Early July, which saw the end of both oyster planting, and the shelling of the grounds, found the pile of shells of Cunningham and Hawley entirely exhausted. Where so recently these shells had risen in a mountainous heap, there was now only bare earth, whitened with shell chips. There had been thousands of bushels in the pile. When the partners reckoned up their income and adjusted their finances, each had a nice little sum of money.
The instant their affairs were settled, Alec set about other matters. Long ago he had ordered and received the instruments that he knew would be necessary in his summer's work. These included a compound microscope, half a dozen concave watch crystals, two settling glasses, two graduated cylinders, two glass pipettes, two large rubber pipettes, four small medicine droppers, a ten-quart galvanized bucket, a simple lift pump, some rubber hose, and a salinometer with thermometer enclosed. In addition Alec had picked up some wide-mouthed bottles, for holding samples; had fastened several needles in wooden handles he had whittled out of sticks; and had bought a yard of bolting-cloth with very fine meshes, from which, with Elsa's assistance, he had made a net, conical in shape, fastened about a metal ring, with an opening at the bottom that could be closed tight with a draw string.
Even by practicing what economies he could, Alec had had to spend nearly seventy-five dollars for the outfit. More than once he had asked himself if it was really worth while; if, after all, these old practical oyster captains didn't really know more about how and where to grow oysters than any mere scientific theorist possibly could. Wasn't he really foolish to spend all this money? Wasn't he really throwing it away? He had such need for it, in the purchase of articles more commonly seen in an oyster fleet. His doubts had hurt and discouraged him. He needed some one with whom he could talk the matter over. When he looked about, he saw the same old situation. It was useless to talk to any of his three friends, Hawley, Bagley, or the shipper. He knew that not one of them would consider the matter from a serious, impartial, reasonable view-point. So he had been forced to take the matter to Elsa.
"Never mind about the expense," she had counseled, when they had discussed the situation fully. "You won't be spending as much for your entire outfit as most young fellows spend for tobacco and the movies. You'll have something valuable to show for your money, and what you buy won't harm you, even if you shouldn't find it as useful as you hope."
"But suppose there's nothing in it, after all?" Alec had said. "Suppose I buy my outfit and it doesn't do me a bit of good. What then? I can't afford to throw away seventy-five dollars for nothing. I need every cent I earn if I'm ever going to get anywhere."
"You can't buy this outfit and have it do you no good," Elsa had replied.
"I just guess I could. Suppose I bought the things and then didn't find what I am after?"
"Even so, it would do you good."
"How?"
"Alec Cunningham! Sometimes I think you're the stupidest thing I ever met. The idea of asking a question like that, when you've been working and studying like mad for months to find out all you can about the oyster business. Of course it will help you. If you find what you want, you are benefited, aren't you? And if you don't find it, you're benefited just the same."
"How?" Alec had inquired.
"Stupid. It isn't oyster fry you're after. It's truth. You'll get it, no matter whether it pleases you or not. Won't you? You'll know whether that bulletin is right or whether the old oystermen are right, won't you? And that's worth a great deal more than seventy-five dollars, isn't it? Why, Alec, if you don't go ahead and test the thing, you'll never be happy. You'll fret and fret about it, thinking you ought to be planning your work differently. And if you do go ahead, no matter what you learn, you'll be satisfied. You'll know whether to follow old practices or try new ones. Certainly it's worth a good deal to know you're right. Then you'll know you must succeed if you keep on in the same way."
"Elsa," Alec had said, "I guess we are all fools at times. I had this thing all thought out in my mind and my decision made; but when it came to paying seventy-five dollars just to find out something, I hadn't the courage to do it. You don't know how big seventy-five dollars looks to me."
"Silly!" Elsa had replied. "Don't talk to me about lacking courage, when you make a practice of jumping overboard to fish drowning men out of the water. It isn't courage you lack. It's partnership. If you had somebody to back you up, you'd never hesitate a second about this thing."
"Where did you learn so much?" Alec had answered, with genuine admiration in his glance. "Do you know that's exactly what I need, and I never before knew what it was that was wrong."
"Well, don't you let it worry you any longer, Alec," Elsa had replied. "I understand you and what you are trying to do, and I think it's just fine. And I'll stand back of you no matter what they say. I know Dad will think you are foolish. He thinks anything new is foolish. But never you mind. You just go ahead with your plans."
"That settles it," Alec had replied. "I am going ahead, no matter if it costs twice seventy-five dollars. I'm going to find out the truth at any cost. Why, if a fellow doesn't know the truth, he's like a man who doesn't know how to get to the place he's trying to reach. He may be walking in the wrong direction. It wouldn't do him much good if he was a good walker, would it? And just think how near I came to being a dummy like that myself—all for the sake of seventy-five dollars!"
So the matter had been settled for good, and Alec had ordered the articles, even laughing when it took almost his last cent to pay for them. Now he had them at hand, and he was almost ready to begin his search for the truth—the truth about the oyster fry.
He lacked only a boat. At first he thought he would buy a boat, but when he found that the kind of boat he wanted, fitted with a good motor, roofed over forward so as to make a little cabin, would cost several hundred dollars, and take every cent he had made in his shell business, he decided that he would rent a boat instead.
There was just such a boat as he wanted, for hire. It was about twenty-five feet long, with a snug yet roomy cabin forward, a single sail, which he could easily manage, and in the cockpit was a small motor, neatly boxed in to protect it from the weather. The boxing could be removed if one wished to run the engine. Alec secured the craft for a reasonable sum, put his scientific outfit aboard, brought his clothes and some bedding, and stocked the larder with sufficient provisions. Nor did he forget his wireless outfit. The Bertha B, like all other oyster craft, was to be overhauled during the summer, and be repaired and repainted. Of necessity, Alec's wireless would have to be taken down and he had already dismantled it and stowed it in a box before finding the little sloop. Now he had only to carry his box aboard, and his little craft was ready to sail.
The process of making ready went along merrily enough, but when it came to sailing away, a trip all by himself suddenly lost its attractiveness. Alec turned the situation over in his mind for some time.
Then he went to his partner in the shell business. "Jim," he said, "I'm going out to the Bay in a little sloop I've hired, to study oyster larvæ. Don't you want to go along?"
Hawley looked at him in blank amazement. "Alec," he said, "I'd do most anything for you, but I sure don't want to go out to no Bay and study oysters. I know all I want to about oysters already. Why, I been ketchin' oysters for twenty years."
Alec appealed to Captain Bagley, with no better results. Finally he went to the shipper.
"What fool's errand is this?" he exclaimed testily, when Alec laid the situation before him. "Why, I've been expecting to keep you busy all summer. I've got a job for you, helping about the boats. You can pay your board and still be saving something all summer, instead of spending all you've earned, like most of these fellows around here do."
