by Oliver Optic
CHAPTER XIX.
PEARL HAWLINSHED RESORTS TO VIOLENCE.
"Hallo! is that you, Dory Dornwood?" shouted Pearl Hawlinshed, as theGoldwing came within hail of the steamer. "Come alongside, and take meon board!"
"All right!" replied the skipper of the schooner, as he hauled in thesheets with all his might.
"Take me on board, and I will make it all right with you," continuedPearl, who did not seem to believe that Dory intended to take him onboard.
The skipper had brought the boat about so that all her sails wereshaking, but she had headway enough to carry her to the port quarter ofthe steamer.
"Be all ready to jump on board when I come up alongside," called Dory.
"Are you going off to leave us, now that you have got us into thisscrape?" demanded Captain Vesey, springing to his feet; for he hadevidently been asleep on the quarter-deck.
"I am going to get a steamer to drag you off this shoal," replied Pearl."I will come back in a couple of hours or so."
"You may forget to come," added Mr. Button, the engineer. "I think youhad better pay me the five dollars you owe me before we part company."
"And five dollars you owe me," added Captain Vesey.
"I don't owe you any five dollars, either of you," replied Pearlblandly, as he was about to leap on board of the Goldwing. "I was togive you five dollars apiece if you put me on board of this boat, andyou haven't done it."
"We should have done it if we hadn't let you do the piloting," repliedCaptain Vesey. "You owe us the money, and you must pay it."
"I think not," added Pearl, as he sprang on the forward deck of theschooner. "You haven't done what I agreed to pay you for."
"Hold on!" shouted Button angrily. "If you don't pay me, I will take itout of your hide."
"You will catch me first, won't you?" jeered Pearl, as he leaped downinto the standing-room of the boat.
"Don't carry him off, Dory," added Captain Vesey. "He is the biggestrascal that ever floated on Lake Champlain."
"Keep off, Dory, if you know when you are well off!" said Pearl inthreatening tones.
But Dory was anxious to perform his part in the drama; and he filledaway on the starboard tack, pointing the head of the boat towardsPlattsburgh. His fellow-voyagers did not give Pearl a good character,but this was not a surprise to the skipper. He knew what Pearl wasbefore he had seen him in the daylight.
"Here we are, Dory," said the villain, as he seated himself in thestanding-room. "You have dodged me times enough yesterday and to-day,and I am glad to be alone on board of this craft with you."
The skipper did not express his satisfaction that they were not alone,but he felt it just the same. Pearl was ugly, and Dory did not like thelooks of him. The new passenger gazed about him, and seemed to beexamining the boat for some time. He looked under the seats in thestanding-room, and opened a couple of lockers. Then he raised thefloor-boards, and looked at the ballast.
When he had done this, he seated himself again. He looked at Dory, andthen he glanced up at the sails. He watched the sailing of the schoonerin silence for a few minutes. He evidently had something on his mind,and he appeared to be debating with himself as to the manner in which heshould open the subject. As his eyes wandered about the boat, theyrested upon the cabin-doors. He looked at them a moment, and then wentforward, and tried to open them.
"You keep the cuddy locked, do you, Dory?" asked he, as he pulledseveral times at the doors.
"Just now I do," replied Dory, who had no skill in lying, and noinclination to practise it. "I wish you would come aft, Mr. Hawlinshed.When you are so far forward, it puts her down too much by the head."
"She works very well indeed, Dory Dornwood. What have you been doing toher?" asked Pearl.
"I changed the position of the foremast, and have shifted the ballast,"replied Dory, wishing the third passenger would come aft; for he wasafraid he might discover the presence of the others in the cabin.
"Do you happen to have the key to this padlock in your pocket, Dory?"asked Pearl in an indifferent tone.
Just then he saw the inquirer drop his head, and put his right ear verynear the blinds in the doors of the cabin. But he did not act as if hehad discovered any thing. The skipper thought he heard some kind of anoise in the cabin, as though one of its occupants had coughed orsneezed. But he was not sure of it, and the noise was just as likely tohave been the dashing of the water against the bow of the boat.
"You spoil the sailing of the boat by staying so far forward," repeatedthe skipper, with his heart in his mouth.
"Perhaps I do, Dory Dornwood. I asked you if you happened to have thekey of that padlock in your pocket," said Pearl, as he moved aft. "Ishould like to have you answer me if it isn't too much trouble."
"Of course I have the key," replied Dory.
"Suppose you give it to me? I should like to take a nap in the cabinwhile we are going down the lake," added Pearl.
