The young volcano explorers

But were our friends left behind, as Captain Sudlip so fondly hoped? Let us go back and see.

It was light-hearted Darry, always ready for a joke, who offered the suggestion, while they were eating dinner at the Queen’s Hotel.

“Say!” he exclaimed, suddenly, thumping the table in his excitement. “I’ve got a scheme for paying Captain Sudlip off for his meanness.”

“Have you?” came from Professor Strong. “Even so, please don’t pound the dishes from the table, Darry.”

“Oh, excuse me, I forgot, sir. But really, the scheme is just the thing,” went on Darry, earnestly.

“Then let us have it by all means,” put in Frank. “I’m ready to do anything to get square with that man.”

“My scheme is this: Let us try to get on board of the Chester on the sly. Then, when he is congratulating himself on leaving us behind we can suddenly appear. I’ll wager that will knock him silly.”

“Hurrah; that’s a go!” shouted Frank.

“A splendid plan,” came from Sam.

“We’ll have a tough job of it, getting on board without being seen,” remarked Hockley, who was envious because he had not made the suggestion. “There is always somebody on deck, and that somebody will let the captain know of our coming.”

“We must watch our chance,” said Darry. “Anyway, it’s worth trying, isn’t it?”

All the boys agreed that it was, and Professor Strong could not help but smile at their enthusiasm. At once they made him promise to come into the plan, and he finally consented.

“But I am not going to sneak on board like a criminal,” he said.

Soon they were down at the docks and here they met January Jones, who had just completed his errand. They took the negro into their confidence and he promised to come on deck and wave his big red bandanna handkerchief when the coast was clear.

Fortunately the plan worked with ease. Captain Sudlip was not dreaming of their return by half-past twelve and they came on board seen only by January and one of the deck hands. This deck hand loved the captain no more than did the negro and he readily consented to remain silent concerning the American passengers.

Once on the steamer the party did not go to their staterooms but to a storeroom which January pointed out to them. It was a fairly comfortable spot, and here they remained until the steamer was under way. While sitting here the boys completed their plan, which made even Professor Strong smile broadly.

It was Darry who ventured forth first, showing himself when the harbor had been left many miles behind. He strolled on deck as coolly as possible, passing the captain without appearing to notice the latter.

Captain Sudlip was nearly dumfounded and stared as if he was looking at a ghost.

“Why—er—er,” he stammered. “When—er—when did you come on board?”

“Not very long ago,” answered Darry, coolly.

“Hum! Did you—er know—I mean, did you have a nice time?”

“First-class, although I should have liked to have seen more.” And then Darry added, before the captain could speak again: “Seen anything of the rest of our crowd?”

“No.”

“Queer. They must be somewhere,” and then Darry walked away, leaving Captain Sudlip staring after him.

“He must have left the others of his party,” mused the master of the Chester. “Humph! Well, I won’t treat him any too good. He’ll find out that he can’t boss me as the whole crowd did. If he gives me any lip I’ll lock him in the brig.”

Darry lost no time in retreating to the storeroom, where he told his story. Then Mark sauntered forth and passed the captain as the latter was entering the cabin.

This time Captain Sudlip’s jaw dropped in chagrin as well as amazement. He was about to back away without a word, but Mark did not allow this.

“Well, Captain, I see you got away on time,” he said, pleasantly. “Nothing like being prompt, eh?”

“Hum! Why—er—yes, I always sail on time,” came back, in snappy tones. “I—er—when did you come aboard?”

“Not very long ago,” and then Mark added, as Darry had done: “Seen anything of the rest of our crowd?”

“Saw one,” was the short answer, and then Captain Sudlip passed on, his face full of perplexity and chagrin.

It was Frank he met next. The boy had a book in his hand and pretended to be reading. But on catching sight of the captain he sang out cheerily: “Hi, Captain Sudlip, have you seen anything of the rest of our crowd?”

“Some of ’em,” growled the master of the steamer, and walked in another direction, to encounter Sam, who came up to him with a handkerchief to his eyes.

“Oh, Captain, Captain Sudlip!” he exclaimed tearfully. “I—I’m in trouble.”

“Trouble?” demanded the captain, wrathfully. “What’s wrong?”

“Have you—have you seen anything—of—the—rest—of—our crowd?”

“Find out for yourself!” roared Captain Sudlip. “If this is a joke let me say I don’t stand for it!” And he rushed off for his private cabin.

