The Eight-Oared Victors/Chapter 17
CHAPTER XVII
AT PRACTICE
"Did you see 'em?"
"Are they all there?"
"What about Helen Newton? "
"Say, where's my brown suit? "
"Has anyone seen my purple tie?"
"Give me those shoes, Sid! Who said you couid take 'em, anyhow—my best ones?" and Phil fairly upset his chum in order to rescue the footgear that had been taken without his permission.
I presume the reader can understand the meaning of the expressions which open this chapter. They had to do directly with Tom's startling announcement, and who said which or what does not matter. Sufficient to state that Sid, Phil and Frank thus overwhelmed Tom with the above questions.
"I didn't see any of 'em," went on Tom, when he could get his breath. "But I heard her laugh"
"Heard who laugh?" demanded Phil.
"Your sister."
"I thought you said they all came!" reproached Sid.
"So I did, and so they have. Do you think one girl would have four trunks and four suitcases?" asked Tom, in indignant justification.
"They might—I have known of such," said Frank. "But are you sure they're all here?"
"Of course. Didn't I hear 'em all laugh? Anyhow, Madge must be here, or Ruth wouldn't be at the cottage. And if two of 'em are there the other two are, too."
"That's no reason at all," said Phil, firmly. "This will have to be investigated. Where's my clean shirt? I'm going to see my sister!" and he strode into the tent.
"It's the first time Phil was ever so thoughtful of his sister, fellows. I guess we'd better all get togged up a bit," said Frank, and the activities, that had begun when Tom came in with the news (which activities had ceased momentarily while the glad tidings were being confirmed), were again resumed.
"Glad rags," as the lads slangily designated their habiliments, other than the ones in which they worked about the camp, were soon being donned, and a little later the boys were on their way to the Tyler cottage.
"I wonder how long they're going to stay?" said Sid.
"As long as we do, I hope," said Tom. "There they are!"
"All four of 'em, sure enough," added Phil.
"You were a good guesser, Tom, old man."
"Oh, leave it to your Uncle Dudley!" declared Tom, puffing out his chest. "Little Willie knows what he's about."
"Hello, boys!" called Madge Tyler, as she caught sight of the advancing four.
"Welcome to our city," added Ruth, as she threw a kiss to—her brother. At least Tom said so, when they accused him later of intercepting it, and Tom ought to know.
"Glad you're here."
"Isn't this place lovely?"
"Where is your boat?"
"Have you a motor?"
"Are you going to invite us to lunch in the tent?"
These questions and comments were bandied back and forth among the boys and girls, no one caring very much who said what, so glad were they to see each other, and exchange greetings and experiences.
"We girls just came up this morning," explained Madge. "We didn't wait for mother, and father has some tiresome business to look after so he couldn't come. But I just said that Jeanette, our maid, was chaperone enough, and so we came. I guess the man on the boat thought we had baggage enough."
"But he was nice about it," added Ruth.
"Yes, after I gave him a quarter," explained Helen.
"Oh, you dear! Did you really tip him?" asked Madge.
"Certainly—he—er—well, he seemed to expect it," and the boys laughed at her naive explanation.
"Won't you come in?" invited Madge. "It isn't much of a cottage, and we can't even offer you a cup of tea, for we're all out, and I had to send Jeanette for some."
"Don't worry about that," remarked Phil.
"We've got all the food we can eat over at the tent," went on Tom.
All entered the charming little cottage, and the boys told of their experiences since coming to camp, while the girls detailed the happenings of their journey that morning.
A small steamer, making regular trips about the lake, had left them and their baggage at the island, which was beginning to be quite a Summer resort. A new store had recently been built on the place, and provided a variety of articles, including foodstuffs for the cottagers.
"There's a boat or two with this cottage," explained Madge. "We'll have to get them in the water to soak up, I suppose, and then we girls will give you boys some lessons in rowing; won't we, girls?"
"We might try," said Ruth, drily.
"Your boats are in the water, I think," said Sid. "I saw that Mexican 'take-care' man, as he calls himself, at them the other day, caulking up some cracks."
"That's good," retorted Madge. "I know father wrote on to have this done, but I've been so busy, getting ready to come here, that I forgot to ask if it had been attended to. I wish we had a motor-launch, but father is so old-fashioned, if I must say it, that he won't hear of it."
"Haven't you boys a launch? " asked Helen.
