy, Budd turned about his boat and
went down to meet her.\par

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CHAPTER XVIII.--CAUGHT.}

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{\noindent}
It was in truth the Sea Witch, and in order to
understand how she appeared off Hope Island so
early that morning we must go back a few hours in
our story.\par

We left Judd and Mr. Avery standing upon the
forward deck of the tug Thetis not far from five
o'clock the evening before.  The tug was off Beaver
Tail, and had just sighted and begun her chase after
the retreating sloop.  The wind was a strong one
from the southwest, and the Sea Witch was so
rapid a sailer that at six o'clock the tug, though
running at a high rate of speed, had not gained over
a half-mile upon her.  At seven o'clock they were
still a mile apart, and it was now evident that
before the tug could overhaul her darkness would have
closed around.\par

Lest the suspicion of the burglars might be
aroused, Mr. Avery had requested Captain Bradley
to keep the tug a point or two off of the exact
course of the sloop; so it happened that while the
Sea Witch was steadily working up toward the east
shore of Buzzard's Bay the Thetis was on a course
that would have carried her into Vineyard Sound.
But Cuttyhunk Island was now just ahead, and the
tug must soon alter her course or she would lose
sight of the sloop.\par

Captain Bradley was about to give the necessary
orders to effect this change, when a movement on
the part of the Sea Witch caused him to alter his
purpose.  Her helm had been thrown up, and
swinging to the right, she ran directly into
Chuttyhunk Island.\par

"The rascals are going to hold on there to-night,"
said the captain as he watched the sloop's course,
"or else hold up to a later hour, and then run into
the main shore and separate.  But whatever their
purpose, we have got them.  I know like a book the
cove they have entered, and we'll keep up the east
side of the island and land some one to watch their
movements.  Before morning I'll promise to bag the
whole gang."\par

A few minutes after the Thetis ran in under the
east shore of Cuttyhunk, and a boat landed the
captain, Mr. Avery and Judd.  Slowly and cautiously,
under the lead of the stalwart captain, they made
their way across to the west side.  Here they found
a little cove, and close inshore, and sheltered by its
curving arms, lay the Sea Witch at anchor.  A light
was in her cabin, and a boat with two men in it was
just pushing off from her side.\par

"We are just in time, and may learn something
to our advantage," whispered the captain, as he
drew his companions back into the shelter of a
clump of trees.\par

The boat from the sloop landed almost directly
opposite the concealed men, and the two robbers
jumped out and pulled it farther up the beach.\par

"There," said one, "that will stay there until we
come back.  The captain said we would find the
water down here to the right.  Take the bucket and
come on."\par

The man addressed took a pail from the boat and
followed the speaker down the shore.\par

"That proves that the leader of the gang is
acquainted with this cove, and their coming here
was intentional," remarked Captain Bradley in an
undertone as the men disappeared.  "Fifty yards
to the south is a small spring, but a man must have
been here before to know of it.  So much then we
have learned, and we may get some more important
facts out of these fellows before they go back to the
sloop."\par

Soon the men came back to their boat, one bringing
the bucket of water, and the other an armful of
dead sticks he had gathered up.  Putting their
burdens into the boat, they sat down upon the bow,
filled their pipes, and lighting them began to smoke,
evidently in no hurry to depart.\par

"I say, Tom," said one of them in a moment, "do
you suppose we are going to get out of this scrape
all right?" and there was apprehension in his voice.\par

"Oh!  I think so," carelessly answered the other.
"I see no reason to believe we are even suspected;
and to-morrow we will run down in the neighborhood
of Hyannis, wait until after dark, then scuttle
the sloop, and separate.  From different stations in
that vicinity we can work into Boston, and once
there, dispose of the booty, divide up, and be off to
some other part of the country for another job.  It's
a good, stiff haul we've made this time; a cool
thousand apiece."\par

"That is Bagsley," Judd said to his companions in
a suppressed whisper.\par

The burglars finished their smoke without any
further conversation that was of special value to the
listeners, and then pushed off the boat and went
back to the sloop.\par

As soon as they were out of hearing Judd turned
to Captain Bradley and asked:\par

"Couldn't we bring your yawl across to this cove,
captain?"\par

"I think so.  What then?" he asked, with interest.\par

"Well, then let us go back to the tug and give
your men orders to bring her around to this side of
the island, and lie in wait off the southern point of
the cove.  Then we will return to the shore in the
yawl, bring it over here, and wait until the burglars
are quiet for the night.  At the proper time we will
go silently off to the sloop, shut down her hatch,
give the tug the signal to come on, and boat and
men are ours."\par

Mr. Avery and the captain discussed the plan at
some length.  It would involve hard work, but
would offer two special advantages: They would
approach the sloop from a quarter that danger
would be the least suspected, and hence the chances
of success would be materially strengthened.  Again,
in case of discovery, a force would be on both the
sea and the land side of the Sea Witch, and the
burglars would be less likely to escape.  With a
little change in the details, Judd's suggestion was
adopted.\par

The captain went back to the tug and gave orders
for her to go around to the other side of the island;
he then returned to the shore, and under the united
efforts of the trio the yawl was carried over to the
cove and safely launched there.  Then the lad was
sent down to the southern point to watch for the
arrival of the tug.  When a light was flashed three
times in succession from her starboard quarter he
was to know that she was in readiness and waiting
only for a return signal to steam down into the
cove.  Going back with this information to Mr. Avery
and Captain Bradley, the boat was then to be
shoved off and the visit to the sloop made.\par

Judd reached the point safely and began his
watch.  A half-hour passed, and then through the
darkness he saw the light of the tug for a brief
moment as she rounded the southern end of Cuttyhunk
and came due north.  She came slowly, that as little
sound as possible might escape her, and another
half-hour elapsed before he received the signal.  Then
every light about the vessel suddenly went out, and
the most watchful observer would not have suspected
she was lying in wait there.\par

Rising from the ground, Judd swiftly but
noiselessly went along the shore toward the place where
his companions were waiting for his return.  He had
nearly reached the spot where he thought the boat
ought to be, when a dark form rose up suddenly
before him.\par

"Captain," he exclaimed, in a low tone.\par

"Yes," was the reply, and Captain Bradley stepped
along to his side.  "I thought you were long in
coming," he then explained, "and so had started to look
you up."\par

"Has there been any movement on the part of the
burglars?" the lad asked, as they now went on to
the boat, where they found Mr. Avery.\par

"None," replied the captain.  "We occasionally
hear sounds of laughter, and think they are all in
the cabin, and the question arises whether we had
better go off at once or wait until all is quiet on the
sloop."\par

"They will be likely to set a watch later," said
Judd quickly.  "If we can run off now and get
under the starboard side of the sloop without being
discovered, I will agree to shut down the hatch and
fasten it before a single one can escape.  We shall
then have them at a disadvantage, and can compel
them to come out one by one, and disarm and bind them."\par

"Well, we will try it," was the decision of his
companions, and the boat was pushed off and slowly
sculled by Captain Bradley toward the sloop.\par

Mr. Avery sat amidships, while Judd occupied the
extreme bow.  All had their revolvers in readiness
and were alert for the very first indication that they
had been discovered.\par

Silently the boat approached the sloop, which
swung bow toward it.  In and under the shadow
cast even in the darkness by her bow the yawl
swiftly shot, and then stopped.  The voices of the
burglars could be distinctly heard, and they were
evidently making the night ring with their songs
and laughter.  Sounds of drinking and feasting
suggested, also, that they were still at their supper.
No one was on deck, and no thought of capture had
apparently come to the robbers' minds.\par

Again the yawl moved silently forward, and
paused under the starboard quarter of the sloop,
and just adjacent to her cabin.  Judd knew his time
for action had come, and he arose and braced
himself for it.\par

The opening into the cabin was for convenience
and ventilation made in two parts--one upright, the
other horizontal.  The upright portion was a door,
and swung upon hinges from the starboard side of
the cabin toward its larboard end.  The horizontal
part was a sliding hatch at the top of the cabin, and
to close it, it had to be shoved toward the stern-end
of the cabin, directly over the upright, where it
fastened down into its place with an iron clamp.  Both
swinging door and sliding hatch were made of solid
wood, and when closed and fastened could not easily
be opened from the inside of the cabin.\par

All this Judd knew; and he was, moreover, at
the one point where he could reach both parts that
were to be closed without himself being seen.  For a
brief moment he steadied himself on the bow of the
yawl; then laying one hand on the rail of the sloop,
he jumped lightly on board.  His weight swayed
the craft somewhat, but before the burglars,
surprised at the sudden lurch, could spring even to
their feet, he had reached the opening.  In an
instant his left hand swung-to the upright door and
his right hand shoved the slide into place; down
came the clamp with a jerk; the iron bar was
thrust into the socket, and all was secure before the
burglars had recovered from their first shock of
surprise.\par

Loud curses now followed, and heavy blows were
struck upon the closed door.  Then a voice cried:\par

"Open that hatch, or we'll fire through it!" and
the click of a revolver was heard.\par

"Two can play at that game, my hearties," rang
out the voice of the stalwart captain as he sprung
on board, followed by Mr. Avery.\par

Then he drew his revolver and fired twice in the
air.  It was the signal for the tug to approach.\par

These movements on the part of the captors were
not without their effect on the imprisoned men.  A
silence suddenly fell upon them, broken at length
by the leader of the gang asking:\par

"Who are you, and what do you mean by closing
us up in here?  You will find it is a joke we will
not stand."\par

"And you will find it is no joke at all," responded
Mr. Avery, promptly.  "I am an officer in pursuit
of you on three or four charges, the last and least
of which is running away with this sloop.  We have
a tug close at hand, and outnumber you in men and
weapons, as well as in the advantage of situation.
So I advise you to keep perfectly quiet."\par

The sound of the approaching tug was plainly
discernible, to confirm his words, and silence again
fell on the discomfited burglars.\par

"We are in Massachusetts waters; how dare you
trouble us?" one of the men, after awhile, called out.\par

"I believe a man has a right to his property
wherever he finds it," responded Mr. Avery, coolly;
"and one of the owners of this sloop is on board
now.  We are just going to hitch on to the craft, at
his request, and tow her home.  It is your misfortune
to be in her just at this time, but we cannot
stop now to let you get off.  As to your arrest, we'll
see to that when we are in Rhode Island waters."\par

The tug had now come alongside of the captured
vessel, and her anchor was weighed and she was
lashed to the larger boat, so that a passage from one
to the other could be easily made.  Then the word
was given, and the Thetis steamed rapidly off on
her return.\par

When out so far from land that any escape of the
prisoners was impossible, the door of the sloop's
cabin was unfastened, and the men were ordered out
one lay one.  Bagsley and the leader of the gang
showed a little disposition to fight at first, but when
their three comrades yielded they evidently thought
discretion the better part of valor, and sullenly
obeyed.\par

Each one, as he came out, was disarmed and
bound; then all were returned to the cabin of the
sloop.  Bagsley, when he first caught sight of Judd
Floyd, seemed to think that he was Budd Boyd, but
learned his mistake at once when he was questioned
as to Budd's whereabouts, and angrily refused to
tell.  One of his companions, however, revealed that
the lad had been left bound on Patience Island,
and Mr. Avery consented, at Judd's urgent request,
to visit the island early in the morning and release Budd.\par

At midnight, or a little after, the Thetis was in
Newport.  A strong guard was placed over the
captured men, and Mr. Avery and Judd took
possession of two of the tug's bunks, and slept soundly
until early morning.  Then a breakfast was
furnished the prisoners one by one, after which they
were again bound securely and replaced in the cabin
of the sloop.  Mr. Avery drew his check for one
hundred dollars and gave it to Captain Bradley;
then he and Judd entered the sloop and set sail for
Patience Island.\par

As they came out of the east passage they saw a
boat with a single occupant crossing over from
Prudence Island toward the south end of Hope, and the
moment it turned and was pulled rapidly for the
latter Judd suspected who the occupant was.  When
a little nearer, he was sure it was Budd, whom he
was seeking, and who had in some way escaped
from his bonds; so he sent forth the three yells that
he knew his partner would recognize, and which
caused him to turn about, and with both surprise
and joy come on to meet the approaching sloop; a
surprise and joy that was destined to merge into a
feeling of triumph when he learned what and whom
the sloop contained.\par

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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XIX.--MR. JOHNSON IS ASTONISHED.}

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{\noindent}
The Sea Witch was luffed up into the wind as
Budd came alongside, and in another moment
he had leaped on board of her, and was shaking
hands with his chum and with the constable.  A
single glance through the open door of the cabin
now revealed to him the prisoners, and too full of
happiness at the sudden revelation to speak, he
turned toward Judd an inquiring look.\par

"Yes," he said proudly, at once interpreting his
partner's look, and understanding something of his
feelings, "we have got the burglars, their booty,
and all their traps."\par

"Tell me about it," Budd managed to say.\par

"No, your story comes first," remonstrated Judd.\par

So Budd began with his meeting of Mr. Wilson
at the village the afternoon before, and told all he
had passed through until he had run in with the
sloop.  When he had done, Judd and Mr. Avery
together gave him a full account of the chase and
capture of the burglars from the moment that Judd
had discovered them running away with the Sea Witch.\par

Then Judd said:\par

"We were on our way up to Patience Island to
release you, after which we were going into Hope
Island to notify Mr. Johnson of the burglars'
capture.  Mr. Avery thinks much of the camping stuff
they have was taken from his house, and that he
may wish to bring action against them simultaneously
with Clapp \& St. John.  Now that we have
met you, however, we are saved the trip up to
Patience, and we will go directly over to Hope Island."\par

"Run over to Prudence and let me return this
boat first," said Budd.  "I don't need it now, and it
will save a trip over here on purpose to bring it."\par

"So it will," assented Judd; and the sloop was
headed in that direction.\par

The farmer was surprised to have his boat
returned within a half-hour of the time it had been
taken, but opened his eyes in wider astonishment when
Mr. Avery, who was acquainted with him, gave him
a full account of Budd's experiences and showed him
the prisoners.\par

The run across to Hope Island was made in less
than another half-hour, and Budd, at the request of
his companions, who knew he had special reasons
for seeing Mr. Johnson, landed and went up toward
that gentleman's residence.\par

As he approached the building he could not help
noticing the changes that had taken place since he
was there scarcely a week before.  The shutters
were off of the house, windows were open, lawns
were mown, chairs and settees were out on the
veranda, and everywhere there were signs of occupancy.\par

Walking boldly up to the front door, Budd rang
the bell.  A servant answered his ring, and the lad
politely asked her if Mr. Johnson was at home.\par

"Yes, sir," she replied; and then, evidently
thinking from the boy's appearance he was looking for
work, she added, "but he has all the help he
desires."\par

Budd smiled a little.\par

"I do not wish work, but desire to see Mr. Johnson
on important business," he replied, with a
marked emphasis on the next to the last word.\par

"Who shall I tell him wishes to see him?" the
girl asked, doubtfully.\par

"A gentleman," answered Budd, fearing to give
his own name, and thus be refused an interview
with the man he sought.\par

The girl hesitatingly showed Budd into the
reception-room and went off to call her master.\par

With some doubts as to the reception he should
receive, but elated at the revelations he had to
make, the lad arose to meet Mr. Johnson as he
entered.  Before he could speak a word, however,
he was recognized, and the gentleman exclaimed,
angrily:\par

"Budd Boyd!  How dare you enter my house, sir?"\par

"I have business with you, Mr. Johnson," Budd
replied gravely, and with dignity.\par

Something in his quiet tones and self-possessed
manner soothed Mr. Johnson's anger, and he asked,
shortly:\par

"What is it?"\par

"May I sit down, sir?  I have several most
astonishing revelations to make," said Budd,
noticing the impression he had made.\par