Alec really felt grieved to refuse the offer. "Captain Rumford," he said, "I appreciate everything you've done for me, and I thank you for this offer. But I can't take it. This is the only opportunity I have to learn about oysters themselves and I must take it."
"What nonsense are you up to now?" demanded the shipper.
"I'm going out to the Bay to study oysters," said Alec, quietly but firmly. "I have my outfit all ready and I have hired a little sloop to sail in. I'd be mighty glad if you would go out with me."
"Study oysters!" exploded the shipper. "Didn't you learn enough about oysters on the Bertha B? And what better outfit do you want than a pair of good dredges, eh? What are you about, anyway? What does all this nonsense mean?"
It was useless to argue or explain. "I'm sorry we don't see things alike, Captain," said Alec. "I believe there is more to learn about oysters than most of us know, and I'm going to try to find it out. If you won't go with me, will you allow me to take Elsa? I'll be back early, sir; and I'll answer for her safety."
"Oh! I ain't afraid to trust the girl with you, boy, but you'll have a dull time trying to study oysters, as you call it, with her on board. She ain't one mite interested in oysters. She wants fun."
"I'll take a chance on that," said Alec, "if you are willing to let her go."
Alec's confidence in Elsa was more than justified. He called her on the telephone and stated the situation. She did not waste a moment in unnecessary talk, but hung up the receiver the moment she understood that Alec wanted her to help him, picked up a sweater and a broad-brimmed hat, and hurried to the oyster pier in her little car. Within a few minutes of the time Alec had called her, the two were afloat.
The little craft that Alec had rented was an excellent boat. Built rather for pleasure than for work, it was very comfortably fitted out. Furthermore, it was the fastest little boat in the harbor. Its lines were excellent, and it slipped through the water as quietly and gracefully as a swan. Being equipped both with sail and engine, the owner was independent of wind and weather, and could go where he liked, when he liked. Unlike most of the boats in the harbor, this craft was painted a dull, leaden gray, that almost matched the color of the water. Alec was glad, for there would be none of the usual glare from the summer sun shining on white woodwork. The glare on the Bertha B often made his eyes ache. He was glad that he would not be bothered in that way on the little boat, for he would need to have his eyesight at its very best.
With such an efficient helper aboard, Alec determined not to lose a moment. He started the motor, and soon the little boat was shooting down the river at a fast clip.
"It's queer this boat has no name," said Alec.
"Oh! It has a name all right, but the name was painted over when the owner put this gray paint on. This is the Osprey."
"We couldn't have named her better," said Alec, "for we are fish-hawks ourselves, to-day. That is, we are shell-fish hawks."
Elsa had often been aboard the boat before, but again she examined the craft carefully, for she had long wanted her father to get a similar boat.
"Oh, good!" she exclaimed, when she caught sight of Alec's wireless instruments, packed away in the box. "If you ever happened to be out over-night, we could talk to each other in the evening and I could know how the work progresses."
"I expect to be out all the time until I get my work done," replied Alec. "There is so much to be done and so little time to do it in."
"Won't I see you all this summer?" cried Elsa, and the look of real disappointment on her face made Alec happy.
"Yes. I shall come home at the end of each week. Perhaps it won't take me as long to do this work as I had expected. Why, do you know, I've found out a tremendous lot about the currents and eddies and tides, just from talking to Captain Bagley. And I had expected to have all that to learn by myself. And I've been studying the captain's map of the oyster-beds, and that has made my work easier, too. So much of the bottom is already leased, that there isn't any use fooling around to try to find out much about the grounds already staked out. What I've got to do is to find out the best spots in the areas not yet staked."
"I don't agree with you at all," said Elsa. "What you want to know is the whole truth, not part of the truth."
"But I can never hope to own land that is already staked out. Why, a good bed costs thousands and thousands of dollars."
"Alec Cunningham," protested Elsa, trying to look severe, "you make me so mad I could beat you. For a boy with so much energy and brains, you say and do the most foolish things I ever heard. Now think over what you've just been saying. Here you are working like a steam-engine, day and night, to become an oyster-planter. You ought to know that if you keep on this way, you'll get there sure. Everybody else knows it. And yet you turn around and say you'll have to take the leavings, instead of planning to take your pick. And you're going to find out half the truth instead of the whole truth, and so cripple yourself. Isn't that enough to make anybody mad at you?"
"But," expostulated Alec, "even if I do become a planter, I've got to take what I can get."
"Of course you do. But there are more ways than one of getting a thing done, aren't there? You've got this boat now, haven't you? You don't own her, but, for the time being, she's yours. It might be the same with an oyster-bed. My father often rents other men's beds, or works them on shares, or buys the oysters in them. Some day you may want to do the same thing. What you need to do is to know all the truth about these oyster grounds. It isn't worth while to do half of a job. And that isn't the kind of work you do, either. I know something about you, Alec Cunningham. You've got no end of brains and energy, but your judgment isn't always good. You need a guardian."
Both Elsa and Alec laughed heartily at the idea; then Alec's face grew sober. "I'm beginning to realize that that isn't any joke," he said. "I think it's because I haven't had any one to talk things over with. It's pretty hard for a fellow to decide things right all by himself every time." Then he smiled again, as he added, "I think it will be all right hereafter, for now I do seem to have a guardian."
Elsa's face grew scarlet. "Oh! Alec," she cried, "I don't want you to think I meant what I said—that is, not in the way it sounded. And if you don't take back what you just said, I'll never talk to you again."
"I'll take it all back," said Alec, "just as Galileo took back his assertion about the earth's turning round."
"How was that?" demanded Elsa.
"That's for you to find out," laughed Alec, and he would not tell her.
Soon they were in the open Bay. "Even if I do need to study all the oyster grounds," said Alec, "I'm going to begin on the unstaked areas."
"Of course. You may find grounds as good there as any in the Cove. Then you could get them direct from the state, at a minimum cost."
Alec spread out the map of the oyster-beds he had borrowed from Captain Bagley. "We'll begin here," he said, "and work straight offshore. Are you going to help me or just watch me?"
"Help you, of course. If I couldn't be of any more use than a phonograph, there wasn't much sense in my coming."
"Then suppose you take soundings and test with this salinometer. The instrument will give you the density of the water, and the thermometer in the bulb will register the temperature. I've made several copies of this map of the oyster-beds, and we'll mark our position with a cross and write down beside it whatever we find. While you are doing that, I'll be testing for larvæ."
Elsa took the sounding-line and dropped the lead into the waves, the line paying out over her finger. When the lead came to rest on the bottom, she noted the depth on the line. Then she took Alec's fountain pen and set down the depth beside the cross Alec had made on the map.
