tom, hal and bob went ashore with the journalist, promising that they would return immediately after breakfast in the morning. bob reached his boarding house just before one o’clock. in southern style, the hall door was open, and the boy hurried to his mother’s room. after considerable parley and some alarm, bob was admitted.
he had his story ready, just as it had been told to the reporter. but it wasn’t told as quickly. there were a hundred interruptions, protests and motherly solicitations. of course, it all led to one conclusion—bob could not return to the camp again.
“never again shall you take such a risk,” mrs. balfour asserted. “i haven’t the least doubt but that you will all be sick.”
then bob told of captain joe’s quinine. to his regret, mrs. balfour immediately ran to her medicine box and repeated the dose. finally, after submitting to all sorts of tests, including the taking of his temperature, mrs. balfour had[140] to concede that bob “seemed” all right.
“‘seem’?” repeated the boy. “why mother, i haven’t felt as fine in six months. and it’s years since i’ve eaten as much as i did to-day. you let me go to camp, if mac is there to cook, and i’ll go back home stronger than a prize fighter.”
“mac?” exclaimed mrs. balfour, springing up in her bed. “not mac gregory?”
“yes, i told you,” stammered bob apprehensively. “it was mac who had the escambia there.”
“i didn’t understand,” said his mother, with her lips set.
then the story of mac’s regeneration had to come out. it was told most adroitly, and in two chapters. at the end of the first chapter, mrs. balfour simply announced that, no matter how manfully the gregory boy had acted, he and bob could not belong to the same club. then came chapter number two—the pathetic appeal. at the end of this one, there was hesitation, doubt, and then a little concession: “i’ll see what mrs. allen thinks about it.”
the next day was sunday. bob did not awaken until nine o’clock. but, when he turned over in bed at last, his eyes fell on a newspaper,[141] folded and standing against the back of a chair in front of the bed. then his eyes caught a heavy, black headline. he read:
narrow escape
steamer elias ward helpless off alabama point
mahogany laden craft is rescued by boy heroes
members anclote club bring vessel into port at midnight.
catching up the paper, bob read a column story that made his cheeks burn. when he saw that the steamer carried a $75,000 cargo, “most of which will undoubtedly be awarded as salvage to the six heroic rescuers,” he rushed into his mother’s room.
“i’ve read it,” she said, her face sobering. “you told me you didn’t do much. i suppose you see that ‘robert balfour, the son of a chicago millionaire, led in the four hours’ battle with the gale.’”
the boy, his eyes snapping, shook the paper.
“it ain’t true,” he began. “i’ll make that reporter take it back—”
his mother walked to bob and put her arms about the excited boy.
“look here, bob,” she said, laughing, “i was bothered a good deal last night. but i’ve thought it all out. i want you to be like other boys.” then her face grew sober. “you are old enough now to know what is right and what is wrong. your father and i have coddled you until we’ve made you, almost, an invalid. we wouldn’t have let you do what you did in that storm for worlds. but i’m glad you did—i’m even proud of you. i’ve made up my mind it’s what you need to make a man of you. you can go back to camp. from now on, i’m goin’ to let you take care of yourself.”
tears came into bob’s eyes, but he caught his mother in his arms and gave her a kiss she never forgot.
“as for mac gregory,” continued mrs. balfour, “i can’t believe that any one who did what he did is really bad. i believe the impulse that made you boys take him back into your club was a good one. and i believe mrs. allen will think so, too.”
that meant another kiss. when bob walked into the breakfast room, he had already forgotten that he was a hero. but many good-natured greetings at once recalled the newspaper story. it was bob’s baptism of notoriety. with[143] boyish awkwardness, all he would say was: “well, we did get pretty wet.”
the moment breakfast was over he rushed his mother to the gallery.
“for goodness sake, mother,” he whispered, “get your hat and let’s get out of this.”
with a smile mrs. balfour did so, and she and bob were just leaving the house when a messenger came up the steps with a telegram. it was addressed to mrs. balfour. she opened it and read:
“notified by reporters robert in wreck. consult best physicians. if able, bring home. shall i come?
“henry balfour.”
mrs. balfour laughed, and wrote the following reply:
“absolutely uninjured. no physician necessary. bob in my charge. don’t miss your golf game.
“helen balfour.”
bob’s idea was to take his mother out to inspect the steamer. but the story in the journal had already brought thousands to the long wharf, and he and his mother turned back[144] and walked to mrs. allen’s home. of course, tom was not there. but they found that mrs. allen had also relented as to mac gregory.
bob and his mother then returned to their boarding house, dressed and went to church. when they returned, they found tom allen and a strange man awaiting them on the gallery. the man was mr. beverly rowe, a lawyer, and a friend of tom’s dead father. at captain joe’s suggestion, the two boys had called on attorney rowe to consult with him concerning the claim for salvage.
the lawyer said at once that the practice was so general that he was certain mr. hawkins would expect nothing less. “and the claim is so clean cut,” he added, “that i doubt if the owners of the vessel and of the cargo will be inclined to contest it.”
he then explained what the legal steps would be. if those concerned agreed, and desired him to act for them, he would appear before the united states district court in the morning and libel the vessel in admiralty proceedings. “that is the same thing,” he explained, “as asking the court to take it in charge pending the examination of your claim. when this is done, the united states marshal will issue a[145] ‘monition’ and take possession of the libeled property. the marshal will then post a ten days’ notice, warning any other claimants to appear. at the end of that time, the matter will come up before the court, and evidence will be heard. the court will then fix the amount to which you are entitled.”