Mr. Johnson without a word motioned the boy to
a chair, and taking one near by, waited for him to
speak.\par

"Do you remember the conversation I had with
you about Thomas H. Bagsley, when in your office
last March?" Budd now asked.\par

"I do," said the gentleman addressed, briefly and
haughtily.\par

"You may remember that as I left your office he
entered, making it evident that he had been
listening to our conversation," continued the lad.\par

"What makes you think so?" asked Mr. Johnson
with a start, and for the first time beginning to
show an interest in the conversation.\par

"Because of his own words and threats to me the
next morning," responded Budd; and he rapidly
described the altercation that then occurred.\par

"I immediately left the city," he went on, "and
did not see Bagsley again until a week ago last
Saturday evening.  But meanwhile he left your
employ."\par

"Yes," assented Mr. Johnson, "he was thoroughly
incompetent for his duties; and, then"--he
hesitated a moment, but eventually finished his
sentence--"and, then, I felt I could not trust him."\par

"Your fears were well grounded," said Budd,
with a little secret exultation over Mr. Johnson's
admission.\par

Then he described the visit of Bagsley and his
two companions to Fox Island, and the statements
and declarations he and his partner had overheard.\par

"It was this visit to our island, Mr. Johnson, that
sent me over to your island last Wednesday, when
I was so unfortunate as to place myself in your
hands and be arrested as the party who had robbed
your house," he added.\par

"That does nicely for a story," replied Mr. Johnson,
incredulously; "but if true, why didn't
you at once tell me, or make it known at least at
your trial?  It looks altogether like an ingenious
attempt on your and your partner's part to get me
to withdraw my charge against you."\par

Budd laughed.\par

"I admit it, sir," he said; "but if you remember,
I did beg you to hear my story, and had you
consented I should have told you all this at that time.
In the court I did not wish to tell it, for I had
another purpose in mind;" and he rapidly explained
to Mr. Johnson what he hoped to achieve from
Bagsley's arrest, and that he was fearful, if he had
disclosed what he did know about his enemy and
his gang at the time of his own trial, it would have
been premature and would have thwarted his purpose.\par

Mr. Johnson listened respectfully, but at the close
of Budd's lengthy explanation declared he was not
yet convinced of the truth of the lad's statements.\par

"I am not through," said Budd with another
laugh, for he knew the proofs of the truth of all
his declarations were not many rods away.  "You
have heard of the extensive robbery of Clapp \&
St. John's store over at the village?" he now asked.\par

"Yes, I heard of it last evening," Mr. Johnson
admitted.\par

"That robbery was committed by Bagsley and his
gang, and they robbed your house here," said Budd,
quietly.\par

"How do you know?  Where are the proofs of
your statement?" cried Mr. Johnson, springing
excitedly to his feet.  "Prove that to me, and I will
withdraw my case against you before sunset!" and
he walked up and down the room like a man about
to receive some unpleasant revelation.\par

"And try with me to secure Bagsley's confession
of the crime he committed, and for which my father
is now in prison?" asked Budd, with scarcely a less
show of excitement.\par

Mr. Johnson paused in front of the lad and looked
at him sharply for a minute; but the lad did not
flinch under his gaze.\par

"Yes," he then said, firmly; "I promise that, also.
Prove to me those two things--that the robbery
here and the one in the village were alike committed
by a gang of burglars of which Bagsley is one, and
I shall believe he was capable--yes, guilty--of the
crime your father stands charged with to-day; for,
mark, I now admit that there are reasons to believe
that he did, at the time that act was committed,
know the combination to my safe, and thus had free
access to my money and my check-book.\par

"I now confess to you that I let my copy of the
combination-number lie overnight on my private
office desk, and though it was lying there
undisturbed the next morning, Bagsley may have seen it.
This is why I have distrusted him.\par

"It has also been a secret that has accused me
every time I thought of your father and of you.  I
could not bear to think I had sent an innocent
person to prison, and a part of my severity to you has
grown out of the fact that if you were proved to be
of a thievish disposition it would seem to substantiate,
in a measure at least, your father's guilt.  It
was at least quieting to my conscience to have it
prove so, and for this I doubtless have too strongly
worked against you.\par

"So I say, only prove your statements, and
instead of your enemy I am your friend, and I pledge
you that I will try to undo all the wrong I have
done your father and yourself," and there was an
earnestness and sincerity in his tones that convinced
Budd that he meant just what he said.\par

"Mr. Johnson," he exclaimed, "get your hat and
come with me."\par

"Where?" he asked.\par

"Down to your dock.  My sloop, the Sea Witch,
is there, and on board are the five burglars, their
booty from the store and from your house, guarded
by Mr. Avery, the constable, and my partner, Judd Floyd."\par

Mr. Johnson looked at the lad for an instant as
though he doubted his sanity; then he led the way
into the hall, took his hat and a stout cane from the
rack, and replied:\par

"I'm ready."\par

As they walked down to the wharf, Budd rapidly
related the principal events connected with the
finding and capture of the burglars, and exhibited his
own lacerated wrists as proof of the part he had
borne in the affair.\par

"I'm just astonished!  I'm just astonished!" was
Mr. Johnson's ejaculation during this recital.\par

They reached the sloop, and Mr. Johnson looked
with his own eyes upon Bagsley and his confederates.
He even overhauled and identified much
among their traps as having been taken from his
house.\par

He then had Mr. Avery and the lads recount to
him again the whole story of the robbers' capture.
He also listened respectfully to Mr. Avery's
suggestion that he should come over to the village, and
identifying there his property, swear out a warrant
against the men, that a double charge might be
sustained against them.\par

"I will do it," he replied.  "I will come over
immediately."\par

He spoke to Bagsley, expressing regret at having
found him such a criminal, but received only curses
in return.\par

At length he seemed to be satisfied with his own
investigations, and with the story he had heard.\par

Laying his hand on Budd's head he said, solemnly:\par

"I never meant to wrong you at all, my dear lad.
I never meant to send your innocent father, for I
feel instinctively now he is innocent, to prison.  I
never meant to hasten your invalid mother's death.
Tell me you forgive me, lad, for unless you do I can
never forgive myself."\par

Tears streamed down Budd's cheeks, and with
them went much of the anger he had cherished
toward the speaker.\par

"I believe you," he said; "only, leave no stone
unturned to set my father free and to put him right
in the eyes of the world, and I freely forgive you all
the suffering and unhappiness you have unintentionally
caused me."\par

"I solemnly promise it; and believe me there is
yet happiness for both father and son," said
Mr. Johnson fervently; and wiping his own eyes, he
went ashore, to complete his arrangements for
visiting the village.\par

And Budd, with a joy he could not tell, assisted
his chum in getting the sloop ready for the passage
over to the main land, where their arrival with their
prisoners was to create a profound sensation, and
win for himself and partner not only the offered
reward, but friends and fame.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-xx-the-confession}%
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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XX.--THE CONFESSION.}

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{\noindent}
"The burglars are captured!"  "They are now
in the lock-up!"  "Avery, the constable, and
those boys of Fox Island, brought them here in the
Sea Witch!"  "They say every dollar's worth of
the stolen goods is recovered!"  "The examination
is at two o'clock this afternoon!"\par

These and a hundred other similar exclamations
ran along the streets of the village, were repeated
in shop and store and house, discussed on the
street-corners, and carried out into the surrounding
country, within two hours after the sloop had tied up at
the public wharf.\par

And yet very little was really known, for on
arriving at the dock Mr. Avery had left the sloop and
prisoners in charge of the two lads while he went
quietly up the street and sought an interview with
Clapp \& St. John, the jewelers.  The immediate
outcome of that interview was that two closely-covered
carriages were driven down to the wharf, and
the prisoners were hastily put into these and driven
rapidly up to the lock-up, where they were quickly
incarcerated.  Almost as quickly, a huge express
wagon went down to the dock, and bags, gripsacks
and bundles, containing the robbers' booty and
traps, were transferred from the sloop to the
waiting vehicle, covered with a large sail-cloth, and
driven off to Clapp \& St. John's place of business,
where they were safely stored.  Then warrants
were sworn out in rapid succession by Clapp \&
St. John, by Mr. Johnson, for he had arrived at the
village almost as soon as the Sea Witch, and by the
lads themselves, against the criminals.\par

Just what the specific charges were, and how the
burglars had been found, was not generally known;
but enough had been seen by the inhabitants of that
staid community to excite their curiosity, and to set
their tongues a-wagging with a velocity that in any
other bodily member would have been absolutely
dangerous.\par

So it happened that when the hour of the burglars'
examination came a crowd had gathered in the
court-room that filled it to its utmost capacity, and
a larger crowd was in the court-yard and the
adjacent street.  Through this assembly the prisoners
were with great difficulty taken, and their trial
began.\par

But if the eager audience were expecting any
special developments they were doomed to
disappointment, for when the warrant charging the
prisoners with feloniously entering and robbing
Clapp \& St. John's store was read, each burglar in
his turn waived examination, and was bound over,
without bonds, to the higher court.\par

Something of a surprise swept over the audience,
however, when the prisoners were again arraigned
and a second warrant was read, charging them with
the burglary of Mr. Johnson's house on Hope Island.
To this, as in the first instance, the accused
responded by waiving an examination, and were again
bound over, without bonds, to the next term of the
superior court.\par

Many of the audience evidently thought this
ended the judicial proceedings, and they arose to
leave the room.  The prisoners, too, apparently
thought the same, for they turned toward the
officers who were guarding them as though
expecting to be immediately taken away.\par

But for the third time they were called to the
bar, and a deathlike stillness fell upon the throng
as a third warrant was read, charging three of the
prisoners with having forcibly entered, with the
intent of robbing, the house on Fox Island, on
Saturday night, June 17th.  Then there was a
hurried consultation between the leader of the gang,
who had given the name of Brill, and Bagsley and
the third man of the party who was accused of this
crime, and who answered to the name of Hawkins.\par

The result of the consultation was that the three
men for the third time waived an examination, and
for the third time were bound over to the higher
court.\par

As though getting impatient with the whole
proceedings, the Justice immediately called the five
men to the bar to listen to the reading of a fourth
warrant, which charged the entire party with
"having taken the sloop Sea Witch, with force of
arms, from her lawful owner, and having, with great
detriment to said owner's bodily health and
disadvantage to his property and business, run off with
the same."  With hopeless faces and sinking hearts
the prisoners no longer waived an examination but
pleaded guilty to the charge, and, as on the three
former charges, were bound over to the superior
court.\par

While the audience was slowly dispersing, the
papers for the commitment of the prisoners to the
county jail were filled out by the presiding Justice,
and then, under a strong guard, they were taken
out to the waiting carriages and driven rapidly off
toward the county-seat.  Before sunset this had
been reached, and the criminals placed in separate
cells within the strong walls of the jail.\par

Mr. Johnson and Budd had both agreed that it
would be wiser to postpone their interview with
Bagsley until he had been committed to jail and
knew the full consequences of the criminal acts with
which he and his confederates had been charged.
They hoped, too, that his solitary confinement might
subdue his resentful spirit to such an extent that he
would be willing to listen to the proposition they
had to make.  They therefore arranged to go up to
Kingston together early in the coming week for the
interview, on which their hopes so largely centered.
But unknown to them a series of circumstances
were already beginning to work in their behalf.\par

The first step in the series began right in the
court-room.  While the audience was dispersing and
the Justice was filling out the commitment-papers
the prisoners were huddled close together within
the court-room railing.  The officers allowed them
to converse together, thinking, doubtless, it would
be the last time they could do so for a number of
weeks, if not for a number of years.  Brill, the
leader of the gang, changed his position a little so
as to bring him beside Bagsley, and then he said, in
a low tone:\par

"It is a hard outlook for us, Tom."\par

"Yes," his companion replied, gloomily.\par

"It can't be less than twenty years on all the
charges," continued Brill, cautiously, lest his words
should be overheard by the attending officers.\par

"Do you think so?" asked Bagsley.\par

"Yes, unless you can work on the sympathies of
old Johnson and that boy to let us off on some of
the charges," remarked the leader, significantly.\par

"What do you mean?  They are more bitter
against me than all the rest of you," responded
Bagsley, with some irritation in his tones.\par

"Yes, and for cause; but suppose you remove
that cause?" said Brill, pointedly.\par

"And get myself in a worse scrape," snapped
Bagsley.\par

"Not necessarily; you can put your conditions,
and help yourself and the rest of us," was the hasty
reply; for the papers were now completed, and the
officers were handcuffing the prisoners together
previous to leading them from the room.\par

Enough had been said, however, to excite in Bagsley's
heart a hope he would not be slow to follow up.\par

The next step in the series of circumstances
working favorably for the fulfillment of Budd's purpose
occurred the next day, way off among the hills of
New Hampshire.  Bagsley, it will be remembered,
was known, and however it may have been with his
companions, he was not able to conceal his identity
under a false name.  The newspapers, therefore,
recording the capture of the burglars, gave his
name in full; and one of those papers went into the
boyhood home of the unfortunate man, carrying
dismay to his aged father and mother still abiding
there.  The name was that of their only son, from
whom they had not heard in long months, and of
whose career they had for a long time had misgiving.\par

So the aged father sat down, and with trembling
hand wrote to the keeper of the jail asking for
further particulars as to the robbery, and a complete
identification, if possible, of the prisoner who bore
his son's name.  This letter in due time reached the
jailer, and was at once taken to Bagsley's cell.  He
bore up bravely under the words the father had
penned, but when he read at the bottom of the
sheet a single line in the mother's handwriting--that
line reading "If you are our Tommy, let us
know at once, and we'll come to you and spare no
expense to save you"--he broke completely down.
The memory of his mother--of her love, that had
ever stood ready to shield him--had touched his
heart.  He was not as hardened as he himself had
thought, and a desire to see his mother once more
before the prison-walls closed upon him for long
years, and to hear from her own lips that she
forgave her wayward boy, led him to answer his
father's letter.\par

So the third and last step in this chain of
circumstances began when his letter, two days later,
reached the little mountain village.  Closing up
their little home, the aged father and mother drew
from the savings bank their small hoard of
hard-earned money and set out for the place of their
son's incarceration.  Everyone they met seemed
to understand that some heavy affliction had fallen
upon the gray-haired couple, and with kind words
and willing hands they were helped on their way,
and on the Monday following the arrest of the
criminals they reached the door of the Kingston
jail and asked to see their boy.\par

Without delay they were taken to Bagsley's cell,
and then ensued an interview too sacred but for the
angels of heaven to have witnessed.  In humble
contrition the penitent man disclosed to his
broken-hearted parents the whole story of his criminal life,
and acknowledged that there was no possible escape
from long years of confinement unless Mr. Johnson
and Budd Boyd could be persuaded to withdraw
their charges against him.  So the next morning
the father started off to find the lad and the
gentleman who held so much of his son's fate in their
hands, and met them on their way up to the county-seat
to hold an interview with his son.  Under these
circumstances it was not hard to effect an
agreement, and Bagsley consented to make a full and
complete vindication of Henry Boyd if Mr. Johnson's
charge and the two charges of Boyd \& Floyd
against him and his associates were withdrawn.
This was what both Mr. Johnson and Budd were
willing to do, and the confession of such vital
importance to two persons at least--Budd and his
father--was duly drawn up and signed.\par

