Bob the Castaway | Page 7

out and call for help.
In a little while Bob pulled the string again, and the dangling nail went
tap! tap! tap! against the pane.
"Here she comes!" exclaimed Ted in a whisper as the door opened.
And this time, instead of contenting herself by merely looking about,
Mrs. Mooney came out on the porch. Then she started down the front
walk toward the lilac bushes, though she did not know the boys were
there.
"She's comin' after us," whispered Ted. "Come on, Bob."

Bob was aware of the danger of getting caught. He prepared to run.
Now there is this advantage to a tic-tac. Once you want to escape you
can take it with you by the simple process of pulling on the long string,
when the pin is jerked from the window-frame, and you can drag the
nail and all with you, thus leaving no evidence behind. This was what
Bob did.
Quickly winding up die string as he pulled the pin and nail toward him,
he and Ted started to run, crouching down low so as not to be seen. But
Ted, unfortunately for the success of their plan, stumbled and fell,
making so much noise that Mrs. Mooney heard t.
"Thieves! Burglars! Police!" she screamed.
"Come on!" cried Bob desperately. "We'll be caught!"
Mrs. Mooney ran back into the house, slammed the front door, shut and
locked it. She believed she had surprised thieves at work, for she saw
two dim forms running toward the street.
"Leg it!" whispered Bob.
"I am," replied Ted.
They reached the gate together, but that was as far as they got, for just
as they arrived at it they collided with a large man who was running
toward the house. He was so large that the combined impact of Bob and
Ted against him never staggered him, but it almost threw them off their
feet. They were running, head down, and had not seen him.
"Hold hard there, my hearties!" exclaimed the man in a gruff but not
unpleasant voice. "What are you trying to cross my bows for in this
fashion? That's no way to run, not showing a masthead light or even
blowing a whistle. Avast and belay! You might have sunk me if I didn't
happen to be a heavier craft than you."
As the man spoke he instinctively grasped the two boys, preventing

them from continuing their flight.
"What's the trouble?" he went on. "I heard a female crying--sounding a
distress signal like. Where are the burglars? Are you going for the
police?"
"No, sir. It was us, playing tic-tac," explained Bob, thinking it best to
make a clean breast of the affair.
"Tic-tac, eh? I haven't heard that since I was a boy. On whose
window?"
"The Widow Mooney's, sir."
"And it was the widow, I presume, who was signaling for aid. Well, I'll
stand by and see what's wanted. You'd better come back also."
"Aw, we don't want to," spoke Ted.
"No, I suppose not. Still you're coming."
The man had both boys firmly by their arms, and he turned in the
gateway with them. As he did so, Mrs. Mooney, hearing voices,
ventured to open her door. The light streamed out and showed the face
of the man. At the sight of it Bob uttered an exclamation.
"Why, it's Captain Spark!" he cried.
"That's what. You read my signals right, my lad, and if I'm not
mistaken, you're Bob Henderson."
"Yes, sir."
Captain Jeremiah Spark was an old seafaring man. He was a distant
relative of Bob's mother, and, in fact, he was on his way to call on her,
having just returned from a long voyage, when he ran into the boys, or,
rather, they collided with him.
"So you're playing tricks on a poor, lone widow woman, are you?"

asked the captain in no very pleasant tones.
"We--we didn't mean any harm," said Bob.
"No, I suppose not. Boys never do, but the harm comes. Now I'm going
to march you two lads right up before the mast; and you're going to
apologize to the widow. If you don't, why, I reckon a cat-o'-nine-tails
will fit the case pretty well."
Mrs. Mooney was standing in her door as the captain led the two boys
up to her.
"Here's the burglars you were shouting about, ma'am," he said. "One of
'em a relative of mine, I'm sorry to say. They've come to beg your
pardon. Go ahead, boys."
"I'm sorry about the tic-tac," said Bob in a low voice.
"We didn't mean nothin'," added Ted.
"Was it you boys?" asked the widow. "I was so frightened. I thought
burglars were trying to cut out a pane of glass."
"I don't believe they'll do it again," remarked Captain Spark. "Will you,
boys?"
"No, sir," they chorused.