The Outdoor Chums On A Houseboat Part 23

"Are you sure he's asleep in the cabin?"

Frank asked this question in a low tone, some days after the adventure with the panther. He and his three chums were loitering on deck at the time. It was about the middle of the afternoon; and complaining of feeling sleepy, old Luther had vanished within the cabin.

"Yes, I just went in to get something; and he was snoring on his cot,"

replied Will; "but what's up, Frank?"

"He's got something to tell us about the old man," remarked Jerry. "I've seen him watching Luther when he thought the pa.s.senger we've had fastened on us wouldn't be noticing him. Out with it, old fellow."

"I've made up my mind that his name isn't Luther Snow at all," Frank remarked, in a whisper.

"Then what might it be, Frank?" asked Bluff, casting a quick glance toward the door of the cabin.

"What would you say to Marcus Stackpole?" queried the other, coolly.

Various exclamations told of the boys' astonishment.

"How under the sun did you ever jump on to that?" demanded Jerry.

So Frank had to tell them the many reasons he had for believing it to be the positive truth; and as he talked the others began to see light too.

"That would account for the way he just made us take him on," said Will.

"Yes," added Bluff, "even when we made him up a purse, he went on down the river, and laid for us again, with a yarn about the skipper of a packet jumping him because his money gave out. Well, we swallowed it all, like a lot of innocents, for a fact. Frank, honest now, I believe you've hit the truth, and that that little black launch that used to hover around was his boat."

"He must have let 'em know someway that his pa.s.sage was secured, because I haven't noticed it around for weeks now," remarked Jerry, with a nod of his head.

"But why under the sun do you suppose he wants to be with us on the _Pot Luck_?" demanded Will.

"That's what I can't tell you," Frank replied. "I only know that he acts as if he wants to stick to us all the way to New Orleans; and that Uncle Felix seemed to be afraid he'd do that very same thing. Chances are, we'll never know what it all means until we get there, and ask your uncle to explain."

"Well, do we carry him there?" asked Bluff.

"I should say not, if we know it," was the way Jerry vented his opinion.

"And as my uncle impressed it on me that, above all people, I mustn't take Marcus Stackpole aboard, I think we ought to get rid of him right away," Will declared.

"Yes, that's easy to say, but how're we going to do it?" Jerry broke in with. "The old fellow seems to like it here; yes, and I rather guess he's taken something of a fancy to the bunch of us, too. He sticks worse than a mustard plaster on your back. Talk of Sinbad, and the Old Man of the Sea; Luther could give 'em points on how to stay right there."

"Leave it to Frank," interrupted Will. "He's got a plan, I'm sure; haven't you?"

"Well, here it is in a nutsh.e.l.l," remarked Frank, smiling at the confidence the other chum seemed to have in his ability to meet a situation; "we'll get to Memphis to-morrow, you see. Thinking that we mean to put him ash.o.r.e only at Vicksburg, below, Luther will have no chance to play sick; so we can work the little racket."

"Are we in it, too, Frank?" asked Bluff.

"Yes, you and Jerry are to go ash.o.r.e after we tie up, to get some things, besides the mail. An hour later you'll have come back, with your errands done; but remember you're not to come aboard, or show yourselves. Then I'll recollect something I wanted you to do very much.

Will, at the time, can be deep in some business connected with his photography, and I can't send him to hunt you up at the store; so I'll ask old Luther to please take the bottle to get filled."

"That's dead easy," muttered Bluff; "he'll fall into the trap; and after he's out of sight Jerry 'nd I'll slip aboard, when we part company with our pa.s.senger. Say, I'll be a little sorry, someway, too; for after all, he's not such a bad sort."

"But, Frank, how will he know what our meaning is?" Will inquired.

"I have all that planned out," Frank went on. "I'll give him a note to hand to Jerry here. When he can't find him, and discovers that we've left him in the lurch, of course he'll think to open it. It will be a few lines written to him, telling that we have found out who he is; and that as Uncle Felix positively ordered us not to carry Marcus Stackpole as a pa.s.senger, we have had to send him adrift. I'll enclose a ten-dollar bill in the letter. That would take him to New Orleans if he's really what he claims. That's to ease my conscience in the matter, boys."

"And a good scheme, too!" remarked Bluff.

"It takes Frank to think 'em up; I always said so," Will added.