It stated in substance that Bagsley, on entering
Mr. Johnson's employ, had been detected in light
pilfering by Mr. Boyd, but upon his making full
restitution and promising to never be guilty of such
an act again Mr. Boyd had consented to keep the
matter from Mr. Johnson.  Instead of being
grateful to Mr. Boyd for thus shielding him from
Mr. Johnson's anger, Bagsley had resolved to have his
revenge for what he termed Boyd's unwarranted
interference with that which was none of his business.
The opportunity came when Mr. Johnson carelessly
left the combination-number of the safe upon his
private desk.  Making a copy of it, Bagsley had
taken the thousand dollars for himself, and forged
the check and sent it with the accompanying letter
to Mr. Boyd's house just as he was about to start for
the South with his invalid wife.  He had opened
and destroyed the letter of thanks that Mr. Boyd
had sent Mr. Johnson upon receiving the check, and
the result of his plans had been exactly what he had
anticipated.  Mr. Boyd was arrested, tried and
convicted of the two crimes, forgery and theft, while
he who had really committed the acts had been
unsuspected.\par

The confession went on to state that Bagsley had
overheard all that passed between Budd and Mr. Johnson
in the private office, and believing that Budd
was working to prove his guilt he had assaulted him
on the next day.  Not content with this, he had
sought for the lad repeatedly to frighten him into
silence, but at length learned he had left the city.\par

His connection with the criminals had come about
in a perfectly natural way through the dissipated
habits he had formed.  When in a gambling-saloon
one night he had run in with Brill, who, finding that
Bagsley had plenty of money, accused him of having
taken the thousand dollars for which Henry Boyd
had been arrested.  Bagsley at first denied this, but
being unable to account for the money in any other
way, he finally admitted it.\par

From that hour Brill had a hold upon him, and
led him from one crime to another until the series
of crimes for which he and his companions had now
been arrested.\par

There was a particularity of detail throughout the
whole confession that evinced its truth, and with
the document in his pocket Mr. Johnson took the
first train for Boston, to place in the hands of the
Governor and his Council, the matter of Henry
Boyd's pardon for a crime he had never committed;
while Budd drove off home, to immediately write
and send to his father a letter giving a full account
of the events that had transpired in the last few
days, and setting forth the prospect of his--the
father's--release, as soon as the legal steps necessary
for it could be complied with.\par

As we shall now lose sight of Bagsley in our story,
it may be stated here that he and his companions in
crime were duly arraigned for the burglary of Clapp
\& St. John's jewelry store, at the November term of
the superior court, and knowing that the evidence
of their guilt was absolute, they thought it wiser to
plead guilty and throw themselves upon the mercy
of the Court.  The other charges were not brought
up against them, but they were known, and without
doubt had much to do with the heavy sentence that
was pronounced upon them, namely--ten years each
at hard labor in the State Penitentiary.\par

The reward offered for their arrest and conviction
was in due time paid over to Mr. Avery and the two
lads.  Mr. Avery, finding the part he had played in
the affair had obtained for him a popularity that
was destined to give him the office of County Sheriff
at the next election, magnanimously insisted that
the hundred dollars paid the captain of the tug
should come out of his portion of the reward alone;
so that the young firm received an even thousand
dollars as their compensation for the trying
experiences they had undergone in discovering and
bringing to justice the gang of criminals.\par

But a full month before this money was paid
over, an event happened that to Budd at least far
transcended any amount of pecuniary gain.  It was
the reception, through the post-office, of a large
official document from the Governor of Massachusetts,
announcing the full pardon and ordering the
immediate release of Henry Boyd.  Along with it
came a personal note from the Governor pleasantly
suggesting that the son, who had so thoroughly
believed in and worked for the establishment of the
father's innocence, should be the one to first carry
the good news to the pardoned man.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-xxi-father-and-son}%
\hypertarget{chapter-xxi-father-and-son}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XXI.--FATHER AND SON.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
The weeks that had elapsed between the
confession of Bagsley and the reception of the
important document from the Governor of Massachusetts
had hung heavily on Budd's hands.  He
chafed under the legal technicalities that seemed to
be constantly arising to delay a result that he knew
was inevitable, and which he thought ought to
come immediately.  Still his hope sustained him,
and with his partner he attended strictly to the
work in which they were engaged.\par

Business, too, accumulated upon their hands.  The
notoriety they had achieved in capturing the
burglars had made it quite the thing to patronize the
young firm, and from every side there poured into
them an increase of trade.  The summer hotels
along the bay found it quite to their interest to
announce that the fish upon their tables came
directly from the pounds of Boyd \& Floyd.  Sailing
and fishing-parties sought eagerly for the services
of the lads and their sloop Sea Witch, that had
such a romantic history.  So night and day the
young firm were busy, and their bank account
grew apace.\par

But there was another work during these weeks
that claimed Budd's attention.  Believing that his
father would prefer to come back to the island with
him, and make a temporary home there until their
plans for the future could be arranged, he spent
all his spare moments in making his island home
more attractive.\par

Mr. Johnson had on the day he had accompanied
the lad up to the county jail returned to him the
five hundred dollars he had paid that gentleman the
previous March, and, along with that sum, its
accumulated interest.  A portion of this money Budd
now spent for carpets and furniture.\par

The bedroom down-stairs, and which he and Judd
had always occupied, was refurnished expressly for
Mr. Boyd.  The furniture which had been in there
was carried upstairs, where a room was fixed for
the lads.  Another room upstairs was also furnished
with a bedroom set, and it was Budd himself who
gave a reason for doing it:\par

"It is for your father, Judd, when he comes from
the State Farm.  We'll bring him over here, where
he'll be away from temptation, and try and make a
man of him;" and Judd thanked his chum for the
suggestion with glistening eyes.\par

Other arrangements were also made about the
house and grounds, in which Budd was ably seconded
by his partner, and on the October morning that
the Governor's pardon came everything was in
readiness for Mr. Boyd's coming.\par

That afternoon's train carried Budd to Boston.
He arrived in the city too late to visit the prison
that day, but having expected this, he was in no
sense disappointed.  In fact he had come to the
city at this time purposely, for he had a few items
of business to transact before he visited his father,
and they could be attended to while he waited for
the coming morning, which at the earliest possible
hour he had determined should see his father's
liberation.  These items of business are of interest to
us, and so we will follow him as he attends to them.\par

Hastening through to Washington Street with the
pace of one who knew just where he was going, he
hurried down that street until he reached a large
tailoring establishment.  Entering this, he asked
for the proprietor, and was immediately shown to
the private office.  Introducing himself with the
air of one who was expected, he asked:\par

"You have, of course, received and filled my order?"\par

"Yes sir," said the gentleman, pleasantly, and
pointing to a handsome valise and a large package
at one side of the office.  "In that valise you will
find shirts, collars, underwear, stockings, neckties,
and a medium suit of clothing.  In the package is a
handsome overcoat, a fine Prince Albert suit, hat,
shoes--in fact a complete outfit, and good enough
for any man.  They will be sent to your hotel at
the appointed hour to-morrow, and we guarantee
the fit, if your measures were correct."\par

Budd thanked him, and then asked:\par

"Was the check I forwarded with the order
sufficiently large in amount to pay for everything?"\par

"Yes, and a little to spare.  Here is the receipted
bill and change that the cashier sent here in
anticipation of your coming.  I had the bundles brought
here also, in case you should care to examine them."\par

"No, sir; I rely upon your judgment," replied
the lad.  "You may send the packages to me
to-night, however, at the United States Hotel;" and
he took his leave.\par

He now walked down to the hotel he had named,
and registering his name, was shown to a room.\par

Before the supper-hour the packages had arrived
from the tailoring establishment, and were at his
request sent up to his room.  He now examined their
contents, and his face glowed with satisfaction as he
saw how well his orders had been executed.\par

"Father need not be ashamed to call on the
Governor himself with those clothes on," he said softly
to himself, not knowing they would be put to that use.\par

When his supper was eaten he left the hotel and
walked briskly off toward the business quarter of the
city again, and reaching the office of a well-known
daily paper, he entered and asked for the managing
editor.  On the assurance that his business was
important he was shown up to that worthy's sanctum.\par

With no hesitation he told who he was, and the
object of his visit to Boston.\par

"My wish," he continued, "is to have your paper
to-morrow kindly notice my father's return to public
life; and if you believe in his innocence, do your part
toward the vindication of his good name.  I ask that
you will give as conspicuous a place in your paper to
his release as you did to his trial and conviction, and
am willing to pay you for the space."\par

The editor laughed a little.\par

"You show your appreciation of the value of the
press as a molder of public sentiment," he then said.
"But, my dear boy, Mr. Johnson has preceded you
in this request.  The first page of every daily in this
city, to-morrow, will notice your father's release, and
every editorial page will comment upon and welcome
his return to public life.\par

"Why shouldn't we?" he added, bluntly.  "Mr. Johnson
has paid handsomely for it.  He certainly
is leaving no stone unturned to restore your father
to his old standing in the community.  From the
hour of Bagsley's confession, for he telegraphed the
fact here at once, he has seen to it that every step
toward your father's release has been duly noticed
by the public press."\par

Then the man, with a few inquiries as to Mr. Boyd's
plans after his release, dismissed his young
visitor.\par

"I have no more offices to visit, then," Budd
remarked on reaching the street, "thanks to
Mr. Johnson.  I'll buy a copy of every paper to-morrow,
however, so father can see just what they do say."\par

He now turned his steps toward the quarter of the
city where he had formerly lived, and walked slowly
over the familiar ground.  Then he went around by
the school he had last attended, and gazed up at the
windows of the room where he used to sit.  His
thoughts now turned toward his former acquaintances
and friends, and he felt a little pardonable
exultation as he remembered how, at every breakfast-table
of the city, on the following morning, his
father's innocence would be discussed.\par

"I am not sure," he admitted to himself, as he
walked back toward his hotel, "but that I should be
glad to come back here and take up the old life--if,"
he added, after a brief pause, "Judd could only
come with me."\par

And though he did not know it then, that very
thing was to eventually happen.\par

Not far from half-past eight o'clock the next
morning Budd put his packages into a hack, and
entering it, gave the order to the driver:\par

"Go over to the State Prison in Charlestown."\par

With a peculiar look at his young passenger the
driver mounted his box and drove away.  A
half-hour or so later he stopped at the massive entrance
of the institution named, and Budd alighted.
Requesting the hackman to remain until his return, he
took up his bundles and went into the warden's
office.\par

Upon showing the official document of the
Governor to the clerk in waiting he politely
requested Budd to take a seat while he went to call
his superior officer.  The warden soon entered, and
telling Budd he had expected him, he led the way
into the prison building.  Down one corridor and
into another they went, the heart of the lad beating
loudly as he drew nearer to the father he had not
seen for months.  Suddenly the warden stopped
before a cell and unlocked the door.\par

"You may enter and break the news to your
father," he said to Budd in a low voice.  "A little
later I will send a man for you, and you and your
father can come down to the office, where there is a
dressing-room which he can use to get ready for his
departure."\par

With these words he motioned the lad to enter
the cell; then he gently closed the door, without
locking it, and hurried away, leaving father and son
alone.  Surely nothing ever became him better.\par

As Budd entered the cell, his father arose from
the stool on which he was sitting, and with a glad
cry came toward him.  The next instant they were
in each other's arms, and sobbing on each other's
shoulders.  But the tears they shed were tears of joy,
for Mr. Boyd had rightly conjectured that his son's
presence meant his immediate release, and though
not entirely unexpected, yet it still came with
sufficient suddenness to move him to tears.\par

Soon they both grew calmer, and then Budd
produced the Governor's pardon, and related to his
father the story of its coming, and the Governor's
suggestion that had accompanied it.  He then
produced a half-dozen morning papers, and pointed out
to his father the flaming announcements of his
release, and the editorial notes of welcome that
signaled his return to public life.\par

"You need not be ashamed to go anywhere in the
city, father," the lad exclaimed, triumphantly; "and
I have brought you clothing fit for a king.  A home
is ready for you, too, where you can rest awhile and
plan for the future.  There is the man's step
outside, now, who has been sent up for us; so come."\par

Leaning proudly on the arm of his boy, who had
accomplished so much, Mr. Boyd walked down to
the office, where the warden kindly greeted him,
and the few details essential to his release were
attended to.  Then he was shown into an adjacent
dressing-room where the packages Budd had brought
had already been carried, and from this he emerged
a half-hour later looking, as the happy boy declared,
"Just like his own father."\par

Budd now took up the valise that contained
Mr. Boyd's spare clothing, and telling his father the
carriage was in waiting, started for the door.\par

"One moment, Mr. Boyd," the warden said.
"Here is a note the Governor has sent here for you."\par

In surprise, Mr. Boyd took the note and hastily
opened it.  There was but a brief line.\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ EXECUTIVE MANSION, October 5th.}}
\endgraf}
\par

{\itshape{Mr. Henry Boyd and Son:}}--You are both
requested to dine with me at two o'clock this
afternoon, where you will meet some old and some new
friends.\par

{\raggedright
{\normalsize{ THE GOVERNOR.}}
\endgraf}
\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
It was with emotions no words can express that
both father and son entered their carriage and were
driven off to their hotel.  Never had the sun shone
so brightly; never had the autumn foliage looked
half so beautiful; never had the old, familiar streets
and buildings seemed so dear.  In their very
happiness they were silent until nearly to their
destination; then Mr. Boyd broke the silence by saying,
tremulously:\par

"Oh, Budd! if your mother only knew of my
vindication!  If she had only lived to see this day!"\par

"She does know of it," replied Budd, simply.\par

"I believe it; and, like myself, she is proud of
her boy;" and Mr. Boyd looked lovingly down
into the face of his son.\par

The dinner at the Executive mansion was a simple
affair, the Governor seeming to understand Mr. Boyd's
feelings in this respect.  There were there
the members of the Executive Council; the Judge
who had presided at Mr. Boyd's trial; Mr. Johnson;
Mr. Boyd's lawyer, and a half-dozen prominent
business men that Mr. Boyd had been accustomed
to meet in other days.  They all congratulated him
warmly upon his established innocence, and assured
him of their friendship and help when he had
decided upon his future business plans.\par

He thanked them all for their expressions of
kindness, but added, with evident pride:\par

"My son has a home for me, and there I will go
for the present."\par

At four o'clock he and Budd left the city; at
five they were in Providence, and at six they were
at their village depot, where they were met by
Judd.  Ten minutes later they were on the Sea
Witch, bound for the island.\par

As they reached their own wharf Mr. Boyd
stepped out of the boat and looked around him.
Then he said tenderly, almost reverently:\par

"This is your home, Budd, and my home,
now--inexpressibly dear, because of what my boy has
here proved himself to be."\par

Later on, and when reclining in an easy-chair
beside the sitting-room fire, he heard in detail the
experiences through which the lads had passed.
The young partners sat where he could look them
both full in the face.  Possibly their strong likeness
to each other may have suggested the question, for
he abruptly asked:\par

"Judd, what is your father's name?"\par

"Silas Torr Floyd," answered the wondering boy.\par

"And your mother's?"\par

"Helen Budd, before she was married," replied
Judd.  "That is one reason why I thought Budd's
name so funny when I first heard it."\par

"You are, then, cousins," was Mr. Boyd's astonishing
declaration.\par

"How do you make that out, sir?" the lads
exclaimed in one breath.\par

"My wife and your mother, Judd, were sisters,"
explained Mr. Boyd.  "They were married about
the same time, and used to joke each other about
one having married a Boyd and the other a Floyd.
When Budd was born his mother gave him her
surname for his Christian name; and when, a few
weeks later, Judd was born, his mother laughingly
gave him the Christian name he bears, saying she
would make it as near like Budd's as possible.\par

"We soon separated, I moving into Boston, and
Judd's father going West.  For a time we kept up a
correspondence, but it grew less and less frequent,
and finally entirely ceased.  But your parents must
have returned East, Judd, and I cannot understand
why they did not communicate with me, unless your
mother's pride was such that she did not wish us to
know her husband had become a drunkard."\par

