THE ROVER BOYS Boxed Set: 26 Illustrated Adventure Novels. Stratemeyer Edward

had been in a quandary before, he was doubly so now. Had Tom really fallen, or had he been attacked?

      "I can't leave him alone," he thought, and without further hesitation leaped up the side of the schooner with the agility of a cat.

      It was a fatal movement, for scarcely had he reached the deck when he was pounced upon by Captain Langless and held fast until Arnold Baxter appeared.

      "Let me go!" cried Sam, but his protest proved of no avail. A lively scuffle followed, but the lad was no match for the men, and in the end he found himself handcuffed and thrown into the hold beside Tom.

      "Tie the rowboat fast to the stern," ordered Arnold Baxter, and this was done.

      The going down of the wind was only temporary, and now a slight breeze sprang up.

      "We are in luck!" said the captain of the schooner.

      "We must keep away from the yacht," returned Arnold Baxter.

      Soon the schooner's sails were filling and she continued on her course, dragging the small boat behind her. Aleck Pop saw the movement and grew much perplexed.

      "Dat don't look right to me, nohow!" he muttered. "'Pears lak da was bein' tuk along sumway!"

      Aleck was not much of a sailor, but he had been out enough to know how to handle the yacht under ordinary circumstances, and now he did his best to follow the Peacock.

      With the glass he watched eagerly for the reappearance of Sam and Tom, and his face became a study when fully half an hour passed and they failed to show themselves.

      "Da is in trouble, suah!" he told himself. "Now wot's dis yeah niggah to do?"

      He lashed the wheel fast and sought advice from Luke Peterson, who was feeling stronger every minute. The burly lumberman shook his head dubiously.

      "In trouble for certain," was his comment. "Didn't hear any pistol shots, did ye?"

      "Didn't heah nuffin, sah."

      "They wouldn't remain on board of that craft of their own free will."

      "Don't specs da would, sail. De question is, sah: wot's to do?" And Aleck scratched his woolly head thoughtfully.

      "I don't know, excepting to keep the schooner in sight, if possible, and see if something doesn't turn up. If you sight a steamer or a steam tug let me know, and I'll try to get help."

      So it was arranged, and Aleck returned to the wheel. The Swallow was going along smoothly, and he did what he could to make the sails draw as much as possible. Peterson now discovered the medicine chest of the yacht, and from this got another dose of liquor, which afforded him the temporary strength of which he was in so much need.

      The coming of night found the two vessels far out upon the waters of Lake Erie and nearly half a mile apart. Peterson now came on deck, to keep an eye on things while Aleck prepared supper. It promised to remain clear, but, as there would be no moon, Peterson was afraid that they would lose sight of the Peacock in the gathering darkness.

      Supper was soon served, the lumberman eating first, and then Aleck cleared away the few dishes and tidied up generally. The colored man was much downcast.

      "Fust it was Dick, an' now it am de whole t'ree of 'em," he remarked. "I'se afraid dar is gwine ter be a bad endin' to dis yeah trip."

      "We will have to take what comes," answered Peterson. " But I have taken a fancy to those boys, and I'll stick by you to the end."

      Slowly the darkness of night settled over the waters of the lake, and with the going down of the sun the stars came forth, one after another. During the last few hours several sail had been seen at a distance, but none had come close enough to be hailed.

      "We are going to lose her in the darkness, after all," announced the lumberman, at about eight o'clock. "It's hard for me to see her, even now."

      Half an hour later the Peacock disappeared in the gloom, and the chase, for the time being, came to an end.

      CHAPTER X

       THE ESCAPE FROM THE HOLD

       Table of Contents

      "Sam, is that you?"

      "Yes."

      "We are trapped!"

      "It looks like it or rather feels like it I can't see a thing."

      "Nor I. Did you find out anything about Dick?"

      "No."

      A groan came from the opposite end of the hold.

      "Here I am. How in the world did you get here?"

      "Dick, after all!" ejaculated Tom, and there was a slight trace of joy in his tone. "Are you O. K., old man?"

      "Hardly. They dosed me with drugs until my mind is topsy-turvy."

      "I'm glad you are alive," came from Sam. "Where are you?"

      "Here, lying on a couple of boxes. Look out how you move about, or you may hurt yourselves."

      Handcuffed as they were, Tom and Sam felt their way along through the dark hold until they reached their elder brother's side. They grasped his hands warmly.

      "I'm glad we are together again, even if we are prisoners," remarked Tom, and this was his younger brother's sentiment, too.

      "How did you get here?" asked Dick, and each told his story from beginning to end, and then the elder Rover had to relate his own adventures.

      "I knew that old doctor wasn't telling the truth," burst out Tom. "Oh, but won't we have an account to settle with all of those chaps, if ever we get out of this scrape."

      "Don't let us hurrah until we are out of the woods," added Dick soberly. "We are in the hands of a desperate gang, to my way of reasoning."

      "The Baxters are certainly bad enough."

      "And any boat captain who would go into this game with them is probably just as bad. Whom did you leave on the yacht?"

      "Aleck, and the lumberman who was on the raft with you."

      "I wonder if they will follow this schooner?"

      No one could answer this question, and for several minutes there was a silence. During that time they heard heavy footsteps cross and recross the deck, but that was all. Presently the schooner began to rock slightly.

      "The wind is coming up," said Tom. "We are moving ahead again."

      "That's bad for us — if the schooner manages to run away from the yacht," rejoined Dick.

      Soon the motion of the Peacock showed that the schooner was bowling along rapidly. They heard the creaking of tackle as additional sails were hoisted, and felt certain that the craft was making the best run at her command.

      The hold had not been opened up for a long time, consequently the air was foul as well as stifling from the heat.

      "I'd give something for some fresh air," said Sam. "How is it with you, Dick?"

      "I want fresh air and a drink of water. I am as dry as a bale of cotton."

      "Haven't they given you anything since you came on board?" asked Tom.

      "Not a thing."

      "The inhuman wretches! Oh, I wish I had Dan Baxter here — I'd punch his head good for him."

      "Ditto the head of his rascally father," returned Dick. "I would like to know just where they intend to take me — or rather all of us, now. They certainly can't expect to keep us on board this craft."

      "Perhaps they'll ship us to Canada."

      "Hardly, since they couldn't land on the Canadian shore without an inspection of the vessel."

      "They