Chapter XXIV: And the Last

There followed a moment's silence, and then, rising clear and high, came the voice of the parrot.

"A dead man's chest! A dead man's chest! Yo, ho, and a bottle of rum! And a bottle of rum!"

"The men who are deserting the _Rambler_ certainly have heard the parrot before!" whispered Case. "What does it mean?"

While the boys and the soldiers wondered over the strange happening, another voice came from the _Rambler_.

"Up, boys, and at them! Drive 'em into the river!"

"Peter Pratt!" shouted Alex, dancing up and down in the excitement of the moment.

"Good old Jule! I knew they couldn't kill him!" exclaimed Clay, leaping out of the boat.

It was plain to be seen that the outlaws were returning to the boat which lay within reach, and in another moment would be off down the river. There were three of them now, the man who had been tied up in the cabin being the third.

"Now, what's the matter with them?" asked the lieutenant, with a look of wonder in his eyes. "They surely are not running away from one man! Ah, I see now!"

What he saw was the _Esmeralda_, making record time.

"That boat stands about as much show of running away from the _Esmeralda_ as the baby bear does of flying!" exclaimed Case.

The boys on shore watched the race for some moments, and then saw the pirate boat surrender. She was taken back upstream, where she was anchored beside the _Rambler_.

The prisoners were taken out and added to the collection on the shore. They were then turned over to the lieutenant, who at once started toward El Paso with them.

"Hope you'll have a fine trip," said the lieutenant, at parting. "You boys certainly deserve something good!"

"Good luck to you!" cried Clay. "Only for your help, we'd be in a bad fix right now. I don't see how you happened along so opportunely."

"We were patrolling the shore," was the explanation, "and saw that help was needed."

With which unsatisfactory reply the march northward was resumed.

There was very little conversation between the boys until the _Rambler_ was reached. Then Clay tried to express the gratitude of the party, but was promptly headed off by Rube.

"We only did our duty!" he said.

Then the guardianship matter was broached, and of course both Rube and Buck declined to have anything to do with it.

"Oh, I'll talk them into it!" laughed Paul.

And he did!

The remainder of the trip, which was shared by Rube and Buck, was one long dream of contentment. There were moonlight nights on the Rio Grande when all Nature seemed in repose.

When the Gulf of Mexico was reached, Alex gave many exhibitions of his skill as a fisherman, and the rivalry between the two motor boats was keen.

Captain Joe, who reached the shore at the landing near the mouth of the Pecos river just in time to be taken on board the boat, had many a race with the boys along the sands of the Gulf, and seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

Long before the _Rambler_ returned to the North, Teddy Junior was playing with the dog, rolling over and over on the deck of the _Rambler_ in many a mad frolic.

When at last the _Rambler_ and _Esmeralda_ returned northward, taking passage for both motor boats on a slow-sailing vessel, they were landed at New York, whence the boats were shipped to Chicago by rail.

When Chicago was reached, it was discovered that all the time of the two guardians would be required, so they reluctantly resigned their offices and devoted their time to the handling of Paul's large estate.

"Say, Buck," laughed Alex, after the boys were settled at school again, "what would we have done without the _Esmeralda_? We certainly should have lost the _Rambler_."

"And without Rube's bank roll we might have been obliged to walk back to Chicago!" put in Jule.

"But that is all past and gone," said Buck, "so what's the use of bringing it up?"

The newspapers, a few days later, contained the announcement that the counterfeiters and the band of river thieves who were working for the reward which had been offered by the old miser--now in his grave--had all been sentenced to long terms in prison.

When he read the announcement Alex only sighed.

"They deserved it all!" he declared.

THE END