Jack the Hunchback: A Story of Adventure on the Coast of Maine Read online

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  That which had come out of the east on this bright Junemorning was a ship's lifeboat about eighteen feet long.--Page 4.]

  JACK THE HUNCHBACK;

  A STORY OF ADVENTURE ON THE COAST OF MAINE.

  BY JAMES OTIS,

  _Author of "The Castaways," "A Runaway Brig," "Search for the Silver City," "The Treasure Finders," "With Lafayette at Yorktown," "With Washington at Monmouth," "The Treasure of Cocos Island," "Wrecked on Spider Island," etc., etc._

  NEW YORK: A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER

  Copyright, 1892, BY BRADLEY & WOODRUFF.

  _All rights reserved._

  CONTENTS.

  CHAPTER PAGE

  I. ADRIFT 1

  II. AT AUNT NANCY'S 14

  III. LEARNING TO MILK 28

  IV. PURSUED 40

  V. AN ENCOUNTER 52

  VI. A MENTAL STRUGGLE 64

  VII. FARMER PRATT 75

  VIII. A SECOND WARNING 88

  IX. THE ALARM 99

  X. SICKNESS 111

  XI. GARDENING 122

  XII. LOUIS'S ADVENTURE 137

  XIII. THE SEWING CIRCLE 152

  XIV. AFTER THE STORM 167

  XV. BROTHER ABNER 179

  XVI. A HURRIED DEPARTURE 191

  XVII. CAMP MEETING 204

  XVIII. A DISASTER 218

  XIX. JACK'S PROPOSITION 232

  XX. BILL DEAN 247

  XXI. STARTLING INFORMATION 261

  XXII. THE ARRIVAL 273

  _JACK THE HUNCHBACK._

  CHAPTER I.

  ADRIFT.

  Tom Pratt firmly believed he was the most unfortunate boy in Maine when,on a certain June morning, his father sent him to the beach for a loadof seaweed.

  Tom had never been in love with a farmer's life.

  He fancied that in any other sphere of action he could succeed, if notbetter, certainly more easily, than by weeding turnips or hoeing corn onthe not very productive farm.

  But either planting or digging was preferable to loading a huge cartwith the provokingly slippery weeds which his father insisted ongathering for compost each summer.

  Therefore, when the patient oxen, after much goading and an unusualamount of noise from their impatient driver, stood knee-deep in the surfcontentedly chewing their cuds and enjoying the cool footbath, Tom,instead of beginning his work, sat at the forward part of the cartgazing seaward, thinking, perhaps, how pleasant must be a sailor's lifewhile the ocean was calm and smiling as on this particular day.

  So deeply engrossed was he in idleness that his father's stern commandfrom the hillside a short distance away, "to 'tend to his work an' stopmoonin'," passed unheeded, and the same ox-goad he had been using mighthave been applied to his own body but for the fact that just as FarmerPratt came within striking distance a tiny speck on the water attractedhis attention.

  "It looks to me as if that might be a lapstreak boat out there, Tommy.Can you see anybody in her?"

  "I reckon that's what it is, father, an' she must be adrift."

  Farmer Pratt mounted the cart and scrutinized the approaching objectuntil there could no longer be any question as to what it was, when Tomsaid gleefully,--

  "It must be a ship's boat, an' if she hasn't got a crew aboard, we'llmake a bigger haul than we could by cartin' seaweed for a week."

  "Yes, them kind cost more'n a dory," the farmer replied dreamily, as hementally calculated the amount of money for which she might be sold. "Ireckon we'll take her into Portland an' get a tidy--"

  "I can see a feller's head!" Tom interrupted, "an' it shets off ourchance of sellin' her."

  That the boat had an occupant was evident.

  A closely shaven crown appeared above the stem as if its owner had butjust awakened, and was peering out to see where his voyage was about toend.

  Nearer and nearer the little craft drifted until she was dancing on theshore line of the surf, and the figure in the bow gazed as intentlylandward as the farmer and his son did seaward.

  "It's a boy, father, an' he ain't as big as me!" Tom cried. "Well, thatbeats anything I ever saw!"

  This last remark probably referred to the general appearance of theyoung voyager.

  He was an odd-looking little fellow, with a head which seemed unusuallysmall because the hair was closely cropped, and a bent, misshapen bodyseveral sizes too large for the thin legs which barely raised it abovethe gunwales. The face was by no means beautiful, but the expression ofanxiety and fear caused it to appeal directly to Tom's heart, if not tohis father's.

  Farmer Pratt was not pleased at thus learning that the boat had anoccupant.

  Empty, she would have been a source of profit; but although there wasapparently no one save the deformed lad aboard, he could make no legalclaim upon her.

  The craft was there, however, and would speedily be overturned unless hewaded out into the surf at the risk of a rheumatic attack, to pull herinshore.

  Although decidedly averse to performing any charitable deed, he did thiswithout very much grumbling, and Tom was a most willing assistant.

