“there’s only one thing we can do,” jack told them, “which is to work the boat along closer to the western shore. before long, unless my map of the river is all wrong, we ought to strike a town by the name of mohaca, a railroad place situated on a sharp bend of the danube, and there must be some one in that town who can do the necessary repairs to our engine, if we hold over half a day.”
the others admitted that the plan proposed by their leader sounded good to them. and accordingly they set to work first of all to get the trailing anchor aboard, so that their progress would be delayed no longer.
buster was much relieved. besides, it was josh who was saturated to the skin now, and when one means to be cheerful it counts for considerable “whose ox is gored,” as buster liked to put it.
still he felt sorry when he saw josh shivering, for the air had become suddenly quite cool after the passing of the storm, and insisted on[106] wrapping a blanket about the slim boy.
all of them kept watch for signs of the town below. the afternoon was wearing on very fast now, and they hoped to arrive before sunset. it might be a difficult matter to find the machinist they wanted if they reached the town on the bank of the danube after darkness had set in.
“i reckon it’s at that bend below there,” said jack; “if you look sharp you can see the sun glinting from what looks to me like a church steeple, with a cross on the same.”
“you hit it that time, jack,” asserted josh, “because that’s just what it is. for one i’ll be glad to get where we can have a fire and dry out.”
they were compelled to work pretty hard in order to get the boat over close to the shore where the town stood. the current seemed to run in a contrary direction, and did its best to frustrate their efforts.
jack, however, remembering many other times when they had been aboard motorboats that acted queerly, or else broke down, had seen to it that there was a push-pole lashed to the side of the craft. the river at this point proved to be comparatively shallow, so that it was easily possible to reach bottom.
by changing hands, and each one having a[107] turn, they kept where they wanted to go, and in this way made the town.
it did not differ from other places they had been seeing along the danube, and after the storm it looked rather subdued. in the morning they would find the customary amount of life in the place, together with the usual display of soldiers’ uniforms, jack did not doubt in the least.
as they were passing slowly along in search of some place where they might hope to have their broken-down engine repaired on the following day, as well as a harbor of refuge for the coming night, loud cheers drew their attention to the railroad which ran close to the river bank.
“it’s only another train-load of troops going to the front!” announced josh, as they saw numerous heads thrust from the windows of the carriages, together with wildly waving hands.
“they think it’s a picnic to start with,” said george, “but before long they’ll sing a different tune, i guess; that is, those who live through the first battle. in these days of quick-firing guns and the terrible shells, the chances a fellow has of coming back home are mighty small. no soldiering for me if i know myself.”
[108]
“oh, that’s all hot air you’re giving us, george,” scoffed josh. “you know mighty well that if our country was in danger, and you were old enough, you’d enlist right away. so would we all of us, as well as herb and andy at home. you’ve got your faults, george, as all of us have, but being a coward isn’t one of them by a long shot.”
george did not make any reply to this speech, but smiled as though he felt rather pleased to know even josh had such a good opinion of his fighting abilities.
the long train with its shouting crowds passed from sight. evidently these troops were headed for the servian border, and expected to see warm service there, fighting against the brave little country that had long since won its independence from the turks.
“i think i see what we’re wanting to find,” remarked jack presently.
“it’s the usual boatyard you find in nearly all river towns,” added josh; “and we ought to be able to make arrangements for having our engine looked over and repaired in the morning.”
“make your minds easy on that score,” advised george, calmly enough; “for even if we don’t run across a machinist who can do the job, trust me to tackle it.”
[109]
“what! you?” ejaculated buster.
“why not?” demanded george, as though aggrieved that any one should for a moment question his ability in that line. “haven’t i taken the engine of my wireless to pieces many a time and put it together again?”
“that’s right, you have,” spoke up josh, “because you never could let well enough alone, but must be monkeying around your engine all the time. that’s why jack insisted in the beginning of this voyage that you were to be a passenger and let him act as pilot and engineer.”
“but the engine’s broken down, isn’t it?” demanded george.
“sure it has,” josh admitted, “but that was a sheer accident, and you didn’t have a thing to do with it.”
“there’s no reason to believe we’ll get left about finding a machinist here,” jack remarked, to calm the troubled waters. “i think that sign tells us as much. but we’ll soon know.”
they managed to push the boat inside the enclosure. here they found a number of river craft of various types, and jack noticed that among them were several launches, from which fact he judged that the man did all kinds of general repairing.
[110]
a short time later they landed and found the owner of the shop. he could understand english, fortunately enough, so they were able to make a bargain with him. doubtless he must have charged them an exorbitant price, for upon their accepting his terms he showed them unusual courtesy, even telling them to push the boat inside his house, where he could get to work at the engine in the morning.
he also informed the boys that if they chose to sleep aboard they were at perfect liberty to do so. should it storm again they would have the benefit of a roof over their heads; and they could cook their supper at the fire he would leave in the forge.
buster immediately declared it would be a jolly thing all around.
“you know we do feel more or less cramped aboard our boat,” he went on to remark, with considerable eagerness. “and if you say the word, why, i’ll take my blanket and camp out here on the floor. there are plenty of chips to make a soft bed, even if they don’t smell as sweet as hemlock browse such as we have at home.”
“and another thing,” added josh, “jack and myself can get nice and dry at the fire here in the forge. i think the man must have noticed that we’d been soaked.”
[111]
“yes, and he soaked us some more in the bargain,” complained george, “according to the price we agreed to pay him for the easy job of mending a broken engine. see, you might have saved all that money if you’d had enough confidence in me to let me run the job.”