"I think that is it," said Judd, thoughtfully; "for
whenever I asked about her relatives, she never
would tell me anything about them."\par

The newly-discovered relationship was discussed
for a time, and facts and dates were brought
forward to substantiate it.  Then Judd said, with
much the same grimace he had used months before:\par

"I told you some time ago, Budd, that we were
second-rate twins, and now it has turned out that
we are first-rate cousins!"\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-xxii-an-exciting-adventure}%
\hypertarget{chapter-xxii-an-exciting-adventure}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XXII.--AN EXCITING ADVENTURE.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
"Good morning, father!  Would you like to go
with us to the fish-traps, or will you remain
here and rest?"\par

It was the morning after Mr. Boyd's arrival at
the island, and as yet barely six o'clock.  Budd had
come to the door of his father's room, and finding
him awake had thus accosted him.\par

Mr. Boyd looked up at his boy with a cheerful smile.\par

"Good morning, Budd!" he responded.  "You
are around early here, aren't you?  Well, I like to
see promptness and industry in any one; and as an
encouragement, if not an example, to you and Judd,
I'll go right along with you.  How soon shall I be
ready?"\par

"Breakfast will be on the table in ten minutes,
and in course of a half-hour we must be off,"
answered Budd.  "Is there anything I can do for
you, father?"\par

There was manifest affection in the lad's tones as
he asked this question, and his face beamed with an
irrepressible joy.  The great purpose of his heart
had been accomplished; his father was not only at
liberty, but with him, and he had nothing more to ask.\par

"No, my son," replied Mr. Boyd, with no less
show of affection; "I'll be with you presently."\par

Budd went back to the kitchen and assisted Judd
in the few preparations necessary to complete the
breakfast, and when Mr. Boyd joined the lads a few
minutes later all was in readiness for them to sit
down to the table; and within the prescribed
half-hour the meal had been dispatched and all were on
board the Sea Witch.\par

Her moorings were speedily cast off, and with a
strong southeast wind to contend against she tacked
down the bay.  The first run carried her close
under the west shore of the bay, and just before she
was put about for her second tack, Budd, who was
forward, noticed a large flat-boat coming out from a
small cove right ahead of them.  A single glance
showed him that the one sail of the boat was furled,
and that his old employer, Mr. Benton, was pulling
her along against the stiff breeze with an enormous
pair of sweeps.\par

"Where did Mr. Benton get that boat, and what
is he doing with her, Judd?" he asked.\par

"All I know about it," replied Judd, eying the
clumsy craft, "is that he had her down on Plum
Beach, yesterday, loading her with sand.  Where
he got her I can't say.  Perhaps he knocked her
together himself; I should judge so, from her build.
She won't stand a rough sea long, though; and
unless he hurries around with his load to-day, she'll go
down under him, I'm thinking."\par

"Are we going to have a storm right away?"
asked Mr. Boyd, looking up at the mackerel-sky.\par

"Yes, sir," replied Judd, promptly.  "When the
wind blows as fresh as this from the southeast, it
won't take over six hours to bring a regular gale.
That's one reason we have hurried off to the traps
so early this morning.  I'll agree to show you all
the rough weather you'll care to see before we get
back to the island;" and the lad spoke with a
positiveness that gave a convincing force to all his
words.\par

On account of the strong head-wind the lads had
thought it best to first work down along the west
shore and visit the two traps on that side of the bay,
and then, with the breeze on their starboard, run
over to their trap under Canonicut Island.  This
would give them, also, a stern-breeze for their return
home.\par

In carrying out this plan they ran on their third
tack close enough to Mr. Benton to hail him.\par

"Good-morning, Mr. Benton," Budd cried out.
"Shall we take you in tow and leave you at the
beach?"\par

He made the offer, for he had noticed that the old
man was making but slow progress against the
head-wind.  A surly refusal of the offered help was,
however, the only answer he received.  It was quite
evident that Mr. Benton, while he had steadily let the
young partners alone since his last encounter with
them, had never forgiven them for the advantage
they had then gained.\par

A few minutes after passing Mr. Benton the first
fish-trap was reached, and the lads soon emptied it
of its "catch" with all the quickness and dexterity
for which they were noted.  Mr. Boyd assisted them
somewhat, but laughingly declared that "he would
have to serve a regular apprenticeship at the
business before he could hope to compete with them."\par

"Oh! you would learn how to do it sooner than
you think," remarked Budd, giving the huge net a
vigorous pull that sent it slowly back to its place.
"I was as great a novice at the work as you are
when Judd took me into partnership; but I soon
caught the knack, and rather like the business now."\par

"He proved an apt scholar, and has outstripped
his teacher," put in Judd, laughingly.  "I sometimes
find it hard work to keep up my end with him.  But
we are ready now, I believe, to work down to the
lower trap."\par

The anchor of the sloop was raised, and her sails
adjusted for the brief run around Plum Beach Point
to the other fish-pound.  As she passed along the
sandy shore, on which the huge breakers were
rolling with a constantly increasing power, the boys
noticed that Mr. Benton had already beached his boat,
and had commenced to load her with sand.\par

"He ought to know better than to put a flat-bottomed
boat on there with the wind from this quarter,"
observed Judd, sagely.  "If the wind increases,
as I think it will, she'll pound to pieces there in no
time; and even if he's lucky enough to get her off
before that happens, he can't get up into his cove
with her to-day."\par

"Why not?" asked Mr. Boyd, with some show of interest.\par

"Because she has no keel or center-board, and
can't hold herself for a moment against the wind.
Just as sure as he clears the point with her the wind
will drive her straight ahead for our island, or by the
west end of it, on to the 'The Hummocks.'  See if
it don't turn out as I tell you."\par

"You are right," Budd quietly assented--"unless,
as you suggested, before she goes down under him.
That sand is heavy, and if he only puts on a half-load,
it will sink her well down into the water.  A rough
sea may flood her, and between the water and the
sand she will surely sink.  Possibly he will think of
this, and be wise enough to leave her where she is
at the risk of her being stove up."\par

"I don't think so," went on Judd, quickly.  "The
first board that starts off of her will make him think
she is going to pieces right there, and to save her he
will try to get her off shore, and that means no
chance for the boat, and only half a chance for himself."\par

"Cannot you run in near enough to warn him of
his danger?" asked Mr. Boyd.  "Perhaps, if he
came right off the beach now, and before the gale
comes on, he could save himself and the boat, too."\par

"Little will he care for our warning," replied
Judd; "but then we can give it, all the same.  Go
forward, Budd, and shout to him;" and he put up
the helm and ran the sloop in as near the beach as
he felt it was safe to go.\par

"Mr. Benton," shouted Budd, "your boat will soon
pound to pieces there; and if you delay long about
putting off shore there will be great risk about your
getting into your cove.  The wind is increasing
every minute, and will soon blow a gale."\par

The old man turned slowly around and looked off
toward the sloop.\par

"I'll 'tend to my bizness, if ye'll 'tend to your'n,"
he curtly replied.\par

"What did I tell you?" said Judd, as the sloop
slowly swung off toward the fish-pound, now no
great distance away.  "He'll stay there for his load,
whatever happens.  He don't propose to have either
Budd or me give him advice."\par

Before Mr. Boyd could make any reply there came
a sharp cry from Budd, who was still on the bow of
the sloop.\par

"Quick, Judd, or our trap will be destroyed!
There is a porpoise in it, and he has already noticed
our approach."\par

"We can't save the net!" exclaimed Judd, springing
to his feet, and looking at the huge cetacean
that had raised his head above the surface of the
water, and within the inclosure of the seine.  "He
will go through it like a shot!  Our only hope is to
save the fish!"\par

"Perhaps I can get him," cried Budd, running aft
and drawing the yawl close up to the sloop.\par

The next moment he had leaped into it, and casting
off the painter, he sculled rapidly toward the pound.\par

As he reached the upper side of the trap, the
porpoise made a quick lunge against the opposite side;
but the stout netting and firmly-driven stakes
withstood its effort to break through.  Seeing his
opportunity, Budd pulled in his oar and caught up an old
harpoon that lay in the bottom of the yawl, and
which was kept there to be used upon the sharks
that frequently entered the traps.\par

It was but the work of a moment to fasten the
weapon to the bow-line of the yawl, and then Budd
threw it with all his strength at the struggling
monster.  The sharp point struck the porpoise near the
center of its back, and penetrated through the thick
hide to the depth of several inches.\par

"Hurrah!  I've got him!" shouted Budd, seizing
hold of the bow-line and beginning to haul it in.\par

Scarcely were the words out of his mouth when
the rope was jerked from his hand with a force that
sent him over backward in the yawl.  Then he
heard a crash, and a moment after felt the boat
moving through the water a terrific rate of speed.\par

Crawling up onto his knees and grasping hold of
the sides of the yawl, he looked about him.  The
cetacean had cleared itself from the trap and was
going down the bay with the boat in tow.  Already
the sloop was several rods in the rear, and Judd was
shouting to Budd to cut the rope that fastened the
yawl to the harpoon, so firmly imbedded in the
porpoise's back.\par

\begin{figure}[h!tbp]
\label{figure-298}%
\hypertarget{figure-298}{}%
\noindent\hfill{}\begin{minipage}{0.740\textwidth}
{\hbox to \hsize{\hfill\includegraphics[width=1.000\textwidth,keepaspectratio=true]{images/img-224.jpg}\hfill}}
\vs{1}
{\noindent}
{\centerleft{{\itshape{Grasping hold of the sides of the yawl Budd saw that the porpoise was going down the bay at a terrific rate of speed, with the boat in tow.}}
}}
\end{minipage}
\hfill{}
\end{figure}

Holding on to the yawl with one hand, Budd took
his jack-knife from his pocket with the other and
opened it with his teeth.  He then crept along to
the bow of the boat and raised his hand to sever the
line.  That moment there was a movement on the
part of his singular steed that led him to change his
mind.  The cetacean turned and ran obliquely for
the shore, and hoping to yet secure the monster,
Budd refrained from cutting the rope.\par

"Look out for the net, first, then come on and
pick me up," he shouted back to Judd.  "I'll cut
the line at the first show of danger."\par

The wind evidently carried his words back to his
companions with sufficient distinctness to be
comprehended, for they at once returned to the pound,
beyond which they had already passed in pursuing
the fleeing yawl, and Budd was left to continue his
wild ride unattended.\par

To state the exact truth, the lad was immensely
enjoying the peculiar situation in which he found
himself.  As long as the porpoise kept at the surface
of the water he knew he was safe, and he watched
its movements sharply, so as to cut the bow-line the
moment he dived.\par

But no such movement was to be detected.  As
though stricken with panic, and bent on suicide, the
cetacean fled onward until opposite the huge cliff on
the west shore of the bay known as Thurston's
Rocks, and then it turned and ran directly inshore.\par

"It is sure death to go in there," muttered Budd
at this movement of his steed, "and I don't propose
to go on to that cliff with you."\par

With knife raised he waited until the porpoise
was within a few rods of the shore; then with a
quick stroke he severed the rope, and dropping the
knife, seized his oars.  By a vigorous use of these
he staid the impetus of the yawl and turned its bow
into the wind.  Before he had accomplished this,
however, the cetacean had dashed headlong upon
the cliff, and now tossed helplessly upon the surface
of the water.\par

For a few minutes Budd held the yawl in check,
and watched his huge victim.  He did not dare go
nearer to the cliff, for he knew the waves were
dashing upon it with a force that would crush the boat as
though but a cockle-shell, and yet he longed to
secure his prey.\par

He ran his eyes along the rocks.  Just beyond the
place where the porpoise lay was a shelving ledge,
upon which he knew he could get if once on shore,
and from the ledge he believed he could reach
the rope that was fastened to the cetacean.  But
where could he land?\par

Above him, a dozen rods or so, was the old
tumbled-down wharf of the long-disused "North
Ferry."  Rowing slowly up toward this, he was
able to bring in the yawl against the north, and
hence the sheltered, side.\par

Securing the boat against any possible escape, he
ran quickly down the shore.  Once opposite the
shelving rock, he with difficulty descended to the
water's edge, and regardless of wet feet and wet
arms soon caught hold of the rope which the
dashing waves brought within his reach.  He found also,
to his delight, that the rope was long enough to be
carried around the trunk of a red cedar that grew
out of a crevice in the cliff just above high-water
mark.\par

Having securely fastened the line, Budd stood on
the ledge a few minutes, watching the motionless
porpoise.  The rising tide lifted it upon the ledge
quite near him, and the rope slackened somewhat as
it was relieved of the cetacean's weight.\par

"I'll take another half-hitch around the harpoon,
and drive that deeper into the porpoise; then he
can't get away, and we'll come and get him after
the storm is over," Budd thought.\par

Carrying out his thought, he made the half-hitch
about the harpoon with the slackened rope; then he
seized hold of the protruding weapon and pressed it
down into the motionless body of the cetacean with
all his strength.\par

The next moment the monster, which had
apparently only been stunned by its dash upon the
cliff, and was now revived by the terrible thrust of
the lance into its vitals, gave a sudden and
tremendous plunge, which snapped the cord by which it
was fastened to the cedar as though it was but tow,
and lad and cetacean together rolled off from the
rocks into the angry waters.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-xxiii-a-manly-rescue}%
\hypertarget{chapter-xxiii-a-manly-rescue}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XXIII.--A MANLY RESCUE.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
Fortunately for Budd, he was thrown by
the terrible lunge of the porpoise more than ten
feet out into the dashing waves, and he had the
presence of mind, the moment he rose to the surface of
the water, to strike boldly off shore.  In this way
he soon placed himself beyond any fear of being
dashed back upon the rocks.\par

He could see, also, that the sloop had already left
the fish-trap and was bearing down toward him, but
was yet a long distance away.  He resolved, therefore,
to swim up to the old wharf where he had left
the yawl.\par

Burdened as he was with his water-soaked clothing,
it is doubtful that he could have done this, short
as the distance was, had not both wind and tide
been in his favor.  As it was, he only reached the
yawl after a hard struggle, and crawled into it quite
out of breath.\par

When the sloop, from which he had, ever since his
sudden and unexpected bath, been watched with
anxiety, came in near the wharf, however, he was
sufficiently recovered to pull slowly off to her.\par

"Are you hurt, Budd?" Mr. Boyd asked,
anxiously, as he helped the lad on board.\par

"Oh! no," Budd replied, with a laugh--"a little
uncomfortable from my cold bath and tired with my
long swim in the rough sea is all; soon as I put on
dry clothing I shall be all right."\par

"How came you to fall off of the cliff?" asked
Judd, hardly able to suppress his merriment at the
ridiculous figure his chum presented in his dripping
clothing.  "We were too far off to see just how it
happened."\par

"I'll tell you as soon as I have changed these duds
for something more comfortable," replied Budd,
good-naturedly, and descending to the cabin, where
he knew there were some old clothes kept for just
such an emergency as that into which his adventure
with the porpoise had brought him.\par

He was soon, with his father's help, comfortably
clad, and back onto the deck of the sloop.  With a
good deal of {\itshape{éclat}} he then related all the details of
his adventure, ending with the wish that he might
have secured the cetacean.\par

"We can get him, for there he is," said Judd.\par

While Budd had been telling his story, the sloop
had been slowly brought down opposite the cliff,
and, as Judd had declared, the porpoise was still
lying at its base.  The thrust that Budd had given
it just before his involuntary bath had evidently
been a fatal one, for the water all about the cetacean
was dyed with blood, and though the monster
struggled, it was but feebly.\par

"How would you get him?" asked Budd, quickly,
watching the porpoise in its dying struggles.\par

