Motor Boat Boys on the Great Lakes; or, Exploring the Mystic Isle of Mackinac

by George Cary Eggleston

  CHAPTER XV

  HELPING AN ENEMY

  Jack kept his wits about him.

  He had snatched up something as he ran to the very point where he mightbest be seen through the flying spray. It was the conch shell which,with its apex sawed off, made a horn or trumpet that could be heard amile away, under even the most discouraging conditions.

  Reaching the point for which he had been aiming Jack immediately startedsending a hoarse blast out over that tumultuous sea. The others wavedtheir hats, and made suggestive motions toward the small inlet, to showthat a boat could enter the cove where the stream of water emptied intothe Big Lake.

  "They see us!" shrilled Nick, dancing up and down in his excitement; forin this moment all past animosity was forgotten, because human livesseemed in jeopardy--the lives of those who had gone to school, andplayed baseball with them, in the days that were past.

  "Yes, they're waving their hands!" declared Herb.

  "And now they put about!" George added. "Careful there, Clarence! Younearly keeled over then on your beam ends. That was a narrow squeak! I'dhate to have the poor old _Flash_ meet such a fate, not to speak of hercrew."

  "It's all right now, fellows!" cried Jack. "They're heading for theinlet. Run over, and be ready to give any help needed. In times likethis let's forget that Clarence and Joe have always been up against us.We're all Americans now; and we must stick together!"

  "Bully talk!" said Josh, hastening after George and Jack, leaving Nickto amble along in the rear.

  Clarence knew how to handle his boat with considerable skill; and oncehe drew close in, he was able to see how the ground lay. Those on shorealso directed him as best they could; and the net result was that the_Flash_ finally shot around the point, arriving in the little shelteredbay that a kind nature seemed to have provided for just suchemergencies.

  As Jack had more than once said, could they but look back hundreds ofyears, no doubt they would find that it had sheltered fleets of Indiancanoes many a time, when the storm king rode the waves of the GreatLake.

  When the _Flash_ had been moored safely, her crew came ashore. JoeBrinker was looking a bit sullen, as though he did not much fancy theidea of accepting aid from these fellows, whom he had always looked uponas enemies. But Clarence walked straight up to Jack, holding out hishand.

  "I say it's mighty decent of you, Stormways, to throw us a line thisway," he declared, with considerable feeling. "I admit I was badlyrattled, and thought we were in for a wreck. Neither of us glimpsed thisopening here, and we'd sure have swept by, if you hadn't signalled. I'msorry now I ever--"

  "Let by-gones be forgotten while we're here, Clarence," spoke up Jack."See, the storm is whooping things up out there now, and it's just aswell you're not on the lake."

  Clarence did look, and shuddered at what he saw; for it was not apleasant spectacle, with the lightning flashes, and the heaving billows,seen through the flying spray that even reached them by the tents.

  "Get busy, fellows!" George called. "Carry everything inside. Yes, takethat pan of fish, and the coffee, Nick. I guess our callers are hungry,and will be glad of a bite. Quick now, for here she comes with a rush!"

  Hardly had they found shelter, and the flaps of the tents been secured,when down the rain pelted, to the accompaniment of the most tremendousthunder crashes any of them had ever heard; while the fierce wind triedits best to tear the canvas shelters from over their heads.

  But the work had been well done, and the tents stood, though wobblingmore or less under the fierce onset of the wind.

  Clarence and Joe had been taken in with Jack and George, while the otherfour occupied the second tent. Seated on the ground, the two newcomersproceeded to break their fast, and drink what remained of the coffee.

  "Guess you wonder what kept us back so long?" remarked Clarence, afterthey had finished the meal, and while a little lull came in the tempestwithout.

  Jack and George looked at each other and smiled.

  "We might give a good think," remarked the latter; "seeing that I pushedthe nose of my _Wireless_ boat so hard into Mud Lake that it took anhour and more for the other two to pull me off."

  "Huh! that's where you were lucky, then, George," continued the other."We didn't have any chums to do the pulling act; and so we just had toflounder there for hours and hours. I reckon we must have spent the bestpart of two days sticking in the mud. Happened that nothing came alongbut some big steamers; and they wouldn't stop to help a poor littlemotor boat off."

  "Well, how did you get away finally?" asked Jack, interested.

  "Worked our way out of it by ourselves; and we're proud to tell it,"Clarence proceeded. "I managed to climb up into a tree that hung overthe boat, and threw down branches until we made a mattress that wouldbear our weight. Then we got out a block and tackle we carried, andfixed it in a way to get a strong pull. I kept the engine working forall she would go, while Joe bent to the tackle; and inch by inch wefinally yanked the _Flash_ out of her mud berth."

  "Good for you!" remarked George, with real emphasis. "Looking back,there's always some satisfaction in remembering how you managed to getout of a bad hole by means of your own wits."

  "All the same, we wished many times we had some chums handy, who wouldgive us a pull," said Joe, whom the meal and hot coffee had put in abetter humor.

  All night long the storm raged on the lake. Any vessel that was sounlucky as to be caught out in it was to be pitied, or at least thoseaboard were. Morning saw its abatement; but the seas were beating wildlyagainst the rock bound north shore and it was sheer folly for any oneto dream of putting out while such a condition of affairs lasted.