"I just said it spoiled the sailing of the boat to have you so farforward. I slept on that seat here in the standing-room last night; andI think you can take your nap just as comfortably there as in thecabin," answered Dory.
There was something cunning and suspicious in the conduct of PearlHawlinshed that made the skipper very uncomfortable. He acted as thoughhe was playing a part to accomplish a purpose. The skipper had made uphis mind that it was time for him to open the cabin-doors, and thusobtain the assistance and protection of the officer.
"Don't say any thing more to me about spoiling the sailing of the boat,Dory. I know more about sailing a boat than you do," replied Pearl. "Youare a cross-grained youth, and you know more than the law allows for aboy of your years. You beat me out of this boat; but you stole the moneyto buy her, and it was no trade."
The skipper concluded that it was best to make no reply to this charge.
"We will settle that matter at another time," continued Pearl. "Ibelieve I hinted to you that I wanted to take a nap in the cabin."
"And I hinted to you that I did not want the boat loaded by the head anymore," replied Dory, who was not at all disposed to be bullied, politelyor otherwise.
"I prefer to sleep in the cabin, and I want the key of that padlock,"said Pearl more decidedly than he had before spoken.
"You can't have it," replied Dory with quite as much decision.
"Do you wish me to throw you overboard, Dory Dornwood?" demanded Pearl,fixing his ugly look upon the skipper.
"No, I don't."
"Then I hope you won't make me do it, for I might be sorry for it; but Imust have that key."
"I don't see what you want of the key," added Dory, whose sober secondthought was, that he had better not provoke such a dangerous man. "Thisboat has a bad reputation, and I have to be very careful with her."
"You were very careful yesterday when you ran across the lake in herwith the wind blowing a heavy gale," said Pearl with a sneer.
"I will fix a nice bed for you on that seat."
"I want the key!" exclaimed Pearl savagely.
Dory was silent. The key was in his trousers-pocket, where he kept hiswallet, containing sixty dollars. His ugly passenger was evidentlydetermined to have the key. Unless he had discovered that some one wasin the cabin, he could not see why his persecutor was so strenuous toobtain the key. Pearl was not a large man; but he was very strong andquick, as he had learned in the affair in the woods, when the ruffianhad hurled him away from him as though he had been nothing but a baby.
He could hardly get the better of him if Pearl resorted to violence. Hiscompanion in the standing-room claimed to be a skilful boatman, and wasnot dependent upon him to act as skipper. The situation began to lookvery serious. Though Peppers must have heard every word that passedbetween him and Pearl, he had not betrayed his presence on board of theboat. Perhaps it would have been foolish for him to do so, as he was assecurely caged as though he had been locked up in the Clinton Countyjail.
Dory finally decided that the only thing for him to do was to open thecabi
n-doors, and thus secure the aid of the officer. But Pearl waswatching him as a cat eyes a mouse. Whether the ruffianly passengerwould permit him to open the doors was now the question. The skipper gothis hand on the key in his pocket, though he did not venture to take itout. At a favorable moment, if any such was presented, he intended tomake a rush to the forward deck to effect his purpose.
"There is a steamer bound to the north," said he, pointing to a vessel amile to the windward of the Goldwing. "Perhaps she would run over, andpull the Missisquoi off the shoal."
"I don't want any thing more of the Missisquoi; and she may lie whereshe is till she rots," replied Pearl, without taking his gaze from Dory.
"Do you know what boat that is, Mr. Hawlinshed?" asked the skipper, veryanxious to induce his companion to look away from him, even for aninstant.
"I don't know what steamer that is; and I don't care, unless you shouldhappen to go too near her. In that case, I should object," answeredPearl, without looking at her.
"Are you afraid of her, Mr. Hawlinshed? She looks peaceful enough,"added Dory.
"You needn't talk any more. I know what you are trying to do; and youwon't do it," said the passenger.
Dory saw that it was no use to wait any longer. Pearl was determined notto take his eyes off the skipper. Dory fussed a moment with the sheets,trying in this manner to distract the attention of the villain. Finallyhe let go the jib-sheet, and it ran out. With the key in his hand, herushed forward, as if to secure the rope, but really to unlock thecabin-door.
Before he could reach the doors, Pearl threw himself upon his victim.Dory went down into the bottom of the boat in spite of his bestexertions to save himself. His right hand was firmly grasped by hisassailant, and the key wrenched from his hand. It was done almost asquick as a flash, and Dory was as powerless in the hands of the villainas though he had been only an infant.
Pearl did not offer to use any more violence than was necessary toobtain the key. When he had secured possession of it, he hurled hisvictim from him.