"If your father will look out for the sloop I'll get
you to set me ashore at the wharf," explained Judd.
"I'll take a coil of rope and the boat-hook with me,
and I don't believe but what I can in some way
fasten a line on to the fellow and throw the other
end off here to you, for as soon as you have landed
me you will want to row back here with the yawl.
After picking up the end of the line you want to
carry it on board the sloop, and then return to the
wharf for me.  Meantime your father can run up
along the shore with the sloop, towing the porpoise
after her, and when we have got back on board
we'll find some way to take the fellow on to the
island with us."\par

"But is he worth all that trouble?" asked Mr. Boyd.\par

"Oh, yes," both lads quickly answered.  "What
oil we shall get out of him will more than pay for
our trouble and the damage he has done to the fish-trap."\par

Judd's plan was therefore carried out in every
important detail.  The lad succeeded in hooking up the
piece of rope still remaining on the harpoon, and to
this spliced one end of the coil he had carried with
him.  He then threw the balance of the rope off
to his waiting partner, and the work of attaching it
to the stern of the sloop was speedily done.\par

Then, when back on the sloop, Judd skillfully
passed a stout rope through the strong jaws of the
cetacean, and brought him close up under the stern
of the vessel and alongside of the yawl; then, with
both in tow, the Sea Witch rapidly filled away for
the opposite side of the bay.\par

The wind had already increased to such violence
that before the passage across was fully made it was
found necessary to take a large reef in the mainsail
of the sloop; and the waves were rolling so high
that, but for the fact that the fish-trap was directly
under the lee of Canonicut Island, it could not have
been attended to.\par

Indeed, Mr. Boyd thought it wiser to remain in
the sloop while the lads drew and reset the net from
the yawl, and when their task was finished, and they
had returned to the Sea Witch, he remarked:\par

"You told me I would see all the rough weather
I cared to before our return home, Judd, and I freely
confess you were right.  I shall be glad when we
reach the island."\par

"That will be in a very short time, now," responded
Judd, as he assisted his chum in getting the sloop
ready for her home trip.  "We shan't have to carry
anything but our jib, either."\par

The speed with which the sloop darted off before
the heavy wind warranted his assertion.  Their
course led them near enough to Plum Beach Point
for them to see that Mr. Benton had filled his
flatboat with sand, and was now trying to work the
craft off around the point.\par

He had one of his huge sweeps braced against the
side of the boat, and thus pushed it off shore, while
he, step by step, worked it along toward the extreme
end of the sandy beach.  His object was clear.  If
he could only get the craft around the point, it was
evidently his intention to embark upon it and
attempt to run up the bay.\par

The rapidity with which the Sea Witch was
running soon carried her occupants out of sight of the
man and brought them near their island home.
Fortunately their wharf was at the northwest end
of the island, and thus in a measure sheltered from
the high sea, if not from the sweep of the wind, and
they made their landing in safety.\par

The sloop was moored in the most sheltered nook
the island afforded, the fish, porpoise and yawl were
brought on shore, and all was in readiness for the
trio to seek the shelter of the house.  Bracing
themselves against the strong, piercing wind, they started
along the path that led to their dwelling, when a
sudden call from Judd, who was in the rear, caused
his companions to stop.\par

"Look!" the lad exclaimed; "Benton has actually
got his boat around the point, and is now driving
helplessly before the gale!"\par

Budd and his father looked off in the direction
that Judd had indicated, and saw that his declaration
was only too true.  A mile or so away was the
flatboat, sunk nearly to her gunwales in the water, while
her one sail flapped loosely in the wind.  Mr. Benton
was making no attempt to guide the craft, but
stood near the swaying mast, clutching it, evidently
in sheer desperation.  One look told the horrified
spectators what had happened.  The boat had sprung
a leak, and was settling beneath the angry waves.\par

Mr. Boyd and the lads watched anxiously the
boat's progress.  A few minutes later it had arrived
near enough for them to distinguish Mr. Benton's
face, as he clung, pale and terrified, to the slender
mast.  Certainly he now realized the danger he was
in, and knew that he was powerless to avert it.\par

Three minutes more and the boat would reach the
island, for which it was directly coming.  Would it
keep afloat so long?  No! for at that instant a
powerful gust of wind swept down upon it, causing
it to tremble from stem to stern.  For a moment the
ill-fated craft seemed to try to shake off the blow,
and then, as a tremendous wave dashed over it, it
careened, struggled to right itself, then sunk beneath
the dashing waves.\par

Through the heavy rain that now began to fall,
the anxious watchers looked for the unfortunate
man, and they soon discovered him battling with the
angry sea.  Another moment and Budd had sprung
into the yawl that was moored at the wharf, and
before he could be prevented had seized the oars and
was pulling off toward the struggling man.\par

The wind was against him, and the boat was
tossed like a bit of cork upon the waves; still he
slowly approached the spot where he had last seen
his old employer.  It was evidently a hard struggle,
but with bare head and resolute face the heroic lad
pulled on.  At length he reached Mr. Benton, and
with great difficulty drew him into the little boat.\par

The wind lulled for an instant, and, laying his
exhausted companion down in the yawl, Budd took
advantage of the circumstance and turned the
tossing boat for the island.\par

Half the distance, under his vigorous stroke, was
gained, when the wind swept down in greater fury
upon him.  It is seldom such a gust of wind is
experienced in northern latitudes.  Trees were
overturned, the water was dashed high in the air, and
even houses were unroofed by that terrible blast.\par

When it had passed, Mr. Boyd and Judd arose
from the ground to which they had fallen and
looked for the yawl.  It lay capsized a few rods
away, while Budd, with one arm supporting the
unconscious form of Mr. Benton, was struggling to
reach the shore.  But his strength soon failed, and
the huge waves rolled within the reach of the
waiting man and boy--for both had rushed into the
angry waters--two unconscious forms.\par

As soon as possible, first Budd, and then Mr. Benton,
was carried into the house, and with haste
their wet clothing was removed, and their cold
limbs chafed until the returning warmth told that
their sluggish blood was again in circulation, and
their lives were spared.\par

Then a fire was built, blankets warmed, and coffee
made.  Wrapped up in one, and thoroughly dosed
with the other, the man and boy were then put in
bed, and were soon quietly sleeping.\par

It was night when Mr. Benton aroused and found
Judd sitting by his bedside.\par

"How came I here?" he asked.\par

"Well, I suppose the chief reason you are here,"
replied Judd, bluntly, "is because Budd, at the risk
of his own life, went off in the yawl after you;" and
he then briefly told the story of the man's rescue.\par

"Budd is all right, then?" the man asked, with
some show of feeling.\par

"Yes, his father is with him; and when I was in
there, a short time ago, he was sleeping nicely,"
answered Judd, shortly.\par

Mr. Benton said no more, and after taking the
food and warm drink Judd brought him, he soon
went to sleep again.\par

It was morning when he awoke and found his
clothes nicely dried by his bedside.  Dressing
himself, he went out to the kitchen, where he found
Mr. Boyd and the two lads.  Budd, with the exception
of a little paleness, seemed quite like himself.\par

Mr. Benton made no allusion to his rescue whatever,
and the inmates of the house did not speak of
it.  After breakfast, however, the man turned to
Judd and asked if he could be set ashore.\par

"Not while it storms so," replied Judd, in surprise.
"A small boat couldn't live in this sea, and
even with the sloop there would be a grave risk.
You will have to wait until the storm is over, Mr. Benton."\par

The man made no reply, but Budd asked:\par

"Did the yawl come ashore all right?"\par

"It was stove up a little before I could get out
and attend to it," replied Judd; "but we can fix it
easily as soon as the weather will permit."\par

There was no cessation of the storm until night,
and on account of the needful repairs to the yawl,
Mr. Benton was obliged to remain on the island
until another morning.\par

During the whole time he in no way mentioned
the great risk Budd had undergone in his behalf,
but just before his departure on the second morning
he remarked:\par

"I 'spose ye don't hate me no longer, Budd?"\par

"I have never hated you, Mr. Benton," Budd
promptly replied.\par

"I dunno as ye have," he assented; "ye don't act
as though ye did, anyway, an' I'll be friends, if ye
will."\par

Budd shook the hand which was offered him, and
without another word Mr. Benton took his departure.
Knowing the man as he did, the lad was almost
surprised that he should have shown as much feeling
as he had; but he was greatly surprised at what
soon followed.\par

Meeting Mr. Wright a few days later, that
gentleman accosted him with the question:\par

"I say, Budd, what have you been doing to Mr. Benton?"\par

"Nothing bad, I hope," responded the boy, with
a laugh.\par

"I guess not, either," said Mr. Wright; "but I
tell you I was taken aback when he came over to
my house the other day and actually asked my
forgiveness for whatever wrong he had done me, and
promised to be a good neighbor from this time
forward.  Little by little I got the whole story of how
you rescued him, and then I knew the cause of the
change in him.  I tell you, the day of the impossible
hasn't come yet."\par

And Budd thought so a few days later when he
received from Mr. Benton himself a fine gold watch
as a token of gratitude for the noble favor he had
done him.\par

On one of the inside cases was Budd's name, and
the date of his brave act.  The outside cases were
plain, with a single exception.  The upper lid was
engraved with an olive-leaf--emblematic of the
peace that was now fully assured between the lad
and himself.\par

"Who would have thought the old miser would
have been so generous!" exclaimed Judd, as he
looked the watch over.\par

"Or possessed so much poetic sentiment," added
Mr. Boyd, laughingly.\par

"He must have had some good in him, with all
his faults, or ho would never have so quickly
changed," said Budd, thoughtfully.\par

A declaration his companions readily accepted.\par

\penalty-300%
\label{chapter-xxiv-the-firm-s-profits}%
\hypertarget{chapter-xxiv-the-firm-s-profits}{}%
\vspace*{50pt}\thispagestyle{empty}
{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
CHAPTER XXIV.--THE FIRM'S PROFITS.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
The story now moves forward a few weeks.
It is November, and Thanksgiving is close at
hand.  The fishing season is also nearly over.  In
fact the business of the young firm has for some
time been principally the shipping of oysters to the
neighboring towns and cities.  Not that they had
beds of these delicious bivalves, but had made
arrangements with the owner of an extensive plat a
a few miles up the bay to market the oysters on
shares.\par

Into all the work of the young partners Mr. Boyd
had entered with zest; and under the healthful
exercise and invigorating sea-air his usually slender
frame grew strong, his muscles toughened perceptibly,
and so hearty an appetite was created that he
himself laughingly declared he had never eaten so
in his life, and he guessed it never would be satisfied.\par

There was another inmate of the island home
now, also.  One day Judd had taken a trip up to
the State Farm, and when he returned his father
came with him, sober and in his right mind.  He at
first seemed somewhat ashamed to meet Mr. Boyd,
who had known him in the days of his early
manhood, and before the accursed habit of drink had
become fastened upon him; but his brother-in-law
met him so kindly, and seemed so thoroughly interested
in his reformation, that he, too, began to take
heart, and said:\par

"If I can only keep away from the sight and
smell of the abominable stuff, perhaps I can be a man."\par

So he remained for the most part upon the island.
He was particularly skillful in cutting out oysters,
and this soon became his recognized part of the
young firm's business.\par

There had been frequent talks between the
inmates of the island home as to what they should
do as the winter months came on.  Delightful as
the place was for the warmer months of the year, it
was too bleak for a winter abode.  Then, too, there
would soon be but little work in which they could
engage.  But as the weather still remained mild and
pleasant, no definite plan was agreed upon; in fact
they were all loath to leave a spot that for many
reasons had become inexpressibly dear to them.\par

So the week before Thanksgiving came, and found
them still at the island.  The work for the day was
over, and they had gathered, as was their custom,
about the cozy sitting-room fire.  The two fathers
were reading, while the boys were busy with their
accounts.\par

"There are nearly one hundred dollars out in
small bills that we shall have to collect before we
can tell just what our season's work is going to
amount to," Budd said in a low tone to his partner.\par

"Well, you call off the names and amounts, and I
will fill out the statements, and we'll send them out
at once," Judd responded, drawing a small writing-desk
toward him.\par

For an hour or longer the lads were engaged in
this work; but it was at length finished, and the
account-books were put away.\par

"I'll tell you, Judd, what I want to do before we
leave here," Budd now said.\par

"What is it?" his partner asked, with interest.\par

"Go off for a good long sail; make a day of
pleasure of it.  For months we have had nothing
but business, and I should really like to put a dinner
on board the sloop, and fuel, so we can make our
tea or coffee, and all of us go off for a day's
cruise."\par

"Where would you go?" inquired Judd, laughingly.
"There are very few places around here
that you have not visited."\par

"Oh! go just where we took a notion to go,"
Budd replied.  "The enjoyable part of the trip
would be in not having a definite place fixed before
we started."\par

"Well, if to-morrow should prove as pleasant as
to-day has been, you couldn't choose a better time
for going," went on his chum.  "Father and Uncle
Henry, what do you think of Budd's idea?"\par

All four were soon busy discussing the suggestion,
and they went to their rooms with the understanding
that if the morrow proved a fine day the trip
should be undertaken.\par

The lads were up early, and found the day was
promising to be all that they could ask.  The
preparations were rapidly made, therefore, and at
nine o'clock all necessary provisions had been
stowed on board the sloop and they were ready to
embark.\par

"Here, Budd; we are to go where you take a
notion to go, so you can take the helm," cried out
Judd, hurrying to cast off the sloop's fastenings and
to hoist her jib and sail.\par

Budd took the assigned place, and turned the bow
of the Sea Witch down the bay.  The wind was
from the northwest, and they went along at a good
rate of speed.\par

Arriving at the mouth of the bay, Budd turned
the sloop to the west and ran in close to the shore,
so as to have a good view of the Pier, whose hotels
and cottages, closed for the season, made it seem like
a deserted city.  On they went until Point Judith
was reached; then Budd put up the helm and ran
directly out to sea.\par

The north light of Block Island was passed on the
left, and along the west shore of that gem of the
sea the boat sped.  At the southern end the sloop
was turned to the east, and it was evident that Budd
was going to run around the island.  It was now
after twelve o'clock, and Judd asked:\par

"Shall you land for dinner, Budd, or shall I get it
ready in the cabin?"\par

"We are not going to land anywhere until we
touch our own dock," said Budd, in high glee.  "I
came out for a sail, and I'm going to have it.  You
can get dinner ready when you like."\par

Judd went into the cabin, built a fire in the tiny
stove, and soon the fragrant odor of coffee filled the
air.  After awhile he announced dinner, and Mr. Boyd
and Mr. Floyd went down to partake of it.\par

Budd, left alone on deck, and, as he afterward
said, taken with a freak, put the sloop about again
and ran off to sea.  Those at dinner thought little
of it until they felt the sloop suddenly heave up into
the wind and heard Budd call out:\par

"Here, Judd, quick; I want you."\par

They all jumped to their feet and rushed out of
the cabin.  The sloop was miles off the southeast of
Block Island, which looked like a mere cloud at the
northwest.  Her sails flapped idly in the wind, her
helm was lashed, and Budd, with the scoop-net in
band, was trying to reach several large bunches of
grayish matter that were tossing a few feet away
upon the waves.\par

"What is it?" asked Judd, coming to Budd's
assistance, and letting the sloop off a little so she
would swing nearer to the object his partner was
endeavoring to reach.\par

"I don't know," answered Budd, catching the
largest bunch in his net and drawing it on board,
"but I'll soon find out."\par

But the more he examined the object, the more
puzzled he was.  While grayish in color at a distance,
on close inspection it proved to be variegated,
like marble.  It also had a fatty, oily appearance,
but was solid to the touch, and when rubbed gave
forth a peculiar sweet, earthy odor.\par