"Just date it, too," said Alec, "and note down the stage of both wind and tide. It's pretty well toward ebb now, and, if the book is right, we oughtn't to expect to find many larvæ. They seem to drop down to the bottom and anchor themselves during the ebb-tide to avoid being swept out to sea. They come up when the tide turns, and we ought to find more in the flood-tide than in the ebb."
Alec, all this time, was getting ready for his part of the work. He took a galvanized bucket that belonged on the Osprey and lowered it overboard for a few moments so it would take on the temperature of the Bay. Then he lifted it aboard, brimming with water, and set it in the shade. Elsa thrust the salinometer and testing tube into the bucket to cool. Then Alec attached his hose to his lift pump, and carefully lowering the hose to a point within a few inches of the bottom, pumped his own bucket, which had also been cooling in the waves, full of water. It was the sample from the bottom, in which the oysters actually lie, that he wanted to test.
Elsa drew her tube and salinometer out of the cooling bucket, and Alec filled the tube with water from his own bucket. Elsa lowered the salinometer into it and put the tube in the shade. Then she held the bolting-cloth net over a tub, while Alec slowly emptied his bucket of water from the bottom into it. The bucket contained ten quarts and Alec had it brimming full. Gradually the water filtered through the net into the tub, leaving on the inside of the net whatever sediment had been in the water. In this sediment Alec expected to find the oyster larvæ. Ten times they did this, until they had strained one hundred quarts of water through the net. From time to time Alec threw the filtered water overboard. Finally the net was lifted clear of the tub and the last of the water allowed to filter through it. While Elsa held the net up, Alec washed the sediment from the sides down into the tip of the net, with water dipped from the tub. When the filtering process was fully completed, and the sediment all concentrated in the tip of the net, Alec carefully untied the draw string, opening the end of the net, and, using his large rubber bulb pipette, washed the sediment into one of his wide-mouthed settling bottles.
Now Elsa turned her attention to her salinometer. It was intended to register the density or degree of saltiness of the water. Alec could hardly restrain his impatience, so eager was he to see what the instrument would tell.
"You know, Elsa," he said, "that sometimes the best seed grounds are in waters of so low a density as to be entirely unsuitable for fattening or even growing oysters. I've been thinking about that a whole lot, for most of the oysters we dredged on the Bertha B this year were very poor. They hadn't fattened a bit. Captain Bagley said he never had caught any good oysters in that bed. I've just been wondering if the water wasn't of the proper density. Why, those oysters would have been worth a whole lot more if they had been fat."
Elsa lifted the salinometer from the tube. "The water ought not to be very dense here," said Alec, "for we're so near the shore and it's near the end of the ebb-tide. There's fresh water pouring in all the time from the tributaries."
They found, as Alec had surmised, a low degree of density. The reading of the thermometer was also low. "That's what I expected, too," commented Alec. "This has been the coldest spring I can remember. I thought for a time that I was deceived because I was out in the wind so much, but the skipper said it really had been unusually cold this spring. I asked him the other day. It doesn't look as though we'd get much of a set this year. Why, that water is barely warm enough for oysters to spawn at all. And this water close to shore ought to be warmer than that farther out."
Elsa marked down on the chart the density and temperature.
"We forgot to make a note about the weather," said Alec. "Please add that, also."
"It's going to take a long, long time to make a complete job," sighed Alec, as Elsa noted down the weather. "I suppose I'll have to work at it for several summers."
"I suppose you'll have to work at it every summer," said Elsa, "if you intend to become a scientific oysterman. Don't you suppose conditions change from year to year in the oyster-beds? They must, for lots of times I've heard my father say he can't understand why the oysters in some given bed don't fatten some years. There must be changes from year to year. Whatever the reason was, I know his oysters have been poor enough this year. I heard him telling mother the other night that it had cost him hundreds of dollars because the oysters in some of his beds hadn't fattened as they usually do."
From time to time Alec carefully lifted the settling bottle and examined it. By the time a quarter of an hour had elapsed he said, "That looks clear enough now to begin our count."
A distinct layer of sediment had fallen to the bottom of the bottle, while the water near the surface was quite clear. This upper layer of water Alec now carefully drew out with a pipette. The sediment became more and more concentrated. When Alec had removed all the water he dared, he washed the sediment into his graduated cylinder. Then, with a medicine dropper, he transferred a very small portion of the sediment to a watch crystal. Very gently, at the same time, he rotated the crystal in his hand, slightly agitating it. Gradually the sediment seemed to divide into two parts. About the edge of the liquid the lighter particles of mud and other impurities seemed to collect, while the heavier particles were concentrated in the centre of the glass. It was in this central deposit of sediment that Alec expected to find the oyster larvæ.
No wonder he was glad there was no glare of white paint to hurt his eyes, for the work before him was enough to try even the best of vision. The total amount of sediment in his watch crystal was so small that its entire surface could be seen at one glance through the microscope. And the oyster fry were presumably gathered in the tiniest of spaces in the very centre of this tiny bit of sediment.
The actual counting of the larvæ might have troubled one unaccustomed to the use of the microscope; but Alec was at home with the instrument. He placed his watch crystal under the lens, adjusted the instrument to his own vision, and with one of his wooden-handled needles began to pick over the central windrow of debris. One by one he found and counted the oyster larvæ, or what he thought were larvæ. There was no question whatever about the largest larvæ. They possessed a reddish-purple hue that is found in the larvæ of no other bivalve. Also there was a distinct beak or bulge in the shell next to the hinge that he had read about in his bulletin. So he was sure of the identity of the larger oyster fry. But when it came to those more recently spawned, Alec could not be so sure. He knew that there was no certain way to distinguish between very young oyster and clam larvæ except by measuring them. This he was not equipped to do. Nor did it make any material difference whether Alec ascertained the exact number of larvæ in the water or not. What he was after was to find the relative quantities of larvæ in different places and at different times.
Under the microscope Alec found the oyster larvæ were a very beautiful sight indeed. The reddish-purple color was very similar in hue to the color of the muscle scar on the shell of an adult oyster. After the death of the oyster, Alec knew, this vivid color rapidly disappeared. Elsa was as much pleased as Alec had been, when she looked through the microscope and saw the brilliant-hued oyster fry.
Little by little, Alec transferred the contents of the bottle to his watch crystal and counted the larvæ. He found only a few dozen in all. That did not surprise him for he had not expected to find many. The fact in itself meant very little until he learned whether other portions of the oyster grounds contained relatively more or fewer larvæ under similar conditions. That was what he most wanted to know—where the oyster fry collected, so he could do as the book suggested, and get his shells under them.
Now that he had started the work, Alec meant to keep at it until he found where the very greatest number of larvæ were concentrated, and then try to secure the ground beneath. If he found good beds unstaked, he could get them direct from the state. If some one else already had claim to them, he could work with a view to acquiring them at some future time. For the friendly scolding Elsa had given him had settled the matter in his own mind instantly. He wasn't going to do any half-way job.