  That which had come out of the east on this bright June morning was aship's lifeboat about eighteen feet long, and with the name "Atlanta"painted on the gunwales.

  She was a much more valuable craft than Mr. Pratt had ever seen ashoreon Scarborough beach, and yet he failed to calculate her valueimmediately, because as the bow grated on the sand the misshapen boy,from whose white lips not a word had escaped during all this time,suddenly lifted what at first appeared to be a bundle of cloth.

  This act in itself would not have caused any surprise, but at the samemoment a familiar noise was heard from beneath the coverings.

  Farmer Pratt stepped back quickly in genuine alarm and wiped his facewith the sleeve of his shirt as he exclaimed,--

  "Well, this beats anything I ever seen!"

  "It's a baby, father!" Tom cried, starting forward to take the burdenfrom the crooked little sailor's arms; but the latter retreated as ifafraid the child was to be carried away, and the farmer repliedtestily,--

  "Of course it's a baby. Haven't I heard you cry often enough to knowthat?"

  "But how did it come here?"

  "That's what beats me"; and then, as if suddenly realizing that theapparent mystery might be readily solved, he asked the stranger, "Wheredid you come from, sonny?"

  "From Savannah."
r />   "Sho! Why, that's way down in Georgy. You didn't sail them many miles inthis 'ere little boat?"

  "No, sir. We broke adrift from Captain Littlefield's ship yesterday whenshe blowed up, an' the baby's awful hungry."

  "Ship blowed up, eh? Whereabouts was she?"

  "Out there"; and the boy pointed eastward in an undecided manner, as ifnot exactly certain where he had come from.

  "What made her blow up?" Tom asked curiously.

  "I don't know. There was an awful splosion like more'n a hundred bunchesof firecrackers, an' the captain put Louis an' me in the lifeboat towait till his wife got some things from the cabin. While all the sailorswas runnin' 'round wild like, we got adrift. I hollered an' hollered,but nobody saw us." Then he added in a lower tone, "Louis cried lastnight for somethin' to eat, an' he must be pretty hungry now."

  "Well, well, well!" and as the thought of whether he would be paid forthe trouble of pulling the boat ashore came into the farmer's mind, hesaid quickly, "'Cordin' to that you don't own this boat?"

  "She belongs to the ship."

  "An' seein's how the vessel ain't anywhere near, I reckon I've as muchright to this craft as anybody else. Where do you count on goin'?"

  "If we could only get back to New York I'm sure I would be able to findthe captain's house."

  "It's a powerful long ways from here, sonny; but I'll see that you areput in a comfortable place till somethin' can be done. What's yourname?"

  "John W. Dudley; but everybody calls me Jack, an' this is LouisLittlefield," the boy replied as he removed the coverings, exposing toview a child about two years old.

  Master Tom was delighted with the appearance of the little pink andwhite stranger, who was dressed in cambric and lace, with a thin goldchain around his neck, and would have shaken hands with him then andthere if Jack had not stepped quickly back as he said,--

  "He's afraid of folks he don't know, an' if you get him to cryin' I'llhave a worse time than last night. What he wants is somethin' to eat."

  "Take 'em right up to the house, Tommy, an' tell mother to give thembreakfast. When I get the boat hauled around (for I've got every reasonto consider her mine), I'll carry both out to Thornton's."

  Jack clambered from the craft, disdaining Tom's assistance, and, takingthe child in his arms, much as a small cat might carry a very largekitten, stood waiting for his guide to lead the way.

  Farmer Pratt's son was in no especial hurry to reach home, for whileescorting the strangers he certainly could not be expected to shovelseaweed, and Jack said as Tom walked leisurely over the hot sand,--

  "If you don't go faster, the baby'll begin to cry, for he's pretty nearstarved."

  "Why not let him walk? He's big enough; his legs are twice as large asMrs. Libby's baby, an' he went alone a good while ago."

  "I'd rather carry him," Jack replied; and then he refused to enter intoany conversation until they were at the foot of the narrow, shady laneleading to the house, when he asked, "Who's Mr. Thornton?"

  "He keeps the poor farm, an' father's goin' to take you out there."

  "What for? We want to go to New York."

  "Well, you see I don't reckon you'll get as far as that without a slatof money, an' father wants to put you fellers where you'll be took careof for a while."

  Jack stopped suddenly, allowed the baby to slip from his arms under theshade of an apple-tree whose blossoms filled the air with perfume, as hesaid angrily,--

  "Louis sha'n't be taken to the poorhouse! I'll walk my feet off beforeanybody but his mother shall get him."

  "You couldn't go as far as New York, an' if he's so hungry you'd betterlet him have some bread an' milk."

  "How long before your father'll be back?"

  "It'll take him a couple of hours to carry the boat down to the Neck,an' that's the only place where she can lie without gettin' stove."

  "Then we'll go into your house long enough to feed the baby, an' I'llleave before he comes."

  "All right," and Tom took up the line of march once more. "I don't knowas I blame you, for Thornton's ain't the nicest place that ever was, an'I'd rather haul seaweed for a month than stay there one night."