“but the steamer belongs to a widow in charleston,” said tom. “we’ve found that out. we don’t want to force her to pay anything.”
“very good,” said mr. rowe. “just as you like.”
“and we don’t much like the idea of making all that trouble for mr. hawkins,” continued tom.
“although we’ve agreed he ought to pay something. the tug men say he’s a rich man,” added hal.
“i don’t believe a libel will be necessary,” said mr. rowe. “leave that to me. i’ll see mr. hawkins. if he’s fair, we’ll settle the matter out of court. i’ll take a timber expert out to the steamer and look over the cargo. meanwhile,” and he said this impressively, “you must remain in charge of the steamer—do[146] not turn it over to mr. hawkins until i have reached an agreement with him.”
“that’s what mac said,” exclaimed bob. “he and captain joe and jerry are on board. they sent captain hobson to the hospital this morning, and mr. hawkins went to the hotel.”
somewhat to attorney rowe’s surprise when he called upon mr. hawkins, that gentleman showed a decided inclination to split hairs in the matter of an agreement as to salvage. the owner was also evasive as to the value of his cargo, and the lawyer at once made an appointment for a second interview. in the middle of the afternoon, he visited the schooner. when he and an expert had finished an examination of the hold of the elias ward, orders were repeated to captain joe to refuse mr. hawkins permission to board the vessel should he return.
that evening, in response to a telephone message, tom, hal and bob called at attorney rowe’s home.
“we’ll libel the vessel in the morning,” the lawyer announced. “on mr. hawkins’ own statement of the value of his timber, i agreed to accept seven thousand dollars. he offered three thousand dollars. we find that the cargo is worth more than he says—not less than thirty[147] thousand dollars. since he has shown a disposition to be ungrateful, we’ll force him to do the fair thing. i’ll attend to the matter for you.”
captain joe, mac and jerry stuck to the steamer. tuesday evening, by invitation of mac, there was a “spread” aboard, at which mrs. balfour, mrs. allen and attorney rowe were guests. it followed an all afternoon fishing trip made by bob and jerry out to santa rosa sound and, in the main, was a duplicate of mac’s celebrated perdido bay luncheon.
thursday evening came the incident that prolonged the usual evening visit into a session lasting until midnight. without the slightest warning, bob submitted a startling suggestion. when the shock of it had passed into a frenzied conclave and that into a heated debate, the club went into regular session and, by formal action, the great decision was reached.
by a unanimous vote, and after mature consideration, the anclote boat club abandoned the idea of buying a yacht, and decided to spend three thousand dollars, if it won its suit, in the purchase of an aeroplane.
bob balfour knew little about boats; he had done no fishing, and his knowledge of the sea[148] was small. but he had a theoretical knowledge of aeroplanes that almost paralyzed the other boys. he had been made fun of so long on account of his enthusiasm that, when he went south, he determined to forget his hobby. but, in the idle time on his hands, while the other boys were in school, he fell from grace. he had purposely left every aviation book and pamphlet he possessed at home. but, like an old toper, visiting again the book shop where he had bought his charts, he was tempted and fell. when he left the place, he had under his arm a new book—“vehicles of the air.” that night he was again intoxicated with the newest ideas in airships, balloons and the latest motive apparatus.
he fought the idea as long as he could, and then, thursday morning come a letter from his father. in a spirit of jest, it enclosed a circular that had been mailed to bob (for the boy was on the mailing list of every balloon maker and every engine builder and aeronautical publication in the country). jokingly his father had written: “this seems a bargain. i thought you might want to buy one to use in rescuing steamers.”
bob looked at the circular a long time. then[149] he suddenly thought of the great fortune he and his friends were already counting.
“it’s nice of father to suggest it,” said bob soberly to his mother. “and i like the idea so well that i’m going to ask the boys to do it.”
“buy an aeroplane?” gasped mrs. balfour.
“‘from now on, i’m going to let you take care of yourself,’” said bob laughing, as he repeated what his mother had said sunday morning.
“i—” began his mother. then, holding up her hands as if in despair, she too laughed. “i guess you’ve got me, bob,” was all she could say. “but i hope you boys lose your case in court.”
the circular that caused the revolution in the anclote boat club was as follows:
american aeroplane company
factory offices
newark, new jersey. u. s. a. new york, london, paris, chicago
mr. robert t. atkinson, president
capital stock, $1,000,000
tested aeroplanes ready for delivery
the flying machine is here to stay, and any one who can afford the luxury of a ride in the air should investigate. the aeroplane is no longer a novelty or a wonder. the american aeroplane company, organized with a paid-up capital stock of $1,000,000, is now ready to deliver reliable and tested aeroplanes, standardized in make-up, and ready to fly. we offer f. o. b., newark, new jersey, complete cars for $3,000, and upward. they comprehend every development up to date. the frame is of oregon spruce and bamboo; the planes of rubberized silk balloon cloth. the power plant is a four-cylinder, gasoline, water-cooled motorcycle engine, 25-horsepower cylinders, 3? by 4. the control is extremely simple. the elevation is regulated by a steering lever, the balancing planes are specially designed devices controlled by the movement of the feet. the machine starts from the ground without track or outside help, and it can be taken apart in two hours.