"What do you call it, father?" he at length asked.\par

"It is evidently a fatty matter of some kind, but
I cannot tell its precise nature," Mr. Boyd replied.\par

Mr. Floyd, however, with a sparkle in his eye, said:\par

"My opinion is, lad, that you had better get the
rest of it, for if I mistake not you have found a
treasure."\par

As he spoke he took from his pocket a knife and
cut off a thin slice of the matter, and applied a
lighted match to it.  It flashed almost like powder,
and the sweet odor was strongly noticeable.\par

"I thought so," he said, "though I never saw
any of the stuff but once before, and then only a
tiny piece.  It's ambergris, and it's worth dollars
and dollars a pound."\par

"I've read about it," said Budd, quickly.  "It is
a substance that forms in the intestines of the
whale, and is occasionally found floating on the sea
or thrown upon the shore.  They use it in the
manufacture of perfumery and cordials; and as
Uncle Silas says, it is very valuable.  Here, Judd,
help me to get the rest of it."\par

Elated at their discovery, the boys worked the
sloop down near the other pieces, and gathered
them all up.  There were a half dozen in all, the
largest being the one that Budd had first secured,
while one or two were comparatively small in size.\par

"How many pounds do you think there are of
it, Uncle Silas?" asked Budd, when all had been
secured.\par

"Nigh on to thirty pounds, I reckon," he said,
lifting the pieces one by one.\par

"It is the biggest haul, then, we have made this
season," remarked Judd, with open eyes.\par

"I rather think so," was Budd's emphatic response.\par

The ambergris was placed in a tub the lads had
on board and taken down into the cabin.  Then the
sloop resumed her cruise, which was now in the
direction of the Brenton Reef lightship.  From
there she went up through the east passage to
Newport, where, contrary to Budd's declaration a
few hours before, a landing was made.\par

In the lad's opinion, circumstances sometimes
justified an alteration in one's plans, and he was
anxious to ascertain if the substance he had found
was really the commercial ambergris it was thought
to be.  So the stop was made, and with a small
piece of the substance in hand he went up to a large
drug store, and submitted it to the inspection of the
proprietor.\par

The apothecary, after looking at the substance
attentively, went into a back room.  He was gone
so long that Budd began to get impatient; but he,
on returning, explained his long absence in these
words:\par

"I have subjected this to every known test, and
it proves genuine.  Have you much of it?  And
where did you find it?"\par

Budd gave a full account of his finding the
substance, and stated how much he believed he had.
Then he ventured to ask its value.\par

"It is seldom, in these waters, that so much is
found," replied the druggist, "though there was a
parallel case with yours a few summers ago on the
shore of Cape Cod.  As to the amount you will
receive for it, that depends on the supply on hand
at this time, far the larger portion of this material
now used in the country being imported.  No retail
druggist would want to buy a hundredth part of
what you have.  But I'll tell you what I am willing
to do.  We, as you may know, have a branch house
in New York City.  If you are a mind to leave
your find with me, I will try and dispose of it for you."\par

"What would you ask for your trouble?" asked Budd.\par

"Well," said the man, smilingly, "I think we
ought to have five per cent. of the net amount received."\par

"I'll go down and consult with my partner in the
find," said the lad, "and if we decide to accept the
offer we will bring it right up here."\par

"Very well," the druggist replied.\par

A consultation with Judd and the two fathers was
immediately held, and the result was the lads took
the ambergris up to the store.  On reaching there
it was weighed and found to fall a little short of the
lads' expectations, as there were but twenty-six and
one-half pounds of it.\par

"Not a bad find, I assure you," said the proprietor
of the store, filling out a receipt for the substance,
which he handed to the boys.  "In about a week
you may expect a check from me, and I will
guarantee it will exceed two thousand dollars."\par

It came within four days, however, and was
drawn for the amount of two thousand five hundred
and seventeen dollars and fifty cents, the ambergris
having sold readily for one hundred dollars a pound;
and the druggist, having deducted his five per cent,
commission, remitted the balance to the lads.\par

"Not a bad sum for deposit, chum," remarked
Budd complacently, as he looked the check over.
"Now, if we can finish collecting our bills, we can
draw a balance-sheet on Thanksgiving-day and see
what our profits for the season have been."\par

Though the inmates of the Fox Island house had
received an urgent invitation to spend Thanksgiving
with Mr. Johnson in Boston they had declined,
preferring to spend it at their own home.\par

When the day came, it found the affairs of the
young firm practically closed up for the season.
The pound-nets had been taken up, cleaned, and
returned to Mr. Taylor, the owner.  Crates and cars
and traps were stored in an unused room over the
kitchen.  Bills were collected, and all expenses paid.
The balance-sheet of the firm was drawn, and after
dinner it was read and discussed with much pride
and interest on the part of the young partners.\par

"Our receipts have been as follows," and Budd
read this to his attentive listeners:\par

\vs{1}
\begin{alltt}
{\noindent}
From the fish-pounds,  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    \$331.27
From fish secured in other ways, . . . . . . . . . . . .      39.74
From clams, lobsters, scallops and oysters,  . . . . . .     195.20
From sailing and fishing-parties,  . . . . . . . . . . .     115.00
From Mr. Benton, as a compensation for taking our boats,      25.00
Our part of Clapp \& St. John's reward, . . . . . . . . .   1,000.00
Sale of ambergris, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   2,517.50
                                                         ----------
Making a total of  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  \$4,223.71
Our total expenses have been . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     263.19
                                                         ----------
Leaving a net balance of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  \$3,960.52
\end{alltt}

\vs{1}
{\noindent}
"This gives to each partner the handsome income
of \$1,980.26.  Hurrah!" and the lad waved high
in the air the balance-sheet he had been reading.\par

"But what pleases me," said Judd, "is that
without the unexpected amounts that have come from
the reward and the remarkable find, we have had a
profitable season.  Take the profits of our business
alone, and we have the nice sum of four hundred
and forty-three dollars and two cents, or over two
hundred dollars apiece for the season.  That is a
better average than I promised you when you came
here, Budd."\par

"Yes, indeed," replied Budd, warmly.\par

Then he said to his father:\par

"Of course I have drawn something for personal
expenses, and so has Judd; but on looking over our
bank account we find we have on deposit nearly
thirty-seven hundred dollars; so Judd has authorized
me to say that if you would like to have that
amount to go into business with, you are welcome
to it.  With what you have left of the money
Mr. Johnson refunded, you would have a capital larger
than a good many men have started with."\par

"I thank you kindly for the offer," said Mr. Boyd
with much feeling, "and in a few days we will see
what had better be done.  I have enjoyed staying
here very much, and have gained a good deal of
strength from this life; but I am beginning to feel
I ought to be doing something more remunerative,
before a great while.  You--and Judd, too--however
much you like the business you have engaged
in, are capable of something better, and ought to be
in some good school.  Perhaps we can arrange the
matter so that a portion of this money can be used
for your immediate expenses in this direction, while
I, with the balance, enter business life again.  I have
a feeling I should prefer a small business by myself
than to accept a clerkship under another;" and
Mr. Boyd dropped his head upon his hand in deep
thought.\par

At about the same hour Mr. Johnson sat in his
library in his palatial residence in Boston, thinking
no less deeply.  After awhile he exclaimed, aloud:\par

"I will do it!"\par

Then he took up his pen and wrote a brief note.
Placing it in an envelope, he addressed it to Mr. Boyd,
and ringing the bell, he gave it to the servant
who answered his ring, saying:\par

"Have John carry that out to the nearest box."\par

Brief as that note was, it was destined to change,
and for the better, the plans that were slowly
forming in Mr. Boyd's mind for not only himself but the
other dwellers in that island home.\par

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CHAPTER XXV.--MR. JOHNSON'S MUNIFICENCE.}

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{\noindent}
On the following Saturday the two lads went
over to the village, their principal errand being
to secure a boarding-place for themselves and fathers,
for it had been decided to leave the island the coming
week.  Then Mr. Boyd was going on to Boston to
see about entering business, and also about putting
the boys into some good school.  Mr. Floyd had
asked that his brother-in-law would so arrange the
business that work might be found for him.\par

"I don't care so much for wages," he had
explained, "as to be near you and the lads.  I want
you all to help me watch myself."\par

The young partners soon found a boarding-house
where they could obtain a parlor and two
sleeping-rooms, with board, at what seemed to them a
reasonable figure, and promising to give their
decision early the next week they left the house.
On their way back to the sloop they stepped into
the post-office for their mail, and were handed a
letter for Mr. Boyd.\par

"It is from Mr. Johnson," said Budd, as he
glanced at the address.  "I wonder what he wants
of father?"\par

"Nothing bad, you can be sure," replied Judd.
"The day has gone by for either you or your father
to fear anything from that source.  I am not sure
but the greatest of your triumphs has been to win
him for a friend."\par

"He certainly is a friend now," Budd admitted,
his heart going out strongly toward the man he had
once counted his enemy; but he little thought what
the outcome of that letter was to be.\par

"I presume we are taking our last sail for months,
at least, in our sloop," he remarked, as they took
their places in the boat and sailed off down the
harbor.  "She seems like a near friend to me, and I
shall be sorry when we leave her."\par

"So shall I," assented Judd; "but still I confess
I am glad we are going on with our schooling.  I
had hoped for nothing, however, quite as grand as
we probably shall have;" and there was more truth
in his words then he himself knew.\par

They were still discussing the plans they hoped
to realize when they reached the island.  Mr. Boyd
was at the wharf, and immediately opened the
letter Budd gave him.\par

"Hold on!" he a moment later cried out, as Budd
was about to take the sloop to her anchorage.  "This
letter has laid in the office ever since yesterday noon.
Mr. Johnson simply says he is coming down to-night
to remain over Sunday with us, and wants you
to meet him at the six o'clock train.  One of you
will have to go back to the village after him."\par

"We will both go," replied Judd; "there is
nothing else to do."\par

So the sloop was put in readiness for the return
trip to the village.\par

Whatever Mr. Johnson's coming meant he in no
way disclosed to the lads as they met him at the
depot.  He greeted then; cordially, but seemed
anxious to reach the island, and was unusually silent
and preoccupied in mind the whole way over.\par

His meeting of Mr. Boyd at the wharf was warm,
almost affectionate, and in a way indicated his
purpose in making this visit.\par

"My dear Henry," he said, grasping Mr. Boyd's
hand, "I have found I cannot get along without
you, and so have come to make you an important
proposal--important to me, at least, if not to you."\par

Mr. Boyd led the way up to the house, while the
lads secured the boat for the night.  Supper was on
the table, and as soon as the boys came in all sat
down to eat it.  When it was finished, Mr. Boyd,
turning to Mr. Johnson, asked:\par

"Did you wish to see me alone, sir?"\par

"No; all of you are more or less interested in what
I have to say, and I will wait until the boys have
cleared away the table and can join us in the sitting-room."\par

Curiosity to know just what was coming hastened
the lads' movements, and in a very few minutes all
were seated about the fire, and Mr. Johnson began:\par

"Henry, I want to ask, first of all, if you have
really forgiven me the part that I innocently played
in securing your imprisonment?  This boy has," and
he laid his hand on Budd's head; "but I have
thought you, who were the greatest sufferer, still held
a little resentment against me.  Is it not so?"\par

"I have always thought my years of faithfulness
to you ought to have counted for something when I
was accused of forgery, but you seemed to jump at
once to the conclusion that I must be guilty, and so
you would in no way admit that my explanation
might be the true one," Mr. Boyd replied.\par

Then he went on, with marked hesitation:\par

"I don't think I have felt just right toward you
since then--not, perhaps, as I ought to feel.  Your
mistake may have been a natural one; still you
seemed to me to be too hasty in your judgment."\par

"So I was," admitted Mr. Johnson, frankly; "and
the same fault led me to misjudge your boy also.
But, Henry, I have learned my lesson well, I believe,
and you hold a higher place in my estimation now
than ever before, while this boy has my heart."\par

He paused a moment, visibly affected by his own
words, then went rapidly on:\par

"Henry, I am getting to be an old man, my business
is getting larger than I can manage, and since
you have been away from me I see how much you
were the real head of the whole concern.  I have
come, therefore, to ask you to show your forgiveness
of the wrong I have done you by coming back to me,
not as my confidential clerk, but as my equal
partner in the new firm of Johnson \& Boyd, the whole
business to be under your direct management and
care.  In fact, Henry, the papers are all here ready
for your signature.  You can look them over and
see if the conditions are satisfactory before you give
your answer.  But I trust you will find it in your
heart to accept my offer."\par

He took from his pocket a package of papers and
handed them over to Mr. Boyd, who took them
mechanically, for he seemed completely overwhelmed
at Mr. Johnson's magnificent offer.\par

"Now, my lads," said Mr. Johnson, turning to
Budd and Judd, "I have a proposition to make you.
I have no children, as you know, and my great house
in the city needs some young life.  I have watched
and admired the industry and uprightness you boys
have this summer displayed.  But you ought to do
something better than the work you have been
doing, however honorable that may be.  You want
first the school and then the college; after that the
business or professional life.  I invite you, then, to
come to my home as my boys, to be educated as my
sons, and to be my heirs.  Do not think I mean by
this a separation from your fathers; we will find a
place in the house for them, for there can be found
work at the store for Mr. Floyd, and thus you can
all be where you can see each other every day.
What I want is to have you with me, so that your
fresh young lives will enliven mine, and teach me
how to soften the hard, stern heart that has twice
led me to commit acts I must to my dying day
regret;" and now the tears ran down the old man's
cheeks unhindered.\par

This was but the opening of the great plan that
had entered Mr. Johnson's heart and mind as he sat
alone in his library on Thanksgiving evening and
exclaimed:\par

"I will do it!"\par

Little by little he unfolded all his hopes
concerning the lads in whom he had become so interested;
step by step he made known what he wanted to do
for the middle-aged men, one of whom he had so
cruelly wronged; until, as they listened, his hearers
became bewildered with the man's large-heartedness
and munificence.\par

But Mr. Johnson's purpose was accomplished, for
he left the island Monday morning accompanied by
Mr. Boyd, and the lads and Mr. Floyd were to
follow as soon as the house could be closed up and
the household matters adjusted.\par

This was quite an undertaking, however, since
everything was to be disposed of but the Sea
Witch, for it was now evident that the young firm
of Fox Island had closed up their business for good,
and the young partners were to enter upon an
altogether different career.  Still, the same elements of
character--patience, industry, energy and quickness
to know and use an opportunity--which had made
the firm a success, we may be sure would mark their
new career.\par

That it was these elements that had largely
contributed to the lads' success is clearly apparent; for
those who succeeded to their business under even
more favorable auspices soon abandoned it, and
to-day only the tumble-down wharf, the half-filled
cellar-way, and the moss-grown well, mark the
place where Budd and his partner had their island home.\par

But they, grown now to manhood, and busy with
the cares of their professional lives, think often of
the summer when first they met, and talk over the
experiences under which they learned some of their
most valuable lessons and triumphed over burdens
that seemed too great to bear.\par

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{\noindent\interlinepenalty \@M\normalfont\Huge\bfseries%
{\noindent}
THE BEAR AND THE BOMB SHELL.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
During the early months of the California gold
fever the brig Janet entered the harbor of
San Francisco.  Her freight was intended to supply
the wants of the diggers, and it was the most
extraordinary cargo that was ever put into the hold of
any seagoing vessel, except, indeed, those vessels
which sailed to California at this particular time.\par