Here he met Hockley, who had been waiting several minutes to interview him. But he was no longer surprised and was on the point of passing when the youth held him up.

“I say, Captain,” he began, “have you seen anything of the rest——”

“So you think you’re going to make a monkey of me?” exploded Captain Sudlip, in a fury. “Think you are going to make laughing stock of me, do you? I won’t stand it. How do you like that, you impudent rascal!”

“That” was a slap from his broad palm, which took poor Hockley fairly and squarely in the mouth and sent him on his back. The captain would have followed it up with more violence, but just then Professor Strong appeared.

“Stop that!” he commanded, sternly. “What right have you to touch this young man, sir?”

“He insulted me,” answered the captain, but turned somewhat pale. “I won’t be insulted on my own ship!” he added, doggedly.

“How did he insult you?”

“Didn’t insult him,” spluttered Hockley, rising. “I just asked him the question we agreed on,—if he had seen any of the rest of our crowd,—when he up and knocked me down.”

“I—I won’t argue the matter,” interrupted Captain Sudlip. “I know your game. After this you can mind your own business and leave me alone.”

“We will leave you alone,” answered Professor Strong, as calmly as ever. “But first I am going to have my say. I know of your trick to leave us behind. You told me you would sail at three o’clock and then you changed the time to one o’clock.”

“I did not, I——”

“We won’t argue that matter. Fortunately we got back before one o’clock, so your little plan was nipped in the bud. We are going to sail with you as far as Havana, and you must treat us fairly while we are on board, otherwise I shall enter a complaint with the owners of this ship. And as for hitting this young man, you must apologize or I will back him up in having you arrested as soon as we reach port.”

At these final words from Amos Strong the captain’s face became a study. There was a look of rage and hate there, mingled with that of baffled cunning. He had gotten himself in a tight corner and he knew it. Two other passengers had seen the assault on Hockley, so there were witnesses enough to his misdeed. The talk had collected quite a crowd, including all the boys.

“So you think I ought to apologize?” he said, slowly.

“Yes, and you’ve got to do it, too!” put in Hockley, growing bolder, now he saw that Professor Strong was, for once, backing him up.

“You had no right to play a joke on me.”

“I was only asking you a simple question.”

“Hum! I know you! But I may have—er—been hasty in hitting you,” went on Captain Sudlip, lamely. “And if I was I—er—apologize.”

And with this he walked off, and did not show himself again until the next day.

“I reckon we got square,” said Darry, later on, when they talked the matter over. “He’ll be mad over this affair every time he thinks about it.”

“It was all right enough for you fellows,” grumbled Hockley, who was nursing a swollen lip. “You didn’t catch what I got.”

“Why didn’t you strike back, Glummy?” asked Mark.

“I didn’t get the chance, the professor came up so quickly. Otherwise I would have wiped up the deck with him,” blustered the would-be bully.

All of the others had their opinion about Hockley’s ability to “wipe up the deck” with anybody, but they said nothing on that point, for certainly he had caught the bitter end of the joke.

“And now we’ve got to wait and see how Captain Sudlip treats us for the rest of the trip,” said Mark, when the meeting broke up.

“And how he treats January Jones,” said Darry. “Don’t forget that poor fellow. My! what would Captain Sudlip do to him if he knew he was the one who had brought us the news?”

As might be expected, Jason Sudlip was in anything but a sweet temper during the days spent in making the run around the western end of Cuba to Havana. But he managed to steer clear of Professor Strong and his party, and the meals furnished, while not particularly good, were still such as to be above complaint.

It was on his crew that Captain Sudlip emptied his vials of wrath, and everybody caught it from the first mate down to January Jones and the cabin boy. This led to more than one quarrel, and before the Chester reached Havana half the help on board were on the verge of mutiny.

“I won’t stand this,” said the second mate. “If the first mate won’t make a complaint to the owners I will!”

“I do not blame you,” answered Professor Strong, to whom he was speaking. “I think you have a clear case. If you wish it, I will write out a letter stating such facts as I know, and I will sign it, and so can the young men with me.”

This offer was readily accepted, and when the Chester reached the harbor at Havana the second mate had the paper safe in his possession. He had talked the matter over with the others on the steamer and five men joined in making a complaint, not alone to the owners but also to the authorities. As a result Captain Sudlip was discharged by the owners of the steamer and the first mate became the commander, and the second mate became first. The mate was willing to keep January Jones, but the colored man remembered what Professor Strong had promised and went ashore to stay there.