"No," replied Tom, "but perhaps we can hire one," and he looked at Ruth, who had been trying to signal him when the Mexican's name was mentioned.
"That's a good idea," declared Phil. "We'll see about it this afternoon."
Then Jeanette, the maid, having come from the store with the tea, the boys took their leave, to allow the girls time to change into more comfortable and camp-like garments, and also to enjoy their beverage.
"We'll see you after lunch," called Phil.
"We'd ask you to stay," spoke Madge, "but really we haven't quite found ourselves yet. Later on"
"Come on over to our tent," invited Sid.
"No, thank you," laughed the young hostess. "Some other time. We have to unpack our dresses, or they'll get wrinkled."
The boys thought lunch time would never pass, but it did, though they made a hasty meal of it. Then they hurried back to the cottage, and a little later four pairs of young persons were strolling in four different directions over the beautiful island.
"Oh, Tom!" exclaimed Ruth. "I've been just wild to get you alone for a moment to ask if you've found out anything about my brooch?"
"Not a thing, Ruth, I'm sorry to say. In fact the whole business is at a standstill. We had some suspicions, but they didn't lead anywhere, and we're up against a stone wall so far in the game."
"Well, perhaps something may develop," she said with a sigh. "I hope so, for I'm afraid every day some of my folks will discover that I'm not wearing the brooch. When I went to bid grandmother good-bye I wore a large bow tie, so she couldn't see the place where the pin ought to have been, but wasn't. Isn't it dreadful to be so deceitful?"
"Not at all," Tom hastened to assure her. "It isn't your fault, and, as you say, something may develope."
They strolled on, as did the others, and the afternoon seemed wonderfully short.
I note, in looking back over some pages I have written, that I headed this chapter "At Practice," and really I meant to devote considerable space to detailing the doings of Tom and his chums in the shell, under the guidance of Mr. Pireson. But I find that the girls have taken up such a large proportion of my available space that I have not much left for rowing matters. And, in fact, the boys found themselves in the same predicament. After all, I suppose, it is not an unforgivable crime.
Tom and his chums kept promising themselves, from day to day, after the arrival of the girls, that they would buckle down to hard work in the shell, but each day saw them over at the cottage as early as decency and good manners would allow, and the same thing kept them there as late as possible.
They hired a small gasoline launch, that was continually getting out of order, and stopping out in the middle of the lake. They had to be towed in so frequently that they became very well known. But it was all the more fun.
"There's something about this launch that you don't often find," remarked Frank, one day when they had been drifting helplessly about.
"And it's a good thing you don't," added Tom.
"What I meant," said Frank, "was that it never gets monotonous. The same thing never happens twice."
"I should say not," declared Sid. "Everything on the old tub has broken one time or another, from the old cups to the piston rings, and everything from the spark coil to the batteries has given out! Monotonous? I should say nixy!"
Yet the boys did practice. Frank grew desperate when a week had gone by without their getting into the shell, and he spoke to such advantage, dwelling on the necessity of keeping in condition, that the others agreed with him. So they left the girls to their own devices one morning, and rowed down to college.
They found quite a number of their chums there, and considerable practice was going on. Mr. Lighton had paid one of his flying visits and was giving the lads some instruction.
Our friends told him of Mr. Pierson's offer, and the coach said:
"You could not do better, boys, than to follow his advice. I wish we could get him to come to Randall in the Fall."
"Maybe he will," suggested Sid. "We'll ask him."
Mr. Lighton said he had word from Bricktop Molloy, and one or two of the others, that they were getting in some practice during the Summer vacation.
"I hope we have a good eight when college opens again," he concluded, as Tom and his chums rowed off in the four-oared shell.
Mr. Pierson was staying on the island now, and for the next few days he was with the boys considerably, giving them valuable advice. They kept at practice, setting aside certain hours for it, and manfully withstanding the temptation of going off on little excursions with the girls.
So far as solving the mystery of the missing jewelry was concerned, no progress was made, though the boys talked about it often. The faint suspicions against the Mexican and Boswell were still maintained, but that was all.
As for Boswell, he and his English friend and his "trainer," as he called the athlete, kept pretty much to themselves. Mendez was the same overpolite Mexican as before. He opened his store, and did a good business, our friends patronizing him to some extent—partly to get a look inside his place. But, though their eyes were used to the best advantage, they saw nothing that would aid them in their quest.
"But I'll get Ruth's brooch back yet!" declared Tom, to himself.