“perhaps!” said josh dryly, and there was such a world of meaning in that one word as pronounced by him that george immediately fell silent, not caring to bring about another verbal controversy.
the owner of the boatyard and shop was certainly very kind in allowing those who were perfect strangers to him to remain over night there. he must have seen by looking at the faces of the four boys that they were worthy of trust. it was not everybody whom he would grant such a favor to, and jack told his chums they had reason to feel quite proud of the fact.
it was by this time getting quite dark. the man had lighted a lamp for them, which served to dispel the gloom in the shop’s interior. josh was already using the bellows in order to blow the dying fire into new life. when the heat became noticeable he and jack proceeded to warm up. by degrees they found that this steaming process dried their clothes admirably. buster could tell them how efficient it had been in his own case, only that buster was[112] now impatient for them to get through, so he could have the red bed of coals for the purpose of cooking supper.
at the time the proprietor of the boatyard went away jack had stepped outside the door with him. as he expected, he found that the shop faced on a street running close to the river itself.
as they had laid in plenty of provisions at budapest, there was really no necessity for any of them to wander around the town. if the boys exhibited any curiosity in that respect, jack meant to dampen their zeal by telling them there might be some danger of strangers being eyed with suspicion in these exciting days, and that it would be safest to stay at the shop.
besides, there could be no telling just when the repairs would be finished, for, after all, the damage was apt to be slight; and in this event they would want to be on the move with as little delay as possible.
bumpus was soon in his glory. it had indeed been a long while since they had enjoyed the privilege of preparing a meal over such a fine fire as the blacksmith forge afforded them. besides, the glowing coals seemed so much nicer than ordinary smoking wood; as bumpus[113] said, it saved the cook’s back considerable, in that he did not have to bend down so much.
they found something that answered for a table, and by the light of the lamp so kindly loaned by the owner they ate their supper. no matter what it consisted of, for there is no time to go into particulars—at least it had a “homey” taste to it, and brought back to their minds numerous other meals which had accompanied their various cruises down american rivers, through the great lakes, and among the islands of the florida coast.
it seemed very quiet down by the river. if the town itself was booming with the spirit of war, the boys heard very little of it while they sat around chatting, after partaking of the meal bumpus provided.
once george sauntered over to the door that led to the street and looked out, but he did not venture forth. when he came back josh, of course, wanted to know what he had heard.
“oh, nothing much,” the other replied with a yawn. “there’s considerable noise up above, and perhaps some soldiers are getting ready to go away. you know they make an awful lot of fuss over here when the boys are off for the war.”
“so far as that goes, they do it everywhere,” remarked jack. “i remember plainly hearing[114] my folks telling all that happened in our town in ninety-eight, when the war with spain broke out. of course, all of us were kids then, babies in fact, and we knew nothing about it; but i take it there were lots of exciting things happening day after day, as trains passed through. one country doesn’t differ a great deal from another, when you come to take notice.”
“i hope you took pains to put up that stout bar again, george, after you shut the double doors?” remarked bumpus. “not that i expect we’ll be troubled with unwelcome visitors in the shape of thieves while we’re roosting here, but you know it’s a heap nicer to know everything’s lovely and the goose hangs high.”
“oh, don’t borrow any trouble about that bar, buster,” george assured him. “sure i put it back, just like i found it. i reckon the owner uses it when he’s working in here behind closed doors and doesn’t want to be disturbed. you know he locked the small door before going away. it’s all right, buster, so let your dear timid soul rest in peace.”
“oh, not that i’m afraid,” asserted the other indignantly; “honest, george, i only mentioned the matter as a simple precaution. jack here might have done the same, given a little more time. you ought to know me better than that, george.”
[115]
the boat lay tied up in the basin inside the shed. back of it was a water gate, which had also been closed and fastened by the owner before departing. surrounded as they were by all the tools of a boat repairer’s trade, the boys felt as though they were in strange company. possibly some of these same tools were built along different lines from what they might have found in the same sort of an establishment in the states.
for quite some time the four chums sat there and talked over various things of interest. of course, these as a general rule had some connection with their own fortunes. many questions were asked and answered, by one or another, as the case might be, although as a rule it was jack to whom most of them were addressed. the whole scheme of a cruise down the danube had originated with jack, and for this reason, as well as others, the remaining three boys looked to him to find answers to the many puzzling enigmas that faced them.
jack was fully qualified to assume this task, and it was seldom they were ever able to “stump” him with a twister.
so the time passed on, and, judging from the repeated way in which some of the motorboat boys were yawning without even putting up a hand to hide the gap, it became evident that[116] they could not remain awake much longer.
indeed, jack himself felt pretty drowsy, and was just about to propose that the meeting adjourn sine die, so that each could prepare his cot for the night, just as he saw fit, when something occurred to interfere with this peaceful scheme.
“listen! seems to me that hollerin’s coming closer to us,” exclaimed josh.
“sure it is,” added george, which was pretty conclusive evidence pointing that way, because as a rule he would have questioned it before giving in.
“there’s a crowd coming,” said jack quietly.
“more like an angry mob, it sounds to me,” muttered josh.
“say, you don’t think for a minute, do you,” cried buster, “that they know about us being hidden in this coop, and mean to interview the bunch, perhaps shoot us for servian spies?”
“oh, hardly as bad as that,” jack went on to say, seeking to calm the excited buster; “they may pass by and never bother us at all. perhaps some soldiers are going along to a place of meeting, where they expect to entrain for the front.”
“anyway, we’ll soon know the worst,” declared[117] josh, “because they’re nearly up to the shop by now.”
the shouts outside had an angry and insistent ring about them that jack did not like. then came a series of heavy and imperative knocks on the closed shop doors!
