The Hilltop Boys on the River | Page 9

been asleep I would not have caught these
rascals at their dirty work."
"But yo' didn' cotch dem, sah, dey done runned away."
By this time Jack, Percival, Harry and Arthur, and a number of the boys,
aroused by the noise, had come down to see what was the matter.
Young Smith turned his light on the bottom of the boat, it having been
drawn up on the beach, and saw the mark of the auger quite plainly.
It had not gone in deep enough to do any harm, and what, hole there
was could be caulked with very little trouble.
The rascals had dropped their tools in their hurry, and Jack picked these
up and examined them carefully.
"I can't tell where these were bought," he said to Dick, "and many of
the boys have tools just like them. I will keep them for further use."
"Wait till some one wants to borrow something like this," said Percival,
"and then we may find out something. It was a dirty trick, whoever did

it, and I wish that Jesse W. had seen them plainer."
"They were big fellows," said young Smith quietly to Jack and Percival,
"but there are a good many big fellows among the boys, and that does
not tell us much. I only wish I could have seen their faces."
"Well, I am glad you drove them away," said Jack. "They might have
done considerable damage. Still, it is likely that I would have seen the
hole when I went to put the boat in the water unless they plugged it up
with sand, which they might have done."
"If any of our boys are doing things like this, which I would be very
sorry to know," added Percival, "we are in a pretty bad way. If it was
done by strangers we shall have to set a guard at night."
"H'm! standing guard duty is not very pleasant," said Billy Manners
dolefully. "I am too fond of sleeping to do that."
"Nobody will like it," rejoined Dick, "but we shall have to do it if this
sort of thing continues. I hate to think that any of our fellows are mean
enough to do it."
There were many of the boys who thought that there were some of their
number who were just mean enough, but no one was accused, the
matter being too serious an affair for one to make charges unless they
could be proved conclusively.
"Did you see which way the rascals went, J.W.?" asked Percival when
the three were quite alone. "That might tell us something."
"Well, you know that it is dark along shore, Dick," returned young
Smith, "and they made very little noise. They started to run the minute I
spoke, and when I turned the light on them they were going pretty fast.
All I could tell was that they were big boys, but I could not say now
just which way they went, it was so dark."
"Well, they won't try it again, that is certain, but it may come to having
a regular guard at night, and none of the boys will like that."

"I told Buck and the others that I would give them a dollar apiece to
keep watch to-night, Dick."
Both Jack and Dick laughed at the young fellow's earnestness, and Jack
said pleasantly:
"That was kind of you, J.W., but I don't think it will be necessary
to-night. Besides, if any one pays the men to keep watch it should be
myself, and not you, old chap."
"Imagine Pete Herring and fellows like that offering to pay men for
watching another boy's boat!" sputtered Percival "I see them doing it!"
"Well, no harm has been done, fortunately, Dick, and with you I do not
think it will be repeated. Come, let's go back to bed."
There was no further disturbance during the night, and in the morning
nothing was found to be the matter with Jack's boat beyond what had
been done before, and this could be easily remedied.
Percival watched Herring and others very closely to see if he could
detect anything suspicious in their looks, speech or actions, but they
were evidently prepared and on guard, for he could see nothing which
would warrant his bringing an accusation against them.
He did not tell Jack that he suspected them, but, nevertheless,
determined to watch them closely to see if there were any ground for
his suspicions other than they had bad reputations and did not like Jack.
Matters went on as usual in the camp during the day, the boys dividing
their time between study and recreation, with a little drill and some
gymnasium practice, considerable apparatus having been erected at one
side of the camp for that purpose.
Jack had a friendly