Chapter XXI: Another Surprise

"Help! help!"

"What's all the row about?"

"Buster's fallen in again! Somebody get a rope, and lasso him!"

"There he comes up! My! what a floundering time! He may be drowned, Jack!"

But Jack knew better, and only laughed as he replied to Herb:

"You forget that he's still wearing that lovely cork life preserver. It gives him such a manly look; and Buster thinks it adds to the admiration of a certain young lady."

Meantime there was a tremendous lot of splashing going on in that little basin just under the big tree, where Nick had been perched at the time of his tumble.

Both arms were working overtime, like a couple of flails in a thrashing bee; while his chubby legs shot back and forth after the manner of an energetic frog. All the while Buster was spouting water like a miniature geyser; for his mouth had happened to be wide open at the time of his unexpected submersion.

"Throw me a rope, somebody!" he spluttered, as he continued to make manful efforts to keep from sinking. "What d'ye stand there gaping for? Can't you see I'm in danger of drowning? Hurry up your cakes, you sillies!"

There was no doubt but that Nick believed every word he spoke; for he was making a tremendous display of energy that would long remain a topic for wonder among his comrades.

Herb started to scurry around to find something that would be available in the rescue line.

"Jack, the poor fellow may be partly stunned, and unable to keep up much longer. Help me find a rope, won't you?" he cried, as he passed the other.

"Hold on, Herb, now watch how easy it is to save a drowning man," and as Jack said this he turned to where Nick was making a young Niagara Whirlpool Rapids of himself, and called sternly:

"Buster, stand up!"

Lo; and behold, when the imperiled fat boy proceeded to obey this command the water barely reached to his chest. Looking rather crest-fallen and sheepish he started to wade out of the lake; while the boys burst into a roar that must have even been heard by those on board the steamer.

Nick was in a rather pugnacious humor, for him, as he arrived dripping on the bank. Perhaps the merriment of his mates had something to do with it; but the chances are he dreaded lest a pair of laughing blue eyes on the departing steamer may have witnessed his ridiculous upset.

"Who pushed me in?" he demanded, as he gave vent to another upheaval of water. "Tell me that, will you? It was a mean trick, and he ought to be ducked just as bad as I was. Seems like a pity a fellow can't just sit up on the limb of a tree to wave good-bye to a pretty girl without some envious rival putting up a game on him. Who did it? I dare him to tell!"

"Rats! you're away off your base, Buster!" cried George.

"Quit raising the lake that way, can't you?" complained Josh. "Want to flood us out of our camp, do you?"

"Buster, nobody was near you when you fell," said Jack. "I don't think there was one of us within ten feet of the tree. And besides, you were up out of reach. You let go both hands and slipped. It was your own fault. And we didn't help you out because I knew you had on that cork thing; besides, the water wasn't over your head, as I found out some time ago. So don't accuse anybody of being mean."

"And next time you want to take the middle of the stage just let us know. You gave us an awful jolt," remarked George.

"Why, if I'd had heart disease I'd have dropped flat," vowed Josh.

"Oh! let up on me, can't you, and don't rub it in so hard?" grumbled the dripping Nick. "Now I've got to go and get these duds off. And it'll take a long while for 'em to dry. Nice way to use a new suit, ain't it?"

"Well, it's lucky for the trade that you've come up here." Herb put in. "The clothing business will take on a boom soon. What with Canada pussies, and upsets into the lake, you can get away with more suits than the rest of us."

"But I haven't got another bunch of clothes along," whimpered Nick, "and it's sure too chilly to run around without anything on. Jack won't you help me out?"

"I guess I can lend you a pair of trousers, Buster, if you can get into them. Don't forget that fine red sweater you possess. Josh, pull it down from that branch, will you? So you see, you'll get along till these duds dry out," replied the one addressed.

"But stick to the camp while you're wearing that sweater, Buster," warned Josh. "Perhaps there ain't any cows around here; but even a bull moose would want to boost you up in a tree if he ever saw that rag."

"Oh! I'll hug the fire, all right; don't you worry about me, Josh Purdue," was the fat boy's reply, as he made off, the water still oozing from his soaked garments in streams.

Jack wisely put in the balance of the morning fishing, and with abundant success, as was evidenced from the fact that they had another delightful fish dinner that noon, Josh serving the trout in his usual tempting manner, crisp and brown.

As his clothes had meantime dried, through the action of combined sun and camp fire, Nick gradually became himself again. It took considerable to upset his good nature; and the boys never could fully decide whether he had been in earnest concerning that episode of the "great splash," or simply pretending to be indignant.

"And now, what's the programme?" asked Jack, as, having eaten until they could no longer be tempted, they sat back to talk over the future activities of the motor boat club.

"Fellows," remarked George, seriously. "I've come to the conclusion that we're making a mistake in cruising over such big water as this."

"Hear! hear!" called Nick, clapping his hands.

"Boats as small as ours seem out of their element on an ocean," continued the skipper of the _Wireless_, steadily. "They're all right in such places as the Thousand Islands, where plenty of harbors are in sight all the time. But just think what might happen up here. Suppose the wind had chopped around the other night, instead of kindly holding off till morning. What would have happened to us?"