Before noon, Alec had made tests in a number of places, working straight out from the shore as he had planned. That gave him a sort of cross-section of the bed, as it were. He decided that he would go over the same ground again at once to see if the flood-tide made any difference in his count. For by this time the tide had almost finished running out.
At dinner time Alec and Elsa headed the Osprey for a little point of land near by. A tree growing back on the point offered shade. They managed to get ashore, though it bothered them to find a place where they could get near to firm ground with the tide so low. Then they fastened the Osprey, and made their way through the rank marsh growths, to the tree. They made a little fire, slung a coffee-pot over the blaze, and toasted some Wieners while the coffee was cooking.
After dinner they went back to the boat and resumed their work, making tests in exactly the same places they had tested in the forenoon. And in the flood-tide they found many more oyster fry than they had in the ebb.
"Looks as though there wasn't much use working on an ebb-tide," said Alec, "though, of course, I might find out after a while what the relative number is in the two tides. But there is a lot I can do in ebb-tide as well as in flood. I can take soundings just as well, and I can examine the bottles even better. I'm going to try to make a sort of topographical map of the bottom. It'll be a poor enough thing, at best, but it will help me to understand about the currents. Then I can examine the currents themselves at flood-tide for larvæ."
Their supper they ate on the Osprey. Then Alec hoisted the sail, and in the gentle breeze that still blew, and with the incoming tide to carry them, they sailed silently and swiftly homeward through the sunset and the gathering dusk. Very different was the river from the stream as Alec had first seen it. Now hardly a boat was visible. They passed only one, The Shark, anchored apparently for the night.
"Elsa," said Alec, as they neared the harbor, "it has been a wonderful day. It has meant everything to me. It will make my whole summer happier. I see clearly enough that this job is going to become mighty tedious. But the remembrance of this day will help me to stick to it, even if I do have to work alone."
"You won't be so much alone as you think," replied Elsa. "You have your wireless, and we can call each other every noon and night. We can talk in the early evening and after Arlington sends out the time and the weather news. If you are going to be out on the water so much, you will want to get the weather forecasts, sure. It makes me nervous to think of you all alone out on the Bay. All sorts of things might happen to you."
"Nonsense," replied Alec. "I'll be as safe and snug as a bug in a rug."
"I hope so. But when I think of you all alone out on that great expanse of water, it makes me shiver. You might be caught in a big storm, or pirates might rob you."
"I thought you had such good judgment," taunted Alec. "Now listen to you."
"That's the very reason I'm cautioning you. Besides, who has a better right to do so than your guardian?"
They both laughed at the joke, then Elsa said: "When we talk to each other, let's telegraph. It takes longer, but not so many people can understand what we say. Since you installed our wireless telephone, everybody in the neighborhood has been getting one."
"All right, we'll telegraph. I'll call you up as soon as Arlington is done sending. Then you'll know that the bogey man hasn't got me yet. But seriously, Elsa, there isn't a particle of danger. Now I must hustle back to the Osprey or I may not get my wireless rigged up in time."
Could Alec have seen ahead through the darkness that was fast enfolding the world, he would not have felt so sure about the absence of danger. Once before he had thought himself safe when death stalked close to his heels.
Not until Alec said good night to Elsa and started back to the Osprey, did he realize how dark it was becoming. He had ridden all the way home with Elsa in her car, despite her protest that it wasn't necessary. But he left her at her door and started back at top speed. He had just missed a trolley-car, and there would not be another for an hour. If he hurried, he could walk back as soon as the next trolley-car could get him there. So he tramped rapidly along. He could distinguish the light, sandy road, but that was about all he could see.
Alec had moored the Osprey at a little float some distance from the pier shed. It was much easier to get on this float from a tiny boat like the Osprey than it would have been to crawl up to the piers. The float itself was merely a small staging made of one or two large timbers with planks nailed across them to form a walk. This plank walk was only a few inches above the tide. So it was perfectly easy for Elsa to step out on the float. From the float itself, a narrow walk made of single planks laid end to end, and supported on cross-beams fastened to pilings driven in the mud, led upward from the river to the solid ground. A single rope, fastened along one side of this foot-bridge, was the only protection against falling off the planks.
Naturally Alec made his way with caution as he neared the river. The path to the little bridge led through the marsh reeds, which were head high. Alec could see hardly a thing and had to feel his way along with his feet. He blamed himself for his thoughtlessness in not bringing his bright carbide lamp, or at least slipping his flash-light into his pocket. Now he would have to be mighty careful or he would find himself in the water again. He had had quite enough experiences of this sort, so he went on with the greatest caution. Ahead of him he could occasionally hear a loud voice, that was instantly hushed. He went on until he reached the plank bridge, which he started to cross with the utmost care.
The instant he was fairly out of the reeds, he knew where the sounds of voices came from. Floating on the tide, close beside the plank bridge, was a tiny house-boat, or cabin, as the oystermen commonly called it. Alec knew that the cabin was occupied by a rough-looking man, named Frank Hawkins, who had a great scar across his cheek, and whom he had seen about the oyster wharves at times. Beyond the fact that Hawkins was a rather rough character, Alec knew little about the man. He had heard Captain Bagley say that the fellow never did an honest day's work in his life. But Alec would have given small heed to this, had be not now distinctly caught the name "Cap'n Rumford."
Alec stopped as though he were shot. The sound came from within the little cabin, which Alec could now dimly distinguish, for faint rays of light shone through the cracks of the shuttered windows and under the door. The subdued hum of voices told Alec that several men must be inside the cabin. He wondered why they should have shut up the tiny house-boat so tight, as though this were a fierce winter night instead of a warm, July evening. And he wondered why they should be eating at this hour, for the smell of cooking came plainly to his nose.
For some moments Alec stood motionless, straining his ears to catch what was said within the cabin. Suddenly it occurred to him that he was eavesdropping. He started to move on, when again the same rough voice that had said "Cap'n Rumford," boomed out, "We can get ten thousand bushels." The rest of the sentence was drowned in a babel of protests. "Shut up! Don't talk so loud!" cried half a dozen voices angrily. Then the voices sank down to a murmur again.
Instantly Alec realized that something evil was afoot. What did all this mean? Why should these men be whispering together in a tightly closed cabin? They could get ten thousand bushels of what? That was easy to guess. Ten thousand bushels of oysters, of course. That was all anybody at Bivalve ever thought about—oysters. But why should they be getting oysters now, in July? They couldn't sell them. What would they do with them?
