Chapter XXXV: And the Last

THE others were hardly less frightened than the little darkey. The Greeks fell to their knees and mumbled prayers, while the fishermen stood white-faced and panic-stricken. Even the party with the rifles in their hands felt a thrill of fear as the gruesome object swept down on them. Suddenly the whirling sound ceased and the creature of the night glided down to the ground before them.

"A hydroplane," cried Walter, with a sigh of relief, fervently echoed by his companions.

From the air-ship stepped out three men, two of whom they recognized with a thrill of joy. They were Sheriff Daley and his deputy. The third man was a stranger to them.

The three approached the panic-stricken group of smugglers with drawn revolvers.

"I arrest you all in the name of the United States of America," announced the stranger, throwing back his coat and showing a marshal's star. "Put the handcuffs on them, Sheriff Daley."

The sheriff stepped back to the hydroplane and brought out a bunch of jangling handcuffs which he proceeded to lock on the cowering captives who offered no resistance.

"Take them down to their launch and run them over to Clearwater, Sheriff," the stranger directed, as soon as the job was done. "Keep them guarded close till evening, then we will take them on to the Federal prison in Atlanta. I will follow you in the hydroplane in a little while. I have a few words to say to our friends here before I leave."

As soon as the sheriff was gone with his prisoners, the stranger turned to our friends with a smile.

"There is considerable explaining to be done, gentlemen," he said, pleasantly. "Let's go out aboard the schooner where we will be more comfortable."

Chris was called down from the top of a tall palmetto where he had taken refuge and the bewildered party followed the stranger aboard the dingy and were soon standing on the deck of their well-beloved "Beauty." The boys felt a lump in their throats as they looked upon the familiar, beautiful ship. The captain was here and there and everywhere over her deck. Examining everything like a parent with a long lost child.

"They haven't harmed her at all," he declared, with joy. "Only painted her over a different color and altered the rigging to disguise her. No wonder we thought she looked familiar to us."

It was with reluctance that the delighted old sailor obeyed the marshal's summons down into the cabin.

"My friends, you have unknowingly made me a lot of trouble and pretty nearly caused me a failure," the stranger said, when they were all seated around the cabin table.

"We will have to ask you to explain," Charley said. "We are all thoroughly bewildered."

"I suppose things do seem rather mixed up to you," smiled the stranger. "Well, I will try to make everything plain. For some time the government has been receiving complaints of liquor being smuggled into various places along the West coast, and at last, I was assigned to trace up the smugglers and this seemed to me to be as likely a place as any to start my investigations. Well, it didn't take long to determine who disposed of the liquor here, but it was quite another thing to discover the identity of the smugglers. I had a pretty full description of the schooner from several parties who had seen her hanging around at different places along the coast. One man had even seen the crew and he described them to me pretty accurately. But when I tried to find out who were the schooner's owners and what port she hailed from I ran against a snag. No ship answering her description was registered in either America or Cuba. Quite by chance, when in Tarpon Springs, I heard of your lost ship, and the description of her and the Greeks on her, tallied so exactly with the schooner and the smugglers that I was convinced that they were one and the same. Having got a clue to the smugglers and the receivers, the next thing was to catch them in the act. I took up my residence in Tarpon Springs with a friend who happened to be an enthusiastic air man, and went to work. I spent most of my nights on the island going there after dark in my friend's hydroplane. I was getting along very nicely when you took up residence on the island and upset my plans. I was quite out of patience that first night when you were the means of frightening the schooner away. And then when you found the cache of liquor, I almost gave up hope. I was afraid you would ring in the local authorities and that they would mess up things without the evidence necessary to convict the offenders. To discourage them at the start, if they should take any action, I removed the liquor from the cache. In fact, I was almost as anxious as Hunter to have your party leave the island. However, all's well that ends well, and I have got the rascals at last, where they cannot escape long jail sentences. I was posted on to-night's doing through having easy access to Hunter's mail when it passed through the post-office. An accident to the hydroplane's engine came near making me too late to take the rascals in charge. As it is, I will have to have the testimony of your party taken down in writing to-morrow, for I did not see the actual handling of the smuggled goods myself. And now, I guess that is the whole story. It will doubtless explain many things which have puzzled you."

"Then it must have been you whom Chris took for a ghost?" Walter said.

"And you are the one who brought us the liquor and the doctor when Walter was so ill," Charley exclaimed.

"I plead guilty to both charges," said the marshal, with a smile. "One other thing I would mention that is important to you," he added. "In smuggling cases, the government usually seizes the vessel, but in this case, you, the real owners, are so entirely innocent of wrong-doing, that I am going to assume the responsibility of leaving you in uninterrupted possession of your vessel. And now, I am thoroughly tired out and so I'll wish you good night, or rather good morning. Meet me in Clearwater this afternoon and we will finish up our business together."

When the marshal was gone and the Roberts boys had departed for their camp, the four chums sat in happy content in the "Beauty's" cozy cabin.

"Pinch me that I may make sure I am not dreaming," Walter sighed, blissfully. "All this seems too good to be true."

"If you are dreaming, I am, too, and do not want to be wakened," Charley said. "Gee! a few weeks ago we had nothing but the clothes on our backs. Now we have over two thousand dollars in cash and a ship that we can easily sell for three thousand dollars more, and best, of all, we have been able to assist the Roberts, who were so friendly to us when we sorely needed friends, to a share in a part of our good fortune."

"It's the good Lord's kindness," said Captain Westfield, reverently. "Let's thank him for the blessings he has showered upon us."

All were silent for a time after the heartfelt prayer was ended. At last Walter said, practically:

"What shall we do now? No use to start fishing again, it's only a few days till closed season."

"I can tell you what we had better do, next," Charley said, rising.

"What?" his chum demanded.

"Turn in and get a good sleep," Charley responded, yawning.

And safe in their bunks, dreaming blissfully of the future, we must for the present leave our four friends.

What the future held in store for them our readers can discover in the next volume of their adventures: "The Boy Chums Conquering The Wilderness; or, Charley and Walter Amongst the Seminole Indians."

THE END.

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Transcriber's Notes:

Original text did not have a Table of Contents. One was created by the transcriber to aid the reader.

Obvious punctuation repaired.

Page 1, "Chnms" changed to "Chums" (The Boy Chums' Perilous Cruise)

Page 22, "comforable" changed to "comfortable" ( a comfortable, home-like)

Page 90, "know" changed to "knew" (chum knew what he)

Page 131, "somethink" changed to "something" (children or something)

Page 144, "Monays" changed to "Morays" (Morays, a kind of salt)

Page 149, "Permangate" changed to "Permanganate" (Permanganate of potash)

Page 221, "dopped" changed to "dropped" (dropped off to sleep)

Page 226, "contracted" changed to "contacted" (wires contacted and)

Page 227, "appetities" changed to "appetites" (appetites of wolves)

Page 232, "riggled" changed to "wriggled" (which wriggled at their)

Page 243, "fesh-water" changed to "fresh-water" (fresh-water oysters, upon)

Page 253, "tattoed" changed to "tattooed" (tattooed on his back)