"Oh! well," remarked Herb; "we all know the answer to that riddle, George. Since we couldn't well make out into the open lake in the storm during darkness, why, every boat must have been smashed against the rocks. Makes me shiver to just think of it; and that's right, fellows."

"Perhaps one or more of us might have gone under." George went on. "Now, when we got permission to make this cruise we promised not to take unnecessary risks--am I right, fellows?"

"Sure you are, George. Hit up the pace, will you? Buster here is getting sleepy, waiting for the verdict," Josh said, after his customary fashion.

"Then I'm going to offer a suggestion; and if Jack says so, I'll put it in the form of a motion," George continued.

"Make it a motion without all this fuss and feathers," observed Herb.

"I move, then, that we abandon our original intention of knocking along this north shore of Superior till we arrive at Duluth, where we could ship our boats home. It wouldn't pay us for the trouble and the danger. It's a barren country. If we had an accident there's no place to have repairs done short of several hundred miles. In a word, fellows, this is no hunting ground for little motor boats. Besides," with a sly glance toward Nick, "what if our grub gives out, as it's likely to do at any time, once Buster gets to feeling himself again; why, we might starve to death, fellows, in the midst of plenty."

"You've heard the motion, fellows--that we change our programme, and give up this Lake Superior trip. All in favor say aye!" Jack remarked.

A chorus of assents followed.

"Contrary, no!" went on the commodore; but only silence followed.

"Motion is carried unanimously," Jack went on. "And now, let's consider what is to take the place of this trip. We've still got some weeks ahead of us, the fishing's fine, and we're a long way from Milwaukee. Somebody suggest something."

George and Jack had of course talked this thing over more than once recently. So no one was surprised when the former immediately jumped up, and began:

"For one, I'm of the opinion we couldn't do better than return over part of the way we came. Between the Soo and Mackinac Island there's fine cruising ground to be explored. We can take a different route part of the way back through the St. Mary's River, and perhaps find new mud banks, with a few more strange animals on the Canada side. Besides Jack says the bass fishing is just great in some places they told him about at the Soo."

"Hurrah! Me for the St. Mary's then," Nick shouted, to hide his confusion at mention of strange beasts, for of course he knew what that referred to.

"The prospect of the merry bass frizzling over the coals coaxes Buster," declared Josh; "but on general principles, fellows, I don't see how we could improve on that programme. Count me in on it, George."

"Any other suggestions?" asked Jack. "If there are, now is the time to speak up, before we decide our plans. We can settle on just the day we ought to leave Mackinac for the run down Michigan to Milwaukee, and so get home on the dot. How is it, fellows? Do I hear another scheme offered?"

"Make it unanimous, Jack," said Herb. "You know we're pretty much of one mind; and we ought to get all the fun going out of that programme."

"Then we start back tomorrow?" said Jack.

"Right after breakfast," Josh added.

"Good gracious!" exclaimed Nick. "I hope none of you would be silly enough to ever think of leaving here before breakfast!"

"Oh! that will never happen, so long as we have an alarm clock in the bunch. We depend on you, Buster, to warn us when it's time to eat our three meals a day," George said blandly.

"Now, I didn't expect that of you George," remarked Nick. "But if you really mean it, thank you! I'm glad to know I'm of some use to the crowd."

"Why, Buster, we wouldn't know how to keep house without you," remarked Jack.

"What would we be after doing with the leftovers?" ventured Jimmie.

"And how would I keep my big boat evenly balanced?" demanded Herb. "Sure you fill a place in the circle, Buster, and a very important one. We'd miss you if you ever gave up the ship, and took the train back home."

"Well, I promise you I won't," smiled Nick; "at least so long as you keep up the same sort of bill of fare we've had today. Yum! yum! what's the use of wasting a fine piece of browned trout like that? I call it a wicked shame. Here, Josh, don't you dare throw that away. Set it aside on that nice clean piece of birch bark. Somebody might get hungry later on, and enjoy a bite."

This standing joke of Nick's clamorous appetite seemed never to lose its edge. The rest of the boys could always enjoy seeing him make way with his share of the meal. In fact, had a change come over the fat boy, they would have felt anxious, believing him sick.

So Jack went back to his fishing, of which he seemed never to tire, and the others found something to employ their time and attention while the afternoon sun dropped lower toward the western horizon.

By now the Big Lake looked like a lookingglass, so still had the waves become. A haze prevented them from seeing any great distance away--one of those mid-summer atmospheric happenings that are apt to develop at any time when the weather is exceedingly warm.

Evening came at last, and they sat as usual around the camp fire, having enjoyed the meal Josh and his willing assistants, Jimmie and Nick, had placed before them. Everything looked favorable for getting off in the morning; and should the lake remain calm Jack believed they might be able to make the Soo by another night.

Suddenly, and without the slightest warning a disturbing factor was injected into this quiet restful camp. Jack thought he heard a sound like a groan near by, and raised his head to listen. Yes, there was certainly a movement at the west side of the camp, as though something was advancing. And as he stared, his hand unconsciously creeping out toward the faithful little Marlin shotgun, a figure arose and came staggering toward the group.

Loud cries broke out as the boys scrambled to their feet. And there was a good excuse for their consternation; for in this ragged, dirty, and altogether disreputable figure they recognized, not a wandering hobo, but Bully Joe, the crony of Clarence Macklin!