Then it came to Alec like a flash. They must mean seed-oysters. There would be a ready sale for them, even in July. Of course everybody would know the seed had been taken illegally, as the state beds were closed at the end of June. But there were some oystermen dishonest enough to buy them for all that. Immediately there came into Alec's mind the thought of his first morning on the Bertha B and the remembrance of the oyster-boat that had fouled her. Distinctly he recalled Captain Bagley's statement about Captain Hardy: "That fellow ought to be doing time in Trenton. He's always up to something crooked. The last time they caught him he was dredging illegally in the natural beds. He got off with a fine but I reckon the next time he gets caught in any crooked business, he'll go to prison."
Once more the voices in the cabin grew loud. "I tell you I know. I've been pumping old Flint. He planted more'n a thousand bushels to the acre." Again the great, booming voice was stilled by warning cries within the cabin. "Shut up! Do you want to get us all in trouble!"
Alec heard a door open. Quick as a flash he knelt on the narrow plank and crouched as low as he could. A shaft of light shot athwart the darkness, though fortunately it did not fall on him. A head was poked out into the night. "Nobody round," said a voice, as the head disappeared and the door was slammed shut again.
Alec waited to hear no more. The instant the hum of voices again arose within the cabin, he tiptoed down the plank bridge to the Osprey, cast off his lines, and picking up an oar, sculled rapidly away from the float. He had heard all he needed to hear, and seen more than was good for his peace of mind. The head that had been thrust out into the night was that of Jim Wallace, the very shell collector who had tried to buy Alec's rattlers, and who had threatened him with harm. And though he had not seen him, Alec was no less certain that the loud-voiced man in the cabin was Captain Tom Hardy. The voice that came booming out of the cabin was surely the voice Alec had heard that first morning on the Bertha B.
Nor could there be any greater uncertainty about the meaning of Captain Hardy's statement concerning the oysters. Captain Flint was the skipper of one of the Rumford boats. Alec knew that he had made a heavy planting on a new bed. Captain Flint was a good sailor and a capable oysterman, but he had one failing. He liked to boast. Evidently Captain Hardy had craftily drawn him out and had discovered what a thick planting Captain Flint had made. The temptation was too great for the crooked oysterman. He knew for sure that he could get ten thousand bushels of good seed-oysters in one little bed, and get them very easily. Now he was evidently laying plans to do it.
Alec's sole thought in driving the Osprey out into the river was to get away. He knew very well that if the lawless men in the cabin should lay hands on him in the dark, and particularly if they suspected that he had overheard any of their conversation, it would go hard with him. They might even murder him. So he drove his little craft through the water as fast as he could scull her.
But when he had put some hundreds of feet between himself and the river bank, and no longer feared immediate harm, he began to think the situation over calmly. He had no doubt that Hardy and his pals were planning to steal the seed-oysters from Captain Rumford's newest bed. But whether or not they meant to dredge them at once, Alec did not know. Now he wished that he had not come away so hastily. If only he had remained a little longer, he might have learned all about the plans the thieves were making. He was almost tempted to go back and listen again. He stopped sculling. Then his better judgment told him that it would be foolish to take a chance like that. This time the thieves might discover him; and if they did, he had no doubt whatever that he would get badly hurt. He already knew all that it was necessary to know. All he needed to do now was to inform Captain Rumford and to keep watch on Hardy's boat, the Shark. Alec smiled grimly as he thought how aptly she was named. Now he remembered that he had passed her on the way up the river. She lay at anchor some distance down-stream.
"Moored her there so he could get away without being observed," muttered Alec to himself.
Alec decided he would go ashore and telephone to the shipper, and then try to discover what the men in the cabin meant to do. He headed the Osprey toward the oyster wharves, but before he had gone a dozen yards, the door of the cabin was thrown open and Alec saw a number of men pass through the doorway. Then the door closed as suddenly as it had opened, and all was dark again. Presently splashing sounds in the water and the rattle of an oar told him that the men were getting into a boat. He had no doubt they would go straight to the Shark. He was directly in their path. There was only one thing to do—get away as fast as he could.
Once more Alec swung the Osprey round. She was so much larger and heavier than the ordinary yawl boat that he could not scull her very fast. He headed straight for the farther bank of the river, his heart beating fast as he listened for sounds of possible pursuit. But no noise broke the stillness and Alec knew that he was undiscovered. He went on. Occasionally he heard a low voice in the darkness, and now he was certain that the men in the boat were heading for the Shark.
When Alec reached the farther bank of the river, he rested on his oar and tried to think what he ought to do. He knew that he ought to talk with Captain Rumford the very first thing. But now he did not want to go to the pier lest he lose track of the men in the yawl. They might board the Shark and sail away while he was in the office telephoning. Then he thought of his wireless. Maybe he could get into communication with Elsa at once, and if he could not, he certainly could a little later. Instantly his decision was taken. He would stay in the Osprey and try to watch the oyster thieves.
At once Alec began to string up his instruments. Practically they were already wired together; for he had removed the little shelf bodily from the Bertha B and put it in the box without detaching the instruments from it. He would have to attach the battery again and rig up an aerial. Immediately Alec fastened the Osprey to a near-by piling. Then he covered the windows of his little cabin so no light could shine out. Finally he entered the cabin and closed the companionway tight. Then he lighted a lamp. In a few minutes he had the shelf with his instruments securely mounted where it could remain. He fastened the battery under a bunk and connected it with the instruments on the shelf. He decided that temporarily he would run his lead-in wire through the doorway. He would fix it permanently when daylight came. So he attached the lead-in wire to the single strand of uninsulated wire he meant to use for his aerial. Then tucking his flash-light and his pliers in his pocket, he extinguished his lamp, opened the cabin door, and went on deck. Attaching one end of his aerial to a halyard, he hoisted it nearly to the top of his mast. Then he fastened the lower end to the tiny bowsprit, so that the wire hung almost parallel with the jib stay. It wasn't much of an aerial, but Alec knew it would answer perfectly well for the work he meant to do with it.
He went inside the cabin and tested the outfit. It worked perfectly. He flashed his light on the cabin clock. It was not yet nine o'clock. He made ready to call the shipper on the wireless telephone, then decided he wouldn't. There really was nothing definite that he could tell him. He could merely communicate his suspicions. After all, Captain Hardy might not be going to rob the oyster-bed. If he alarmed the shipper needlessly, the shipper wouldn't think much of his judgment in future. Alec decided he would try to learn something more before communicating with the shipper. At least he could keep a watch on the Shark.
Alec cast loose from the piling and made his way down the river. He hugged the shore, for he knew that his little boat could never be seen if he kept close to the tall reeds that grew in dense masses along the bank. There was enough wind blowing to drive the Osprey at a good pace, but Alec dared not hoist his sail. So he sculled the boat slowly along, ever on the alert. He knew that the Shark was anchored in the second reach. But he was well through this reach before he could make up his mind whether the oyster-boat still lay there or not. So dark was the night that he could see absolutely nothing of her. Suddenly he heard a great voice bawling profanely at some one, and he knew the Shark was still there. Quickly came the creak of tackle-blocks. The sail was going up. Then he heard the clanking of a capstan, though evidently the sound had been muffled in some way. But it told him all he needed to know. The Shark was lifting her anchor. She was going to sail. Was she heading for the oyster grounds?
