A Double Surprise.

[Illustration:  Fig. 145.  A Joke on Dutchy.]

It was now quite dark, and we had some difficulty in groping our way back to camp.  There was no moon and the stars were obscured by clouds.  Our only course was to follow the shore line until we got around the bend, and then we steered for the beacon fire, which, by prearrangement, had been kindled on Point Lookout.  But the spirit of mischief was in us.  We thought we would have some fun with Dutchy.  We could see him silhouetted against the blaze.  Jim and I hung back in the canoes, while Reddy and Bill went on with the scow, splashing their oars and shouting and singing in disguised voices, like drunken men.  Dutchy was evidently very much agitated.  His “Hello, there!  Boat ahoy!” was greeted with derisive yells.

“Say, we’ll lick the life out of you, the same as we did them other kids,” shouted Reddy.

This was too much for Dutchy.  He ran for all he was worth, yelling for Jack to come quick.

We had a merry laugh over the situation when suddenly the tables were turned.  Something whizzed past Bill’s ear; I was stung on the arm with a heavy nail; a large stone hit the scow; Reddy had his hat knocked off, and Fred upset his canoe trying to duck out of reach of the invisible missiles before we could make our assailants understand that we were friends and not the tramps.  The joke was on us after all.  We hadn’t counted on Dutchy’s accurate aim or Jack’s skill with the crossbow.

Tramp-proof Boat Mooring.

[Illustration:  Fig 146.  A Tramp Proof Mooring.]

Around the camp fire that night we discussed our adventures and made plans to prevent their recurrence.  It was evident, for one thing, that we would have to moor our boats off shore in such a way that they would be out of reach of meddlesome persons, and yet could be drawn in toward shore by anyone who knew how.  This was the way we did it.  A pair of galvanized iron ring bolts were procured on Jack’s next trip to Lamington for provisions, also a light rope about forty feet long.  The ring bolts were screwed into a pair of stout anchor stakes about two feet from their, lower ends.  The rope was passed through the rings and the ends were joined by tying them to a galvanized iron link.  Then it was soaked for a while to shrink it before it was set in place.  After the rope had shrunk sufficiently, the two stakes were driven into the bed of the river, one close to the bank and the other far enough out to hold the rope belt clear of the bottom.  Both stakes were sawed off under water, just above the ring bolts, so that they were hidden from sight.  When we wanted to moor our boats we secured their anchor ropes or “painters” to the link.  A large stepping stone marked the spot were the inner stake was driven, and standing on this stone we were able to reach down and haul in on the lower strap of the belt to draw the boat out a safe distance from shore, and then when we wanted to use our boat again we would haul in the upper strap to draw the boat in toward shore.