  So they concluded to make a day of it. Clarence for the first time inhis life began to realize what fine fellows these motor boat chumsreally were; and how they stood ready to forget all the trouble that heand his crony had been only too willing to shower upon them in the past.

  They talked of dozens of things, some of which were connected with theirlife in school at home, and others that bore upon the recent series ofhappenings on the St. Lawrence river.

  "Looks like we wouldn't have any more bother with Clarence afterthis," said Josh to Herb, as they watched Jack and the other two doingsomething at the camp fire that afternoon, just as though the best offriends.

  "I hope we won't," replied the other; "but you never can be sure ofClarence. He's tricky; and besides, impulsive. Just now he means to dropall enmity toward us; because we've fed him, and treated him white. Butwait till something rubs him the other way. That's the time to see ifthe thing is more than skin deep."

  During the midst of their conversation George purposely mentioned thename of Jonathan Fosdick.

  "What; do you know the old apple grower, too?" demanded Clarence,looking surprised.

  Of course Jack told how they had found the old man sick in his stable;and helped him to his house.

  "And he told us all about his runaway boy, Andy, too; and how word camehe was working in a fishing camp up along this shore," George went on.

  "Yes, we promised that if we ran across the fellow we'd tell him he waswanted at home the worst kind," Clarence remarked.

  "And he was that thankful he just loaded us down with stuff--eggs,butter, and such. Couldn't do enough for us," Joe added, grinning at therecollection.

  "History repeated itself then, for we promised the same thing," laughedJack.

  "And he just wouldn't take a cent in payment for the things we got,"remarked George. "But see here, Clarence, it looks like we're in foranother race between the _Flash_ and the _Wireless_, to see which canget to the mouth of the Agawa first; for I hear there's a big fish campthere, run by a man at the Soo, where they take tons and tons of whitefish, the trout not being for sale."

  "I guess I get the notion that's struck you, George; and let me sayright here, I still believe the _Flash_ to be the better boat," Clarencewent on, stubbornly.

  "Shall we try it out then, tomorrow, when we leave here; in a friendlyway of course, I mean
?" George asked, eagerly.

  "Take him up, Clarry!" said Joe.

  "All right then, we'll call it a go," declared the other. "Only I wishwe had something worth making a run for, a prize of some sort."

  "It will give me some pleasure to be the one to tell Andy Fosdick thathe's wanted bad at home," George observed.

  "Then we'll call it a go; and this time you'd better look out foryourself, because the _Flash_ has had a knot an hour added to her speedsince we raced last. And besides, I didn't have any heart in that trialof speed, you know. That smuggler was forcing me to run my boat, to gethim out of a pickle; and for me to win only meant that my boat would belost to me. I was really glad to play him a trick in the end, and throwthe race."

  Jack and George may have had their own opinions with regard to the truthof the matter; but they knew enough to keep their tongues still. Whilethe dove of peace hovered over the camp, it would be folly to stir thesefellows up again.

  Overhead the sun shone in a clear sky. Only for those waves the motorboat club could have easily continued on their cruise. But with thewaning of the afternoon the seas began to sensibly decline.

  "I prophesy a good day tomorrow for our race, George," Clarenceremarked, as, in company with the others he sat by the fire, enjoying afeast that Josh and his assistants, Nick and Jimmie, had prepared forthe crowd.

  Jack and George were both of the same opinion since all the well knownsigns seemed to point that way. They sat up until a reasonable hour,chatting and singing; and Clarence realized as never before what a finething he and Joe were missing in never having found a chance to jointhis merry group before.

  The night was a peaceful one. At early dawn the camp was astir, for muchhad to be done ere they might put out on the calm lake.

  "Looks like a big mirror; didn't I tell you that wind had blown itselfout?" remarked Clarence, upon casting his first glance beyond the point.

  At eight they were all ready to leave the snug harbor that had opened soopportunely for the storm threatened crew of the _Flash_.

  Clarence had charts also, and doubtless studied them eagerly when he hadan opportunity to go aboard his boat again. For although this was only afriendly race, he always threw himself into whatever he did with a vim,heart and soul, that made defeat all the more bitter, should it come.

  Of course Jack, deep down in his heart, knew full well that this wasonly a temporary truce in the warfare that had always existed betweenhimself and Clarence. Once away from their society the other would soondrift back to his old way of thinking and acting. But Jack decided thatnot because of any unfriendly act on the part of himself or chums shouldthese two find cause for again digging up the buried hatchet.

  Leaving the cove, the four boats were soon moving along the glassysurface of the calm lake, headed almost due west. Somewhere, many milesaway, lay the first goal, the mouth of the Agawa, which was to mark theexpiration of the race.

  "Ready, both of you?" demanded Jack, as the two rival speed boats rangedalongside the _Tramp_, one on either quarter.

  "Ready here!" answered Clarence, briskly.

  "Same here, Jack!" called George, hovering over his engine, which wasrunning at about its next to slowest notch.

  "Then go!" shouted the starter; and instantly both craft shot forwardlike arrows, while the rattle of their exhausts sounded as if a battlewere in progress.