For a single moment Alec hesitated. Then, "I'll do it!" he muttered between clenched teeth, and he stepped to the halyards and cautiously hoisted his own sail. "If I can't see their big sail," he reasoned, "they surely can't see my little one." Then he went back to the cockpit, took the tiller in his hand and started in pursuit of the oyster pirates.
From time to time he could hear sounds on the boat ahead of him, but gradually these grew so faint that he knew the Shark was outdistancing him. So he drew away from the bank and stood out boldly into the middle of the river. As yet he had caught not a single glimpse of the Shark, and he knew his own presence was utterly unsuspected. But the men on the Shark were sharp-eyed and it would not take them long to discover him if the night grew lighter. And to Alec it seemed as though it were becoming lighter. Perhaps that was because his eyes were growing so accustomed to the dark. He did not like to think what might happen to him if he fell into the hands of these men, so far away from any other human beings. If they should harm him—he did not like even to think of the word murder—he might never be able to warn the shipper about the intended theft of his oysters. Now Alec saw that he had been unwise in trying to trail these desperate men without first telling the shipper.
"I'll call him at once," said Alec. And again he hesitated. "What shall I tell him?" he asked himself. "Wouldn't the captain be angry if I got him out here and this proved to be only a wild-goose chase? I'll just wait until I have something definite to tell him."
On he drove down the river. Afar off winked the range-lights. Off his port bow East Point Light was gleaming. But no other lights of any sort shone through the darkness ahead of him. No ship of any kind was riding the waves before him except the pirate Shark—unless other ships, too, might be running illegally without lights, endangering both themselves and all other craft, even as Alec himself was doing. But there were worse dangers than collisions to think of now, and Alec bent his entire attention to the problem of locating the Shark.
Unmistakably now he saw the cloud-rack above was becoming thinner. Once, for a single moment, he caught the gleam of a star. Then it vanished instantly. On went the Osprey. Only with the greatest difficulty could Alec make out the bank of the stream. Yet he managed to keep in the current and avoid running aground.
Presently Alec knew by the action of the boat that he was coming into the broad estuary of the river. The Osprey began to heave just the slightest bit. From the position of East Point Light Alec judged he must be about over the bar. Ahead of him now lay only leagues and leagues of tossing water. Gone was the protection of the reedy banks. He would have to look sharp now if he was to escape detection.
Hardly had the thought entered Alec's mind, when for a single instant he was certain he saw the Shark. Something white loomed ahead of him, then the darkness swallowed it up again. But Alec had no doubt it was the Shark. Glad, indeed, was Alec now that the Osprey was painted a leaden gray. "If only my sail was gray, too," thought Alec. "Fortunately it's so old and dirty that it's almost gray. I don't believe they'll ever see me."
He wondered what time it was. Stepping inside the cabin, he flashed his light for a second on the clock. "Almost ten," he muttered. "I must get ready to talk with Elsa."
He stepped forward and dropped his little anchor. Then he let the Osprey swing round until she was headed into the wind and tugging smartly at her anchor cable. The sail flapped gently in the breeze. Alec looked sharply toward every quarter of the compass, and seeing nothing alarming, went into the cabin and sat down at his instrument.
Arlington was just sending out the time when he got his receivers adjusted. He did not waste a second but began calling Elsa.
"3ARM—3ARM—3ARM de 3ADH—3ADH—3ADH," he flashed. Almost immediately came the answer. "3ADH—3ADH—3ADH de 3ARM—3ARM—3ARM—K."
Alec heaved a sigh that was close to a sob. Until this instant he had not realized what a strain he was under. He had been as tense as a fiddle string. Now it seemed as though a hand had reached out through the darkness and grasped his own. Fresh courage came to him. With steady fingers he ticked off his message.
"Aboard the Osprey—off East Point Light—tell your father I overheard plan to steal seed from his new bed. Believe Captain Tom Hardy, Jim Wallace, Frank Hawkins, and others unknown to me in the gang. They went aboard the Shark and are heading out toward the oyster-beds. I followed in the Osprey. So dark I can't see Shark. Will follow and let you know if they dredge. Will you stand by? May need you."
"Father! father!" almost shrieked Elsa in her excitement, forgetting to answer the message. "Come quick!"
Captain Rumford came running. "Oh! Father," said Elsa, "Tom Hardy and Jim Wallace and Frank Hawkins and some other men Alec doesn't know are going out to your new bed in the Shark to steal the seed you planted there. Alec overheard them and followed in the Osprey. He's going to watch and tell us if they dredge any oysters."
"What?" bellowed the oyster shipper. "The fool followed them! They'll murder him. Tell him to come back this instant!" And the oyster shipper darted out of the room.
With a gasp of fear Elsa turned to her instrument. "Alec, come back," she rapped out frantically.
"What does your father want me to do?" asked Alec, disregarding her plea.
"Come back," she answered. "He's gone."
But Alec did not understand that it was the shipper who wanted him to come back. "I can't come back now," he flashed. "But I will the minute I get the evidence we need. Good-bye, and please stand by."
"Alec," came the answer, "please come back. Your guardian commands you to come back."
"I've got to save your father's oysters," flashed Alec. "Please stand by."
"I'll stand by until I know you are safe. Please, please, come back."
There was no answer, and Elsa knew that her comrade was sailing out into the darkness, possibly to his death. With clenched hands and chalky face she sat tense, listening, listening, listening, but no word came singing in her ears. She could only sit and hope—and fear.
Out on the black waters of the Bay, meantime, Alec was driving his little vessel hot on the heels of the oyster pirates. With the utmost caution he lifted and stowed his anchor, swung his boat, and let his sheet pay out. Then, taking his bearings from the flashing lights, he headed straight for the new bed. Again and again he searched the horizon, but at first no slightest glimpse of the Shark rewarded his efforts. From time to time he cast an eye upward, studying the clouds. Now he was certain they were becoming thinner. About the water itself there seemed to be a faintly luminous quality. Alec had no fear it would betray the position of his little craft, however, for in color it was hardly distinguishable from the waves. It was his sail alone that he feared.
On he went. Mile after mile, the little Osprey followed the Shark. Now Alec was able to catch an occasional glimpse of the pirate ship. But these glimpses were so fleeting, so vague and uncertain, that had he not been straining his eyes to discover just what he saw, he would never have guessed that he was looking at a ship. There was a whitish, luminous patch that stood out for a second, then vanished again in the dark. But it was enough to tell Alec all he needed to know.