  Jack looked wistfully at the little farmhouse with its beds of oldmaid's pinks and bachelor's buttons in front of the muslin-curtainedwindows, thinking, perhaps, that shelter should be given him thererather than among the town's paupers; but he made no remark, and a fewmoments later they were standing in the cool kitchen while Tom explainedto his mother under what circumstances he had made the acquaintance ofthe strangers.

  Mrs. Pratt was quite as economical as her husband; but the baby facetouched her heart fully as much as did the fact that the boat in whichthe children had drifted ashore would amply repay any outlay in the wayof food and shelter.

  She accepted the statement made by Tom, that the children were to besent to Thornton's, because the town provided such an asylum, and therewas no good reason, in her mind at least, why it should not be utilizedin a case like this.

  Thus, with the pleasing knowledge that her involuntary guests wouldremain but a short time and cost her nothing, she set out a plentifulsupply of fresh milk and sweet home-made bread, as she said,--

  "Fill yourselves right full, children, for it will rest you to eat, andafter you've had a nice ride, Mrs. Thornton will give you a chance tosleep."

  Jack looked up quickly as if about to make an angry reply, and then, aslittle Louis went toward the table eagerly, he checked himself, devotingall his attention to the child by waiting until the latter had finishedbefore he partook of as much as a spoonful.

  Then he ate rapidly, and after emptying two bowls of milk, asked,--

  "May I put some of the bread in my pocket?'"

  "Certainly, child; but it won't be needed, for there is plenty to eat atThornton's, and most likely in a few days the selectmen will find someway to send word to the baby's relatives."

  Jack put three slices of bread in his pocket before replying, and then,as with an effort he lifted Louis in his arms, said,--

  "We're not goin' to the poor farm, ma'am. We are bound to get to NewYork, an' thank you for the bread an' milk."

  Just at that moment Mrs. Pratt was intent on carrying the dishes fromthe table to the pantry, therefore she did not see the deformed boyleave the house quickly, Tom following close behind.

  Jack heard her call after him to wait until Mr. Pratt should return; buthe shook his head decidedly, and trudged out from the green-carpetedlane to the dusty road, bent only on saving his little charge fromthe ignominy of the poorhouse.

  "Say, hold on for father!" Tom cried. "You can't walk even so far asSaco, an' where'll you sleep to-night?"

  "I'd rather stay in the woods, an' so had Louis," Jack replied; and thenin reply to the child's fretful cries, he added, "Don't fuss; I'll findyour mother."

  "But how can you do it if the ship has blowed up?" Tom asked, quickeninghis steps to keep pace with the deformed boy. "Perhaps mother'll let yousleep in my bed to-night, an' you won't have to go out to the poorfarm."

  "And then again she mightn't, so I guess we won't risk it."

  "Have you got any money?"

  "Not a cent."

  Tom halted irresolutely for a moment, and then his charitable impulsesgained the mastery.

  "Here's half of what I've got, an' I wish it was more."

  Involuntarily Jack extended his hand for the gift.

  Four marbles were dropped into it, and then Tom turned and ran like adeer as if afraid he might regret his generosity.

  The dusty road wound its way among the fields like a yellow ribbon on agreen cloth, offering no shelter from the burning rays of the sun, andstretching out in a dreary length.

  The hunchback plodded steadily on with his heavy burden, and as hewalked the good people in the neighboring city of Portland were readingin their morning papers the following item:--

  A SINGULAR EXPLOSION.

  The ship "Atlanta" anchored inside the breakwater just before
midnight, and her master reports a remarkable accident.

  The "Atlanta" loaded at Savannah last week with cotton and turpentine, bound for Bremen. Owing to baffling winds she was eighty miles off Wood Island yesterday afternoon when an explosion occurred which blew off the main hatch, and was followed by dense volumes of what appeared to be smoke.

  Believing the ship to be on fire, Capt. Littlefield's first thought was of his wife and child, who were on board. The lifeboat was lowered, and in her were placed the captain's son and the cabin boy, a hunchback.

  Before Mrs. Littlefield could be gotten over the side, the sailors reported no fire in the hold, and the vapor supposed to be smoke was probably the gases arising from the turpentine stored in porous barrels of red oak.

  In the excitement no particular attention was paid to the children for some time, since the boat was believed to be firmly secured, and the consternation of the captain can be imagined when it was discovered that the craft had gone adrift.

  The ship stood off and on several hours without discovering any signs of the missing ones, and was then headed for this harbor.

  As a matter of course the captain will be obliged to proceed on his voyage without delay; but Mrs. Littlefield is to remain in town several days hoping to receive some news of her child, and it is believed that the revenue cutter "Cushing" will cruise along the shore until the boat is found.

  It is understood that a liberal reward will be offered for any information which may be given regarding the whereabouts of the children, and until that has been done the editors of this paper will thankfully receive tidings of the missing ones in case they have been seen or sighted.

  It is particularly desirable that masters of vessels should keep a sharp lookout for a drifting boat.