The Go Ahead Boys on Smugglers' Island Part 27

Perceiving a man near the stern of the boat they at once approached him and made known their presence.

"Where are we?" inquired Fred.

"We'll be in Sault Ste. Marie in about a half an hour."

"What!" exclaimed Fred.

"That's right, lad," said the sailor.

"When did we pa.s.s Mackinac Island?"

"Mackinac Island! Why we left that a good many hours ago."

"Why didn't you stop and put us off?"

"We don't make any stop anywhere. I guess the captain told you that we couldn't stop there. That doesn't make any difference, however, we'll be in Sault Ste. Marie pretty soon and then you boys can stop all you want to."

"How shall we get back to Mackinac?" inquired John.

"I can't say," laughed the sailor, who appeared to regard the plight of the boys more or less as a joke. "My suggestion would be to wait there and when one of the line boats come through go back on that. There will be one out somewhere about noon."

"Probably that's the best we can do," said Fred meekly. "You say we'll be there in about a half an hour?"

"Yes."

The boys at once returned to their cabin, but to their dismay they discovered that the clothes in which they had been rescued were still too wet to be donned.

"There's no help for it," said John disconsolately. "If this old tub stops long enough at Sault Ste. Marie we can go ash.o.r.e even in these togs we have on. Come on back on deck and we'll find out how long the stop is."

Returning to the deck the boys learned that the boat on which they were sailing was to remain six hours at Sault Ste. Marie.

"That's all right," said Fred as he and John withdrew to another part of the deck. "We'll go ash.o.r.e just as we are and before the boat sails we'll have a chance to change our clothes."

The boys were interested in spite of their predicament in the low lying sh.o.r.es past which they were steadily moving. It was sufficiently light to enable them to mark several parks, evidently playgrounds of the people of the little city which they were approaching.

True to the prophecy of the sailor the boat drew alongside a dock within the half-hour. Again a.s.suring themselves that the vessel would not depart within six hours, the boys at once leaped ash.o.r.e and started together up the wide street upon which they now found themselves.

There were low buildings on each side and to their surprise the boys were soon aware that many people were moving about the street although it was not yet three o'clock in the morning. Among these strangers they noticed numbers of Indians. This fact, together with the decorations of many of the buildings which were to be seen, indicated that either a festival or a holiday of some kind had been celebrated the preceding day, or that the city was preparing for some event of importance.

"We didn't pay the captain anything for bringing us up here," suggested John, as he and his companion slowly walked up the street.

"That's right," said Fred. "Besides," he added hastily, "I haven't a cent of money in my pocket, have you?"

"Not in these pockets," laughed John, whose spirits now had returned.

"We'll have to go back and get some money if we are going to get any breakfast."

"But I haven't any money in my other pockets," said Fred ruefully.

"And I haven't either," added John laughing as he spoke. "I didn't think we would want any money yesterday so I didn't take any with me."

"My mother would say that this is another good lesson. She says I am all the while out of money and I ought to have enough with me to provide for what I want."

"That's the difficulty," said John. "It isn't so much getting the money as it is keeping it. But this is no joke, Fred. Neither of us has any money and I don't believe up here even at Sault Ste. Marie they will give us something to eat unless we pay for it."

"I put my watch in my pocket," said Fred. "I don't see anything for us to do except to hock that."

"Maybe some fellow that keeps a restaurant will take it as security and hold it until we can redeem it."

"We'll try that," said Fred quickly. "I wish we could find some place open now."

"Perhaps we can, there are so many people on the street," said John.

"Come on let's go further on and try it."

In accordance with John's suggestion the boys walked rapidly up the street and soon to their delight they discovered a restaurant which evidently was being patronized at that early hour. Several people could be seen seated at the small tables within the room, and, encouraged by the sight, the boys at once entered.

At the cashier's desk a woman was seated, but evidently she had been there throughout the night. There were moments when her head nodded and she plainly was greatly in need of sleep.

At once approaching her Fred said, "We have been unfortunate."

"I'm afraid you're not the only ones," said the woman sitting quickly erect as she heard the unexpected statement.

"I guess that's right," laughed Fred, "but we fell into the lake and were picked up by a boat that did not stop until it got to Sault Ste. Marie."

"Where did you want it to stop?" inquired the woman.

"Mackinac Island."

"Where were you working there?" she inquired.

"Working?" laughed Fred. "We weren't working at all. We were staying at one of the hotels."

For a moment the woman glanced quickly at the young spokesman and then shaking her head began to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" demanded Fred irritated by her manner.

"I guess you had the parlor suit," said the woman still laughing at the boys before her. "You look as if you belong to John Jacob Astor's family.

It may be that you look better than he did when he used to come there, but I guess you wouldn't pa.s.s for much more."

For the first time the boys were aware that the strange garb in which they were clad certainly did not imply that they had been guests at any prominent summer hotel. Both suits were ill-fitting and worn, and if either had been plunged in soap and water within a year there was nothing in the garments to imply such action.

For a moment Fred was nonplussed and then hastily thrusting his hand into his pocket he drew forth his watch.

"How will that do?" he said as he placed the gold watch on the desk. It was a beautiful little time-piece, a present he had received on his sixteenth birthday from his father. "You'll take that as security, I guess," he said lightly, "and when we get back to Mackinac Island we'll send you the money or come with it and get the watch."

Picking up the time-piece the woman gazed curiously at it and then again looking sharply at the boys she said, "Where did you get that?"

"It was a present," said Fred.

"Who gave it to you?"