On they went. Minute followed minute. And to Alec a minute seemed like ten. For every minute took him farther from land, farther from help, nearer to danger. He was tense as a drumhead, his nerves were strung to the tightest notch, his senses fairly aquiver. He began to wish he had heeded Elsa's plea to return. But now his very pride would not let him go back. He had committed himself. He would see the thing through.
Now he felt certain the new bed must be near. He must lessen his speed or he might run too close to the raiders and be seen. He was in a quandary. He dared not lower his sail. He did not want to tack. He was running straight before the wind, directly in the wake of the Shark. He knew that by the yeasty track in the water. But he must do something to lessen his speed. He hauled in his sail so that it began to flap. He was afraid the noise might betray him or his canvas be rent by a sudden gust. So he paid out his rope enough to keep his sail steady, and went on.
His speed fell off. It was time it did, too, for almost immediately he heard a splashing in the water and the rattle of chains as they paid out over iron rollers. The Shark was dredging! And she was near at hand. Nearer than Alec had imagined, too near for safety should the night grow any lighter. For now Alec could faintly see the big ship. If only he knew that she was dredging in the shipper's bed, he could tack and run for port. But he did not know. He did not want to go back until he had his evidence complete. How to get it, he did not for the moment know. One thing was sure: he didn't dare go any closer to the Shark. He would lie to and watch. He ran forward and dropped his anchor. Then very cautiously he lowered his sail. Now he felt safe from observation as long as it continued dark. He would wait for an opportunity to learn what beds the Shark was dredging.
But there was one thing Alec had not reckoned on. That was the powerful night-glass in the hands of Thomas Hardy. Again and again the wary skipper swept the horizon with his glass. Once he had caught the faint gleam of the Osprey's sail; but the darkness instantly blotted it out again, and he had thought nothing of it. Now it was unmistakably lighter. As the hawk-eyed pirate manœuvred his ship back and forth, he kept a watchful gaze shoreward, again and again sweeping the waters with his glass. And in one of these searches, he discovered the Osprey. With a startled oath he centred his gaze on the little craft. Then he ordered the dredges reeled in. The instant they were aboard, he swung the ship, and bore down on the Osprey.
All this happened so suddenly that Alec was caught unaware. Had he known what was coming, so that he could get his sail up, he might have run into the wind and outdistanced the Shark, for the Osprey was a wonderful sailor to windward. But the Shark was half-way toward him before Alec really knew what was happening. Then it was too late. There was nothing to do but await capture and make the best of it.
There was still time to say good-bye to Elsa, however. Alec darted into the cabin, threw over his switch, and flashed out a call.
"3ARM de 3ADH," he signalled, trying to quiet his pounding heart and steady his trembling hand.
"3ADH de 3ARM—K," came back the instant response.
"They have discovered me," flashed Alec. "Shark is bearing down on the Osprey. I hear them hailing. Tell your father to hurry. Good-bye—guardian."
White-faced, aquiver with fear, Elsa flashed back a reply and waited. But no answer came ringing in her ears. For out in the lawless darkness of the Bay, the Shark had swung to, a dark figure had leaped to the deck of the Osprey, a light had flashed in his cabin, revealing Alec's identity, and he had been dragged roughly to the deck of his little ship. With furious curses he had been flung aboard the Shark.
"Kill him! Throw him overboard! Hang the spy!" cried the angry crew, and the lawless Hawkins had dealt him a furious blow with his fist, felling Alec to the deck.
He knew that he must act at once if he was to save his life. Trembling with fear, he sprang to his feet. The shell gatherer, Wallace, leaped toward him.
"If you lay a hand on me," cried Alec, trying his best to appear courageous, "you'll go to prison for it."
At the word prison, the pirate captain stepped forward. "I reckon we'll go to prison if we don't," he bawled, in his awful voice. "We've got to put him out of the road, boys."
"Captain Rumford knows I'm here," said Alec desperately. "He'll be here himself pretty soon with some men you won't want to see. He's on the way now. I've been talking to him by wireless."
Alec did not know that the captain was coming to his rescue. But it was his only chance to save his life. He must carry the bluff through.
"You're a liar," shrieked Captain Hardy.
"I tell the truth. Didn't you find me at my wireless?"
"Did you?" roared the captain, turning to the sailor who had dragged Alec from his cabin.
"He was working at some sort of an outfit. It might have been a wireless for all I know."
"Hell!" roared the skipper.
He leveled his glasses. Afar off a glow of light became visible. The party on the deck of the Shark watched it breathlessly. It came on and on. Suddenly a great beam of light shot through the darkness, and moved slowly across the water. A search-light was sweeping the night.
"It's the Dianthus," roared the pirate skipper. "Our goose is cooked." With sudden fury he turned upon Alec. "It'll be state's prison for mine," he roared, "but before I go I'll fix you. You'll never spy on another man."
He leaped toward Alec. The lad shrank back in terror. He believed the desperate oysterman meant to kill him instantly. Still he kept a grip upon himself.
"If you harm me," he cried sternly, "it will be more than state's prison for you. It'll be the electric chair."
At that instant the search-light of the Dianthus was turned fairly on the pirate ship. The little group on her deck stood out like actors in a spot light.
"Hell!" roared the infuriated Hardy again, as he stepped back from Alec, his features working convulsively as he gazed in impotent rage at the oncoming guard-boat.
In a few minutes more the Dianthus ran alongside, and armed men came swarming over the side of the Shark. At their head were Captain Rumford and big Jim Hawley.
With a bound, big Jim Hawley was at Alec's side. "Did they hurt you, lad?" he cried.
"Not much," replied Alec, "but I guess they would have killed me if you hadn't come."
Alec turned partly away to watch what was doing. The light fell on his face so that the raw, red mark from the blow, now rapidly turning black, stood out plainly.
"Who did that?" demanded Hawley.
"Hawkins."
"Jim!" rang out Captain Rumford's voice, as Hawley leaped toward the cowering bully. Hawley stopped in his tracks. "We've had enough violence already. Let him alone."
The shipper turned to the commander of the Dianthus. "You wanted evidence before you would make an arrest," he said. "Here's your evidence." He pointed toward the pile of seed-oysters on the deck of the Shark. Then he faced Alec. "You saw them dredged, did you not?"
"Yes, sir. They came out of the bed just to starboard, sir."
Again the shipper faced the captain of the Dianthus. "That's my bed and these are my oysters. I charge these men with theft and also with assault and battery on this lad."
"You are under arrest," said the guardsman to the crew of the Shark, "and we will shoot at the slightest attempt at resistance." He turned to his men. "Search them," he commanded.
A revolver and an ugly dirk were found on Hardy. Wallace had some brass knuckles in his pocket. The others were not armed.