They did not dare talk along that line any further, for fear the object of their conversation would suddenly come out of the cabin, and seeing them looking so mysterious, scent enough of the truth to keep on his guard the following day, which would interfere very much with Frank's plan.

During the balance of that afternoon and the evening that followed, all the boys tried hard to appear natural whenever Luther was around. He may have thought they looked a little queer at times; but at least they gave him no reason to believe that his secret was known.

It was about ten the next morning that the hawser was made fast to a wharf at the river front of Memphis; which lies on a sort of bluff, high above the Mississippi.

The two chums went ash.o.r.e, with numerous errands to do, that they declared would take them until noon. Yet in less than one hour later Frank caught the whistle from the cotton piles on the levee, that told him Bluff and Jerry were back, "keeping shady" until he could carry out his part of the little programme.

Will was very busy just then, dabbling in his daylight developing bath, so that anyone could see it was utterly out of the question for him to leave, and go on an errand.

Frank carried out his part of the plan very cleverly. And old Luther, taking the note which Frank had purposely sealed in an envelope, went ash.o.r.e, and up toward the city. After he had vanished from view two skulking figures came aboard, chuckling with delight over the apparent success of Frank's plan.

"Get the hawser aboard, and let's push off," said Frank, a little concerned lest Luther should come in sight even then, and demand to be taken back.

The boys worked with willing hands, and in a short time the _Pot Luck_ was once more afloat, drifting down the wide river, and leaving Memphis and Luther Snow behind.

Still, none of the boys seemed as jubilant as they had antic.i.p.ated, in getting rid of their incubus. The fact was, that Luther had somehow rather gained a little hold upon their affections, and secretly they were sorry to have him go. Only for that strange clause in the note of Uncle Felix they might have allowed him to remain on board the houseboat until New Orleans was reached, no matter if he were Marcus Stackpole or not.

Often would they ponder over this strange matter; and it must form the subject of more than a few earnest talks; yet, not having the key to the puzzle, they must always confess themselves baffled. As Frank had truly said, the riddle was not to be solved until they stood face to face with the gentleman who owned the _Pot Luck_, and they had plied him with questions.

Often when some darky from the bank would call out a sportive remark, intended for those aboard the pa.s.sing houseboat, the boys would look at each other in a queer way. For the same idea must have flashed into the mind of each one; and this that it might be the wily Marcus Stackpole trying a new game upon them, with the idea of once more getting aboard the _Pot Luck_.

Below Vicksburg they took stock of the time, and found that in all they had been just seven weeks on the voyage. Another one ought to see them safely at their journey's end, if all went well.

Being on a boat that could only drift, there was no chance to attempt any of the numerous "cutoffs" that began to be met with, every day now.

And so sticking to the big river, they "boomed" along on the flood from shortly after daylight up to nearly dark, covering scores of miles each day with the swift flow of the current.

The Southern plantation scenes were of great interest to the boys; and Will rapidly diminished the number of his film rolls, snapping laughable pictures of the dusky toilers of the cotton and sugarcane; together with the numerous broods of pickaninnies that gathered around, every time they stopped at a little "wood-station," where certain boats were in the habit of tying up to load pine cordwood for the boiler.

And one night, when the heavens were cloudy, and there seemed a prospect of rain at any minute, they had an unexpected surprise that showed how strangely Fate could manage things.

Frank had tied up a short distance above what looked to be a wood landing, where some sort of boat was secured. They had arrived rather late, and the darkness had gathered so quickly that they were not able to get a good view of this craft, just barely seen through some trees located on a low point.

Not wis.h.i.+ng to be bothered by visitors, and have more or less noise around until a late hour of the night, they had chosen this way of avoiding it.

Supper had been prepared, and was long since placed "where it could do the most good," as Bluff declared. And the four chums were sitting around on the deck, enjoying the cool evening breeze; for the day had been a very hot one, which made the prospect of a storm rather promising.

Somehow or other the conditions made them speak of that night when they ran to the fire, and were overtaken by the storm. Imagine the astonishment of the others when Frank suddenly exclaimed:

"Talking about fires, fellows, seems to me that looks like one right now, down below the point jutting out, and where we saw that boat tied up! Wouldn't it be a funny thing now if history chose to repeat itself, with the rain coming along, too."

And looking as he said, the other three lads saw a bright glow beginning to show; while loud cries arose, that seemed to tell of alarm.