There were pickaxes and shovels, powder and
boots, needles and coffee, spikes and tea, horseshoes
and tobacco; there were wooden houses ready to be
put up; canvas tents and mattresses; there were
jackknives, hatchets, revolvers, rifles, socks, books,
hats, clothes, barrels of flour, soap, coal, towels,
sugar, potatoes, grindstones, locks, quack medicines,
old periodicals, cheap watches, buttons, cotton,
glass, tape, bottles, jewsharps, nails, rubbers; and
everything else that the imaginative mind of a
wild speculator could possibly think of as being
likely to sell to a young and rich but destitute
community.\par

Whether the speculation was successful or not, is
no business of ours.  My business is with Tom Allan,
the cabin boy of the Janet.\par

The Janet took out about fifty passengers on
their way to the gold diggings.  Allan was a stout
lad of about seventeen.  When he left home he had
no idea of digging gold, but the talk of the
passengers on the way out fairly turned the heads of the
crew of the Janet, and even of the officers, so that
when the brig reached San Francisco, and the
passengers landed, the entire crew, together with the
cook, the second mate, and even the first mate,
landed with them.\par

The captain was left alone with the cabin boy.
The captain was in despair.  He couldn't get
anybody to unload his vessel.  He couldn't get any crew
to take her away.  And so the end of it was that
Allan yielded to the universal feeling and took his
departure from the ship.\par

For about a year he led a queer kind of a life.
He worked at various diggings without much
success, until at length he got possession of a
claim all to himself, in a remote locality, which
he proceeded to work at with desperate determination.\par

He erected a little hut, and made himself as
comfortable as possible, and set to work vigorously, and
soon found, to his great delight, that the claim was
one of unusual richness.\par

At last, then, after more than a year of adverse
fortune, he saw his way to success.\par

One day he was hard at work.  He had found a
rich vein of quartz in which the gold was very
plentiful, so much so, indeed, that it was possible for
him to extract it by his own clumsy tools without
having recourse to a crushing mill.\par

He had that day been drilling a hole to make
ready for a blast, and was working away diligently
with his drill.  The hole was just finished, when
suddenly he was startled by a deep and formidable
growl close behind him.\par

So great was the shock of this unexpected interruption,
that the drill dropped from his hands, and
he turned around in horror.  That horror was
increased by the sight that he saw.  For there, not
a dozen yards away, was a monstrous grizzly bear--one
of the largest of his species, crouching low,
and regarding him with eyes that gleamed like coals
of fire.\par

One look was enough.  The next instant, without
stopping to take a second glance, Allan darted
off with the mad speed of one who is running
for life, while the huge bear came springing after him.\par

Such a race as that, if prolonged, could have had
but one termination; and this Allan knew but too well.\par

As he ran, therefore, he looked all around to see
if there was any chance of escape.  But there was
none whatever.  There was no high cliff up which
he might climb--no narrow crevice in the rocks
where he might seek shelter.\par

The country was a barren one, with rocks of
different sizes scattered about, here and there.  Among
these there did not appear anything that offered a
hope of escape from the ravening monster that pursued him.\par

At last, as he looked despairingly around, he saw
one thing which offered a faint prospect of escape.
It was an enormous granite boulder which arose
in the midst of the plain, surrounded by smaller
boulders.\par

This one was about thirty feet high, and its sides
were smooth and convex.  In front of this grew a
slender tree, and Allan thought that if he could climb
the tree, he might be able to get upon the boulder
and set his enemy at defiance.\par

There was no time to lose, so he at once acted
upon this idea.  He rushed to the tree, seizing it
with the grasp of despair, and by vigorous exertions
climbed to the top.\par

Here he was on a level with the top of the
granite boulder, and was able, by a violent effort, to
get upon it.  The top of the boulder was flat, and
it had been roughened and scarred and worn by
the storms of centuries, so that Allan found a firm
foothold.\par

The moment that he reached this place of refuge
he turned to look at his enemy.\par

The grizzly bear was close behind him, and as
Allan turned he beheld him grasping the tree and
trying to climb.  But the tree was too slender for the
enormous limbs of the bear.  He could not grasp it
firmly.  As the bear began to perceive this, he
growled wrathfully and ominously, and finally
desisted from the attempt.\par

But he did not desist from his pursuit.  On the
contrary he drew back a few feet, and sitting on
his hind quarters, he regarded Allan with a look
of grim and patient watchfulness that was terrible
to encounter.\par

On finding that the bear could not climb the tree,
Allan experienced a feeling of relief so great that
his fear and despair departed.  He accordingly
looked down calmly upon his enemy, and expected
that in a short time he would give up his pursuit
and go away.  But the bear did nothing of the
kind.  As long as Allan looked at him, he looked
at Allan, and showed a power of patient watchfulness
that was in the highest degree creditable
to his bearship, but in the last degree distressing to
Allan.\par

Hours passed, and Allan gave up all ideas of
escape for that night.  He therefore prepared to
pass the night as best he could.  After all it was not
uncomfortable.  The rock was hard, it is true, but
Allan's California life had habituated him to hard
beds, so that he could sleep even here.  And sleep
he did.  Slumber came over him after sunset, and he
slept on as only a California miner can, until some
time after sunrise.\par

On awaking his first thoughts were about his
enemy.  Slowly and cautiously he raised his head
and looked down.  That one short glance was
enough.  For there, in the same place, lay the
grizzly bear, with his head upraised in such a way
that his fierce, keen eyes encountered those of Allan
as he looked anxiously down.  At this sight Allan
sank back, and a feeling of utter despair came over him.\par

He was both hungry and thirsty.  His bones also
were sore from a sleep on this rough resting place,
and the misery of his confinement affected his mind.
But what could he do?  Again and again the
question occurred, What could he do?\par

In his despair there at last came to him one idea
which held out to him a chance of escape.  It was
a very original idea, and could only have occurred
to one like him in his last extremity.\par

He had no arms, but he had his horn full of blasting
powder, and in his pockets he had also his blasting
fuse.  He had matches also.\par

Now, though he had no firearms, yet in these he
had the material by which firearms gave all their
efficiency.  Necessity is the mother of invention,
and so Allan's dire necessity roused all the
inventive faculty of his mind.\par

It was a plan which could only be tried once.  If
it failed he was lost; if it succeeded he was saved.
He could not wait; so he at once prepared to put
his plan in execution.\par

He took his powder-horn, filled as it was with
blasting powder, and in this he inserted a piece of
blasting fuse.\par

It thus became a bomb shell, roughly made, it is
true, yet none the less effective for all that.  Then
he took off his shirt, and tearing it up into small
ribbons, he formed a long line.  Fastening this
to the horn he lighted the fuse, and then slowly
lowered it.\par

At this extraordinary proceeding, all the
well-known curiosity of the bear was aroused.  He
watched the horn solemnly, as it descended, and
then as it came low down, he walked up to it and
smelled it.\par

The smell of the burning fuse was offensive, and
he expressed his disgust by a low growl.\par

At last the horn lay on the ground.\par

The bear was both puzzled and offended.  He put
his nose close down to it, and snuffed again and
again at the butt of the horn.  From above Allan
watched with a quick-beating heart.\par

Suddenly there rang out a tremendous explosion,
and a great cloud of smoke rolled up, hiding
everything from view.  Allan peered cautiously through
this, but could see nothing for a long time.\par

But though nothing met his eyes, his ears were
aware of a chaos of sounds--fierce growls of rage
and pain--howls, shrieks and yells, all of which
proved plainly that very severe damage had been
done to somebody.\par

At last the smoke cleared away, and then Allan
saw the bear.  From his head, and breast, and
forepaws the hair was all singed off; the skin was
blackened to the hue of soot; his fiery eyes gleamed no
more; they were tight shut, and with growls of
agony the monster rushed frantically about, tossing,
and jumping, and rolling over and over.  The
explosion had blinded him, and the fierce animal, in
his blindness, presented a spectacle that was terrible
to witness.\par

In his wild leaps and tumbles he went about
in all directions, not knowing where.  His agony
had driven from him all thoughts of his late enemy.\par

Allan now sprang to the tree and quickly
descended.  He ran to his hut and seized his rifle and
revolver.  Then he hurried back.  The bear was
still writhing and rolling about in his blindness.
One well directed shot, however, put an end to the
monster's sufferings.\par

Allan did not care about remaining much longer
in this place, but soon after he returned to San
Francisco, bringing with him a sufficient amount of
gold to satisfy his wishes, and with this he brought
the skin of the grizzly bear.\par

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{\noindent}
AN AFTERNOON AT SAGAMORE POND.}

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{\noindent}
It was about the middle of March.  We were
fishing up at the Sagamore Pond--Rod
Nichols and myself; fishing through the ice for
pickerel.\par

When the country in this part of Maine was first
settled, the Sagamore, as well as all the other ponds
and lakes, abounded with lake trout, or, as they
were then called, {\itshape{togue}} trout--great, broad-backed
fellows, weighing from twelve to twenty pounds.
But it was foolishly supposed by the early settlers
that it would be better to have pickerel instead, of
trout in these waters.  So pickerel were put into
nearly every pond and lake in this section.  They
are the most voracious of fish, very strong and
savage, and soon destroyed the trout.\par

Those of the Sagamore are larger than the pickerel
in most of the ponds.  It takes a strong line to
get them out of the water.  Through a hole in the
ice this is more easily done; but it is no small job to
cut such a hole when the ice is two feet thick.  Rod
and I were an hour and a half hacking ours with a
hatchet, that afternoon.\par

It was not far from the shore--eight or ten rods,
perhaps--but between us and the bank there was a
wide, open place, worn away, or thawed, by a
"springhole" along the shore.  The afternoon
sunbeams, falling on the glass-bright surface, were
reflected under the ice, and lighted up the water as
far out as where we had made our hole.  We could
thus see all that was going on under us, though the
water was nearly twenty feet deep.\par

We had fished in this place before, and knew how
to take advantage of this clear water, for it's always
pleasant to see what one's about.  It is fully half
the sport to see the fish biting.\par

After skimming our hole, we dropped in a hook
baited with a {\itshape{shiner}}--we had a jug full of them--and
waited for a bite; watched and waited patiently
and confidently, but it didn't come.  Not a fish
could be seen in all the clear depths beneath.
This was unusual, as well as vexatious, for the
Sagamore was known to be well stocked with
pickerel, and they generally took the hook readily.  But
an hour passed without so much as a nibble at our bait.\par

It was a fine, sunny afternoon.  Everything was
still.  There was not even the cawing of crows to
be heard.  Presently, looking across to the shore,
we saw a large black creature watching us from an
old pine stump, that was some four or five rods from
the water.\par

"Fisher-cat, isn't it?" said Rod.\par

It did look like one, certainly.  It was black, and
about the same size.\par

"Suppose he'd show fight if we should go round
there?" continued Rod, looking leisurely for the
hatchet.\par

Poor success fishing had made him a little
pugnacious, I suppose; and a scrimmage with a
fisher-cat, or carcajoe, when you can get one to face about,
isn't bad fun for those who enjoy such sport, and
are willing to run the risk of getting scratched and
bitten.\par

In explanation, I should say that the "fisher-cat"
is a member of the weasel family.  Naturalists call
it the {\itshape{Mustela Canadensis}}, or Canada weasel; a
pretty big weasel, to be sure.  Hunters and trappers
hate it most heartily, for it will follow them all day
on their rounds, taking the bait out of their traps as
fast as they can set them.\par

Well, if we could not catch any pickerel, perhaps
a little fracas with Mr. Snarly-face, over there,
would be the next best thing; and I was just
drawing up my line, when there came a heavy tug at
the bait, nearly jerking the line from my hands.
There was not only one tug, but a series of tugs and
rushes to and fro, making the water fairly boil in
the hole.\par

I had hooked a big one, and he was testing the
line to the utmost, and rasping it across the sharp
edges of the ice.  Holding it steadily, however,
the struggle gradually ceased, and looking down
into the water, we saw a noble fellow, slowly
waving his fins on the sand, at the bottom of the
pond.\par

"Isn't he a thumper!" exclaimed Rod.  "Five
or six pounds, certain!  Fish enough for one day."\par

He had become pretty docile, and I had drawn
him up within six or seven feet of the surface, when,
with a sudden plunge, a long, dark animal darted
through the water, and seizing the fish, passed
out of sight under the ice, like a black streak.
I pulled sharply at the line, once, twice--then it
snapped.\par

Here was a surprise.\par

"What on earth was that?" cried Rod.\par

But there was nothing further to be seen.  A
few bubbles came struggling up through the water,
but the creature had gone, and so had the fish.\par

"It couldn't have been that fisher-cat," said Rod.\par

"No, indeed!  Who ever heard of a fisher-cat,
or any other cat, swimming ten rods under water!"\par

"But he is gone from the stump."\par

"Well, let him go.  That wasn't him."\par

"What was it, then?"\par

That was a question easier asked than answered.
We were fairly "stuck," as Rod expressed it, and
stood staring into the hole.  Suddenly there was a
wavy motion, deep down, below the surface, and we
saw the creature shoot back, by the hole, with the
fish in his mouth.  We had just a dim, refractive
glimpse, and he had passed, going toward the shore.
We looked in that direction, and a few seconds
after, saw a flat, black head pop up a moment into
sight from the open water, and, then it disappeared.
We watched for some minutes, but it did not come
up again.\par

"Rather a strange performance, anyhow," muttered Rod.\par

"But let's go round to the shore, and see if we
can find the fisher."\par

Going to the shore, we saw that the bank shelved
off abruptly into deep water; and in one place it
was worn smooth, and was icy, as if some animal
had been sliding from it down into the pond.  Other
than this there were no traces.\par

So, first cutting a couple of stout clubs, we went
to the pine stump, where we had seen what we had
taken for a fisher.  He was gone; but we
discovered a hole in the top of the stump, that went
down under the ground, and looking into it saw a
broad, black muzzle, and a pair of wicked little eyes
gleaming up at us.\par

"Hollo!" cried Rod, "here he is;" thrusting in
his stick.  The head vanished.\par

"But that's no fisher; their noses do not look
like that.  It was too big and {\itshape{blunt}}.  I'll tell you
what," exclaimed he suddenly; "it's an otter!
That was one out in the pond, too.  Did you ever
see one?"\par

"No."\par

"Nor I; but I've heard old Hughy Olives tell
about them; and that's just what this is."\par

"What about them?  Will they fight much?"\par

"Fight when cornered, Hughy says, like young
tigers, too.  Dogs are no match for them.  But their
fur's valuable."\par

"That's so.  We must get this one if we can."\par

"There may be more than one.  They live two
and three together, sometimes, Hughy said, in
burrows, opening under water.  This couldn't
be the one that stole our fish, either.  It might
have been though; for this hole probably leads
out into the water, under the bank.  Let's see if it
doesn't."\par

We ran to the edge and looked over.  The water
was six or seven feet deep.\par

"Stamp on the ground," said I.\par

Rod did so; and a moment after I saw a long,
slim animal glide out from under the bank and dart
off beneath the ice--then another.\par

"Yes, here he is; two of them."\par

They didn't come up in the open water, but
must have gone off under the ice.  I suppose
there were air-holes through it, where they came up
to breathe.\par

They were otters; no doubt of it.  But how to
catch them; that was the next question.\par

"Hughy spoke of setting traps for them," said
Rod.\par

"So we can!  Your father's old bear-trap!  Set it
down under the bank here, where their burrow opens
out into the water."\par

"Agreed."\par

And home we went after the trap.  It was nearly
three miles, but we were soon there, and took the
trap from the garret, where it had been resting for
a dozen years.  It was heavy, and must have
weighed sixty or seventy pounds.  But we hung it
on a pole, and resting the ends of the pole on our
shoulders, started for the pond; and a fine sweat it
gave us before we reached our destination.\par