"We'll just add a charge of carrying concealed weapons when these two are arraigned," said the captain of the Dianthus.
"You'll have to watch them," said Captain Rumford. "They're a desperate lot. They won't go to prison without a struggle."
"We won't take any chances with them," said the captain of the guard-boat. "Get your irons, men."
The guardsmen produced handcuffs and in another moment Hardy and his band of desperadoes were securely shackled. Then they were taken aboard the guard-ship.
"We'll bring the Shark in," said the shipper. "You take care of your passengers."
"Hoist the sailing lights," said the shipper, as the Dianthus moved away into the darkness.
Alec pulled out his flash-light and hunted about in the Shark's cabin until he found her lanterns. He lighted them. While Jim Hawley hoisted the white light aloft, Alec was fastening the red and green lights in the rigging.
"Now make the Osprey fast astern," ordered the shipper.
Alec leaped aboard the little craft and pushed her along the side of the Shark, while Hawley pulled on a rope from her bow. In a moment the Osprey floated astern and Alec was back on the Shark.
"Haul those sheets a bit tighter," called the shipper.
Alec and Hawley obeyed the command. The shipper twirled his wheel, the Shark slowly gathered headway, and in a moment was sailing briskly on the starboard tack.
"Now, you young rascal," said Captain Rumford, when the Shark was fairly under way, "tell me what all this means. Whatever led you to do such a foolhardy trick? You had us nearly scared to death. Didn't you know that those fellows are a desperate lot? It's God's mercy alone that prevented them from murdering you."
"I think your own arrival had a lot more to do with it," laughed Alec. Then his face grew very sober. "I think they really meant to kill me," he said. "I know they would at least have beaten me badly if the Dianthus hadn't appeared when she did."
"Tell us all about it," urged the shipper. "How did you ever learn that Hardy intended to raid my bed, and what in the world ever made you do such a foolish thing as to follow him all alone?"
Alec explained how he had overheard the conversation in the cabin. "You should have told me at once," said the shipper.
"I started to tell you," said Alec. "Then I was ashamed to bother you until I had something more definite to tell you. I was afraid you would think I was suffering from a bad imagination. So I decided to wait until I had something really definite. I followed the Shark out to the oyster-beds, keeping far enough back of her to escape discovery. At the mouth of the river I stopped and told Elsa where I was and what I was doing."
"It's a mighty good thing for you, lad, that you did. If you had waited half an hour longer, we might never have seen you again. You've had a narrower shave than you think, lad. The Dianthus just happened to be in the harbor. Her captain came up this afternoon to see me about some business matters. There wasn't another boat in the river that could have got to you anywhere near as quick. The minute Elsa told me what you were up to, I jumped in my car and raced over to Bivalve. The captain was just boarding a trolley-car to go away for the night. He didn't want to come. Said he could arrest the oyster thieves any time I had the evidence ready. I told him it wasn't a question of oysters but of your life and that he had to come. And you should have seen us come, lad. The captain crowded on everything he had. But what I don't understand is how you prevented those ruffians from murdering you, once they had you in their power."
"They were going to murder me," said Alec, his cheek paling at the memory of his danger. "I don't believe there's any doubt of it. But I bluffed them." And Alec related what had happened on the deck of the Shark. "If the Dianthus hadn't shown her light just when she did," he said soberly, "I don't believe I would be talking to you now."
"Watch that boom," cried the captain. "I'm going to come about."
Alec dodged as the boom swept across the deck. Suddenly he thought of Elsa, standing by at the wireless. "Oh, Captain!" he cried. "I must go aboard the Osprey. Elsa said she would stand by in case I needed to call her again."
"I reckon you'll have to talk to her, Alec," replied the shipper. "She was just scared to death when she got your message."
The captain swung the ship straight into the wind. The sails began to flap. The boat lost headway. Big Jim Hawley laid his hand on the Osprey's line and hauled the little craft close beside the Shark. Alec stepped aboard of her. Flashlight in hand, he made his way into the cabin and sat down at his instrument.
"3ARM—3ARM—3ARM de 3ADH—3ADH—3ADH," he signalled.
Instantly came the response.
"Everything O. K.," flashed Alec. "Dianthus arrived and took Hardy and his crew ashore. No difficulty. Nobody hurt. Your father, Jim, and I are bringing back the Shark. We're some distance off the bar now. Dianthus is already in the river. Don't know how to thank you for your help. I think you saved my life. Will tell you about it when I see you."
"I want to see you to-night," flashed back Elsa.
"Impossible," telegraphed Alec. "Won't be in until very late."
"I won't take no for an answer. You must come home with Dad. Say you will."
"Maybe he won't take me," signalled Alec.
"Tell him if he comes home without you I'll never forgive him."
Outside Alec heard the captain bawling, "Are you going to talk all night?"
"Good-bye," flashed Alec, and stepped out on deck. Then, "Aye, aye, sir," he called. "Be there as soon as I hoist this light." He lighted his lantern and ran it aloft. Then he climbed aboard the Shark.
"Your daughter ordered me to tell you, sir," he said, "that she'll never forgive you if you don't bring your wireless man home with you."
"Oh! She did, eh? I suppose the wireless man has no wishes in the matter himself!"
Alec blushed. "Captain Rumford," he said, "you know I like to come to your house whenever I properly can. It's more like home to me than any other place in the world."
"God bless you, lad!" said the shipper, his tone instantly changing. "We should have missed you sadly if anything had happened to you to-night. You certainly shall go home with me and you shall spend the night there. I don't like the idea of your sleeping alone on that little boat, after what has happened. Remember now. You must watch like a hawk or somebody will get you. Hardy and his gang have lots of friends, and if they get a good chance they'll harm you. So be on your guard at all times and places."
"Thank you, sir," said Alec. "I don't think they'll catch me off my guard. I've had enough experience since I came to Bivalve to make a statue watchful."
Quickly the Shark gathered headway, and was soon bowling along toward her pier. "She's a nice stepper," said the shipper. "She's built for speed. I reckon old Hardy found speed useful in his business. But I guess he'll soon learn that slow but sure is a good motto after all. I think he'll make a pretty long visit to Trenton. And I don't believe he'll ever show his face around here again. He's done as an oysterman, at least at Bivalve."
Captain Rumford fell into a brown study. He was so deep in thought that he almost forgot what he was doing, which was something very unusual.
Presently Hawley spoke out of the darkness forward, where he was on watch. "Hadn't we better go about, Cap'n?" he said in a deep, quiet voice.
Captain Rumford woke up with a start, strained his eyes into the darkness, then twirled his wheel like mad. "Look out for the boom!" he said, then added, with a laugh, "Wouldn't they have given me the laugh if I had laid the Shark up on the bank. And she'd have been there in about sixty seconds more."