CHAPTER XXI THE DRIFTING BOAT
"There's gratitude for you," observed Jack. "We've given that bear aperfectly good dinner--even cooked it for him--and the only thanks we getis an attempt to kill us."
"Oh, well," said Paul, "we must forgive the old fellow. Bear and forbear,you know."
"You wouldn't think it was so funny," remarked Cora, "if he'd gotten awaywith the rest of the lunch, as well as the fish."
"Even then we needn't have gone hungry," returned Paul soberly. "Theforest preserves are all around us."
"Even in the cities, one needn't starve if he has a sweet tooth," addedWalter. "He always has the subway jams."
"I declare," said Cora, "it's a pity the bear didn't get you boys afterall."
"_We_ may get _him_ yet," said Walter. "I'm not willing to let those fishof mine go unavenged. Perhaps we can get some guns from Joel and roundthis old fellow up. It certainly would do me a lot of good to have hisskin for a rug."
"He may have his own ideas about that," replied Bess. "You'd better letwell enough alone."
"I see we're not the only ones on the lake," remarked Cora, pointing to asmall boat about a mile away.
"Some fellow out fishing in a rowboat," pronounced Jack, after a moment'sexamination. "Let's go down that way and see what luck he's having."
"He doesn't seem to be fishing," observed Belle, as the _Water Sprite_turned in the direction of the rowboat. "In fact, he seems trying toattract our attention. There, he's waving at us. Let's hurry. Perhapshe's in trouble."
Jack sent the _Water Sprite_ flying at full speed, and the distancebetween the boats rapidly narrowed.
"Upon my word!" cried Belle, "I believe it's Mr. Morley."
"So it is," acquiesced Cora.
"I don't see any oars in his boat," said Paul.
"Looks as though he were adrift," remarked Walter.
When he was within a few yards, Jack shut off the engine, and the _WaterSprite_ drifted lazily down alongside the rowboat.
It was indeed the botanist, and he smiled cordially, if a littlesheepishly, as they shouted greetings to him.
"I'm mighty glad to see you young people," he returned. "I rather thoughtit was your boat, but she looks so gay in her new coat that I wasn't sureof it."
"Where are your oars?" asked Jack.
"Thereby hangs a tale," smiled Mr. Morley.
"Come aboard and tell us all about it," replied Cora. "We'll fasten yourboat to the stern and pull it along."
Mr. Morley climbed on board, helped by willing hands, and Walter securedthe rowboat by a rope round a cleat in the stern.
"It's a simple story," laughed Mr. Morley. "Indeed, simple is the onlyword that properly expresses it. The fact is that I rowed over to theother side of the lake to find some specimens that I had reason to thinkwere growing there. I got them all right and rowed back to the island. Iput the oars out of the boat on the dock, and was going to get outmyself, when something peculiar about one of the specimens attracted myattention, and I sat down in the boat to examine it more closely. I gotso engrossed in it that I forgot everything else. Then suddenly I woke upto the fact that the boat had drifted away from the dock, and I was inthe middle of the lake without oars. I was trying to paddle with myhands, but wasn't accomplishing much, when your boat came in sight. I'malways glad to see you young folks, but I don't mind admitting that I'mespecially glad to see you to-day."
"And we are to see you," returned Cora warmly. "How lucky it was that wemade up our mind to spend to-day on the lake."
"We'll take you right over to your island," said Jack.
"It's awfully good of you," returned Mr. Morley. "I hope it won'tinterfere with any other plans you may have made."
"Not a bit," answered Cora. "As a matter of fact, I was going to ask Jackto stop at the island before we went home to-night. I wanted to scold youfor not having come over to see us at Kill Kare, as you promised."
"I ought to be scolded," admitted Mr. Morley. "It hasn't been, however,because I didn't want to come. But I've had a very painful and difficultproblem that I've felt I must solve and that has taken up all my time.But I shall certainly give myself the pleasure of calling before long.
"But you have had some very stirring adventures of your own since I sawyou last, I understand," he continued. "What's this I hear about yourbeing lost in the woods and rescued by an aeroplane, Miss Kimball?"
"It's true enough," smiled Cora, and she gave him some of the details."But how did you come to hear anything about it?" she asked curiously.
"I was talking with Mr. Baxter recently and he told me about it," repliedMr. Morley.
"Mr. Baxter!" exclaimed Cora in surprise. "We know him very well and hewas very kind and helpful while the search was going on. But I didn'tknow that you were acquainted with him."
"He's doing some special work for me," Mr. Morley explained, "and weoften have occasion to consult together. He's a very clever man in hisparticular line."
Cora would have given the world to ask just then what Mr. Baxter's lineof work was, but she felt that she might be prying. She waitedexpectantly, hoping that the botanist would mention it of his own accord,but he did not, and they were soon talking of other things.
Of course they told him of their adventure with the bear, and he laughedheartily at the way the brute had made away with their fish dinner.
"If he didn't leave you enough," he said heartily, "I'd be very glad tohave you come up to the cabin with me and let me knock you up a meal."
"Oh, we had plenty without the fish," laughed Cora. "But thank you justthe same. And by the way, we're going to have an outdoor spread on thelawn at Kill Kare before long, in recognition of the kindness of thosewho tried to bring the prodigal daughter out of the wilderness. I expectthat your friend Mr. Baxter will be there, and I'd dearly love to haveyou come, too."
"When you've fixed on the exact date, let me know, and I certainly will,"replied Mr. Morley. "But here we are now, and there are the oars lying onthe dock as a proof of my foolishness," he added with a laugh.
"You've put me under a great obligation," he said in parting. "I mighthave drifted along the greater part of the day, and perhaps the night,before I touched shore somewhere."
"One good turn deserves another," returned Jack, "and we haven'tforgotten how royally you helped us on the day the _Water Sprite_ gotinto trouble."
They waved to him as the boat drew away and shaped its course for KillKare.
"It's mighty lucky we came along, just the same," observed Belle."Suppose, by any chance, he had drifted ashore and found our friend thebear waiting for him."
"And he without any oars in his boat," added Bess, with a little shudder.
The Motor Girls in the Mountains; or, The Gypsy Girl's Secret Page 21