The next thing was to set it.  The springs were
so rusty and stiff that we had to use a lever to bend
them, and we came near getting caught in it once
or twice; but it was set properly at last, and {\itshape{sinking}}
it at the entrance of the burrow we chained it to an
old root.\par

This done, we filled in stones, and stopped the
hole in the stump at the upper end of the den, to
prevent the otters from getting out there.  Then
we went home, for it was considerably after sunset.
We had our trap on their doorstep, as Rod said;
they could neither go in nor out without climbing
over it.\par

The next afternoon we went to see what success
attended our efforts.  There was nothing stirring
about the stump, and creeping cautiously down the
bank, we looked over.  The trap had been sprung
and drawn up into the burrow, partly out of sight.
Pulling it out by the chain, sure enough, there was
a long, sleek, black fellow in it fast by one of his
chubby legs.  But he was quite dead--drowned.\par

The great weight of the trap had prevented his
coming to the surface.  And although an otter
can remain under water for nearly two minutes,
yet at the end of that time he must come to the
surface, like any air-breathing animal, or be
suffocated.\par

We were jubilant.  Taking him out, we
carefully replaced the trap in its old position and
went home with our game, where, calling in the
assistance and advice of old Hughy, we proceeded
to take off the skin according to standard
rules.\par

The fur was of a light brown color, thickly
interspersed with black hairs, which gives the animal
at a little distance the appearance of being wholly
black.  The ears were small and far apart, and the
feet short and webbed like a goose.  The entire
length of the animal, including its tail, was nearly
five feet; but Hughy thought this one rather above
the average size.\par

The next day we caught another otter--a smaller
one; and about a fortnight after, a third met his
fate in the jaws of the old trap.\par

We received twelve dollars apiece for these skins,
and felt very well satisfied with oar afternoon's
sport at the Sagamore.\par

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{\noindent}
HOW JACK WENT TIGER-HUNTING.}

\unskip\vskip 40pt\nobreak

{\noindent}
Jack was reading Du Chaillu.  He spent a good
deal more time that night over Du Chaillu than
over his Latin.\par

His mother and Bessy were seated by the fire,
and presently he came over and turned his back to
the grate, putting his hands behind him, with a
swaggering way he had.\par

"I've got an idea, mother!" he said.\par

"I'm glad of that."  said Bessy, under her breath.
Mrs. Leigh shook her head at her.\par

"Well, my son?"\par

"Du Chaillu's in this country, you know?" Jack's
face was red, and his voice like a trumpet, from
excitement.\par

"I believe he is."\par

"Oh, I know it, ma'am!  I saw in the paper he was
lecturing in New York.  And he's going back to
Africa next fall.  And I--I've made up my mind to
go with him!"\par

Bessy stared.\par

"To Africa?" said Mrs. Leigh, folding her hem.\par

"Yes, mother."  Jack was a little damped to find
his views received so quietly.\par

"That is, with your permission.  But you see all
through this book he is inviting the boys to go.  He
was but a lad when he killed his first lion.  He
says nothing would delight him more than to take
some fine courageous fellow into the jungle, and
teach him how to trap elephants and hunt tigers.
Oh, if I could wing a tiger with my gun!"\par

"Will you thread my needle, Bessy?  I think if
you wait, you will be a better shot in a year or two,
probably, Jack."\par

"You think I couldn't stand it," blustered Jack.
"Why, I've got muscles on me like iron.  I tell
you, nothing would please me better than footing
it through the jungle for months, eating leopard
and monkey steaks, and fighting gorillas.  Those
negroes were poor stuff for hunters, I think!
Used to give out in a week or two.  So did Du
Chaillu.  Why, I could go on for months, and never
complain."\par

"Who was that whining over his grammar,
awhile ago?" asked his sister.\par

"That's a very different matter," stammered Jack
angrily.  "What kind of sense is there in
{\itshape{amaba--bis--bus}}!  That's stuff!  If I had a chance with my
gun now, at a lion, say--\par

"If you cannot conquer nouns and verbs, Jack,"
said Mrs. Leigh, "I am not afraid for the wild beasts."\par

"As for Bess, she needn't laugh," growled Jack.
"What does a girl know, with her curls, and paniers,
and folderols?  She never even read Du Chaillu;"
and he stamped into the dining-room and began to
kick off his boots.\par

"You should not tease your brother, Bessy."\par

Bessy laughed.  She was a fat, pretty, good-tempered
girl, very fond of Jack and just as fond of
squabbling with him.\par

"He is such a fellow to brag, mamma.  Now I
know he'll be at it again.  There he comes."\par

Jack came in and leaned with his elbows on the
table, watching his mother and thinking.\par

"Now Du Chaillu and those fellows," he broke
out, "had a way of skulking behind trees and
shooting at animals from ambush.  I don't approve
of that.  I would not do that.  The way to meet a
wild beast is to fix your eye on him boldly.  Look
him straight in the eye.  What are you laughing at,
Bess?  I tell you scientific men say there's nothing
like the power of the human eye.  Then when I had
him fixed, I'd take aim deliberately and fire.  I'd
have him at an advantage, you see.  Mother, there's
a fire!  I hear the bells!"\par

"Yes."\par

"Can I go?  Just to see where it is?  Only to the
corner?  I won't go a step beyond the corner, I
promise you."\par

"Very well, Jack, I trust you."\par

Jack's word, when he gave it, was as good as his
oath, and although the street was quite dark, yet as
they lived in a quiet part of the city his mother saw
him go without fear.\par

There was a good deal of noise and confusion
outside.  An engine ran past and men shouting;
but in half an hour Mrs. Leigh and Bessy heard
Jack coming leisurely up the steps, whistling and
talking.\par

"Here, sir!  Wheet! wheet!  This way.  In
with you.  Gracious, mother, how dark this hall is!
Why don't Ann?  Wheet--wheet!  There!" opening
the back door, "stay there till morning."  He
shut and locked the door again and came into the
parlor.\par

"'Twasn't much of a fire--near two miles
off--somewhere about the Northern mills."\par

"There was great confusion," said Mrs. Leigh.\par

"There always is.  Now if I was the captain of a
fire company, I'd manage differently.  I'd say to this
man, go here, and to that man, go there, and they
should not dare to utter a word.  Then the fires
would be put out."\par

"Who was that in the hall, Jack?" inquired Bessy.\par

"A big dog; a most tremendous fellow.  He
came running alongside of me on the street, and
turned up the steps as I did.  Somebody's lost him,
I suppose.  I put him in the yard till daylight, and
then I can see him and look up his owner."\par

"Was he a pretty dog?" said Bess eagerly.\par

"How could I tell?  I told you I didn't see him.
As he brushed by me, I felt that he was a strapping
fellow.  The hall's as dark as pitch."\par

"You didn't fix him with your eye, then?"\par

Jack said nothing, but lighted his candle and went
to bed.\par

The next morning he was awakened by a
thumping at the door, and in rushed Bessy, wild
with excitement, the morning newspaper in her
hand.\par

"O, Jack, listen to this!" jumping on the bed and
beginning to read breathlessly:\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
"ESCAPE OF WILD ANIMALS.--The fire of last night
communicated with the stables where the animals
connected with Drivers' Menagerie were stored for
the winter, and several of them escaped.  They
were promptly pursued and captured, with the
exception of the Bengal tiger, that was last seen
making its way toward the southern part of the city.
At the hour of our going to press no traces have
been found of the animal."\par


\vs{2}
{\noindent}
Bessy laid down the paper.  Her eyes were set
deeper in her head than usual, and they burned
like coals.  "Jack!" she gasped, "what do you think?"\par

Jack's face, and neck, and very ears were scarlet.
He stammered, and did not seem nearly so
tumultuous as usual.\par

"I think it's in our back yard," he said, at last.
"I wish you'd get out of this, Bessy.  I'll--I'll get
up and call a policeman."\par

"A policeman!  What on earth can he do with a
tiger?" cried Bessy, in discomfiture.  "Why, I
thought for sure, Jack, you'd fix him with your eye;
or wing him.  Sha'n't I bring you your gun to wing him?"\par

"Perhaps I will," said Jack loftily.  "But I must
be dressed first."\par

Bessy went out, but stood just outside of the
door, trembling and quaking, her hand on the
knob.  Her mother had gone out early.  Usually she
had very little dependence on Jack, or his bravery,
but anything in the shape of man or boy is a comfort
to a frightened woman, and all of Jack's boasting
came back soothingly now to Bessy.  In half a
minute Jack had scrambled into his clothes and was out.\par

"Have you seen it?  Where is it?"\par

"It's in the coal-shed; in the darkest end.  Ann's
got the back doors tight locked and bolted, and she's
up in bed with the pillow over her head.  There's
your gun, Jack."\par

Jack took the gun, and still in his stocking feet,
went on tiptoe to reconnoiter.  From the second-story
window he saw that the yard was quite
clear.  Just by the house stood the coal-shed,
dingy and dirty enough at ordinary times, but now
covered with the mystery and horror of an African
jungle.\par

"You think it's in there, do you?" he said, under
his breath.\par

"Oh, Ann heard it!  Such a horrible roar!  Up
in the very back part.  How will you get at it to
shoot it?"\par

"I'll call in the police as soon as I'm sure it's
the tiger.  If it was in the jungle I'd face it.  But
such animals are always doubly furious for being
confined."\par

"There's a knot hole in the shed.  You can peep,
Jack.  He won't see you."\par

But Jack was growing unaccountably pale,
and his teeth were chattering.  "I'd--I'd rather
not open the door--on your account, Bess.  He
might run in."\par

"Fire your gun and he'll dash out into the yard!"
cried Bess, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, in
her excitement.  "Good gracious! what will the
girls say at school when they hear we've had a real
tiger in our shed.  If you'd only shoot him, and we'd
have him stuffed."\par

"I mean to shoot when he comes out."\par

But Jack's fingers shook so as he adjusted the
trigger that one would have thought he had the palsy.\par

"I'll tell you what to do!" shouted Bessy,
clapping her hands.  "I'll go down to the kitchen
window, and throw a bone out in front of the shed-door,
and when he rushes out for it, you look if it's the
tiger or not."\par

"Very well."\par

"Unless you'd rather throw the bone," hesitated
Bessy, her heart giving way.\par

"There's not the least danger for you, Bessy.  And
I'm a better judge of tigers.  I'm more familiar
with their habits than you."\par

Off went Bessy, and finding a half-eaten roast of
beef in the pantry, she opened the kitchen window,
her heart choking her as she did it, and flung it out
with all her strength.  There was a rush from the
shed, but Bessy had closed the shutters and was flying
up the stairs.  Halfway up stood Jack, pale
and breathless.\par

"Was it the tiger?"\par

"Yes."\par

"Oh, Jack!" Bessy clasped her hands.  "Is he--is
he big?"\par

"Oh, he's a monster.  His eyes are like coals of
fire."  Jack jerked out the words as he dashed down
the stairs and out of the front door, shouting,
"Police! police!"\par

One can easily guess what followed then.  When
Mrs. Leigh came home from market, a dense crowd
packed the street for half a square from her house,
on the outskirts of which skirmished women, with
babies in their arms, boys open-mouthed, and
cart-men cracking their whips, whose horses stood
waiting in a crowd at the corner.  In front of the door
stood one of the vans of the menagerie.  Wild cries
of "The tiger!"  "The lion!" resounded from side
to side, and every time the door opened the crowd
fell back, expecting him to charge on them.  Way
was made for Mrs. Leigh.  Everybody looked at
her with respect.\par

"He's in your house, ma'am."\par

"It was your son that discovered him."\par

Mrs. Leigh hurried in, terrified at the thought of
what might have befallen her children.  The house
was filled with men.  Policemen were in full force
to keep order.  The keepers from the menagerie had
a net suspended over the door of the shed, to catch
the tiger when it should rush out.  Half a dozen
men stood with guns ready pointed, in case he should
attack them.\par

"But don't fire, unless in case of absolute
necessity," pleaded the keeper.  "Consider the cost,
gentlemen.  That beast is worth, as he stands, two
thousand dollars."\par

"What's your two thousand dollars to us?"
growled one of the men, cocking his gun.  "Consider
our lives."\par

Nobody as yet had seen the tiger but Jack, who
stood in an upper window, the observed of all
observers.\par

The keepers went on with their preparations.  It
was their plan to shoot into the shed, over the tiger's
head, and when he charged on them, capture him
in the net.\par

"Let every man take care of himself," said the
keeper.  "Fire if we do not secure him.  Are you
ready, men?"\par

The men, with pale faces, lowered the net.  "All right!"\par

"Look out, then.  One, two, three!"\par

"Bang!" went the pistol over the beast's head.
There was a moment's pause, and then a fierce dash
and a shriek from the people, caught up and echoed
by the crowd outside.  The men tugged at their net
and caught--\par

"Brown's big yellow dog!" shouted the policemen.\par

"Where's that young coward that fooled us?"  The
keepers raged and the crowd cheered.\par

But Jack had hidden away with his shame and
could not be found.  He never was known to brag
again.\par


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\bookmark[level=1,page=1]{CONTENTS}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-i-budd-seeks-employment]{CHAPTER I.--BUDD SEEKS EMPLOYMENT.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-ii-a-slight-misunderstanding]{CHAPTER II.--A SLIGHT MISUNDERSTANDING.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-iii-against-wind-and-tide]{CHAPTER III.--AGAINST WIND AND TIDE.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-iv-a-new-friend]{CHAPTER IV.--A NEW FRIEND.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-v-mr-benton-s-wrath]{CHAPTER V.--MR. BENTON'S WRATH.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-vi-the-new-firm]{CHAPTER VI.--THE NEW FIRM.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-vii-business-booms]{CHAPTER VII.--BUSINESS BOOMS.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-viii-the-lost-ox-cart]{CHAPTER VIII.--THE LOST OX-CART.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-ix-the-three-intruders]{CHAPTER IX.--THE THREE INTRUDERS.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-x-budd-s-story]{CHAPTER X.--BUDD'S STORY.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xi-an-unfortunate-predicament]{CHAPTER XI.--AN UNFORTUNATE PREDICAMENT.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xii-budd-s-trial]{CHAPTER XII.--BUDD'S TRIAL.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xiii-mr-benton-s-little-game]{CHAPTER XIII.--MR. BENTON'S LITTLE GAME.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xiv-two-opportunities]{CHAPTER XIV.--TWO OPPORTUNITIES.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xv-budd-entrapped]{CHAPTER XV.--BUDD ENTRAPPED.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xvi-judd-makes-an-important-discovery]{CHAPTER XVI.--JUDD MAKES AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xvii-budd-s-escape]{CHAPTER XVII.--BUDD'S ESCAPE.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xviii-caught]{CHAPTER XVIII.--CAUGHT.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xix-mr-johnson-is-astonished]{CHAPTER XIX.--MR. JOHNSON IS ASTONISHED.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xx-the-confession]{CHAPTER XX.--THE CONFESSION.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xxi-father-and-son]{CHAPTER XXI.--FATHER AND SON.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xxii-an-exciting-adventure]{CHAPTER XXII.--AN EXCITING ADVENTURE.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xxiii-a-manly-rescue]{CHAPTER XXIII.--A MANLY RESCUE.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xxiv-the-firm-s-profits]{CHAPTER XXIV.--THE FIRM'S PROFITS.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=chapter-xxv-mr-johnson-s-munificence]{CHAPTER XXV.--MR. JOHNSON'S MUNIFICENCE.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=the-bear-and-the-bomb-shell]{THE BEAR AND THE BOMB SHELL.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=an-afternoon-at-sagamore-pond]{AN AFTERNOON AT SAGAMORE POND.}
\bookmark[level=2,dest=how-jack-went-tiger-hunting]{HOW JACK WENT TIGER-HUNTING.}
\hbox{}
\end{document}

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