in the captain’s private room frank merriwell stripped off his wet clothes. the captain provided him with a dry suit of underclothes, a pair of trousers, socks and a woolen shirt. his coat, vest, shoes and hat were brought him, and he made a very respectable appearance when he came out.
in the meantime, in another room the girl was making such changes as were possible.
it was nearly an hour later when frank found her seated on the sunny side of the boat, wrapped in a blanket and holding the little dog in her arms. on her head was a handsome hat, and her hair had been dried and combed. she laughed when she saw him.
“why,” she exclaimed, “no one would know you had been in the water! as for me, my dress is ruined. it was fortunate i had other dresses aboard and i could get to my trunk. i was so chilled that i came out here and kept this blanket about me at first. i don’t need it now.”
she let the blanket slip from her shoulders, and merry was amazed to find her dressed in another suit that was quite as stylish and handsome as the first. again she seemed to read his thoughts, for she said:
“i’m just back from boston, you know. father lets me go up twice a year, and i always get a full supply of[126] clothing while i am there. that’s how i happened to have a trunkful on board.
“you were fortunate.”
“wasn’t i? bring that stool and sit here by me. it’s delightful in the afternoon sunshine.”
frank was ready enough to do as she directed, and soon he was seated at her side, chatting with her freely. she thanked him earnestly for what he had done, and again declared she could never forget it. they laughed over the adventure, as if it had been of no consequence.
she was lively company, as he soon found, and she made that hour spent thus with her pass most pleasantly and swiftly. she was witty, too, and only occasionally did she drop into slang.
after a time, merry thought he would try to discover how much she really knew. her language seemed to indicate that she was intelligent, but he was surprised to find her something of a scholar and a great reader.
“you see, reading is nearly all the amusement i have at home,” she said; “and so, whenever i go to the city, i buy a stack of the latest books. i have a large box of books on the way down home now.”
he found she had read something besides the ordinary gushing love story, for she could talk with him of “david copperfield,” “vanity fair,” “ivanhoe,” “the scarlet letter,” and so forth. but he was most surprised when she informed him that stevenson’s “treasure island” was her favorite book.
“there is something about the men in that book that[127] attracts me,” she declared. “i have seen such men as silver and israel hands.”
“you have?” cried frank. “why, they were desperate characters!”
“well, you can find desperate characters not far from here. you are on ‘the line’ now. it’s easy for a man who commits a crime to cross over and get away.”
“where do you live, if i may ask?”
“on blank island.”
“where is that? anywhere near forest city?”
“north of forest city. it is on ‘the line,’ so they say; one-half the island is in maine and one-half in new brunswick.”
frank was more than ever astonished, for it seemed most amazing that such a girl could live on an island away up there in the lake. he did not wish to seem too curious, and so he did not ask other questions just then.
but she took her turn, for she led him to tell how he came to be there. she listened attentively to his story of adventures around moosehead. he told how hans had been taken ill, and they had stopped at brownville. he explained how he had acquired the handsome rifle, and how it had been stolen from him by a man named enos dugan, whom he had pursued to the grand lake region.
“perhaps you know something about enos dugan?” he said, in conclusion.
“yes,” she slowly answered; “i do.”
“what can you tell me about him?”
[128]
“he is a second long jim silver. you had better give up this pursuit.”
“so i was told at vanceborough; but i vowed that i would have that rifle, and i will!”
“you may lose your life instead of recovering the rifle. enos dugan is a man to shun.”
“i have heard that he is a smuggler. do you know if it is true?”
“i believe they tell such things about him, but it is hard to prove. in fact, it is next to impossible to prove anything against him. he will soon find out you have followed him, if he does not know it now, and you will be in terrible peril. i beg you to give up this search and go back at once!”
her earnestness was impressive. all the laughter was gone from her face now, and she was looking at him with those dark eyes in a manner that stirred his heart, for he realized that she was moved by feelings which her eyes revealed, despite herself.
her hand, now neatly gloved, rested on his arm, and it trembled a little.
“promise me you will do as i ask?” she urged.
“i can’t promise you that,” he said, gravely. “i cannot break my vow.”
“not even for me?”
“please don’t put it that way! you will make me seem rude, and it seems that i have proved that i am ready to do almost anything for you—even get wet. i shall be forced to appear at a decided disadvantage if you urge me.”
[129]
“you are obstinate!” she cried.
“no; simply determined.”
“it’s the same thing. i am sorry you came here—yes, sorry, though this has been a pleasant hour!”
she uttered the words in a desperate way, and then she leaned toward frank till she was very close to him, her handsome face upturned pleadingly, and made a last appeal.
as she was thus, speaking swiftly in a low tone, elder jones, who had been sulking by himself ever since she had given him the cold shoulder after the rescue, came around from the stern, and stopped, looking straight at them.
to him it must have seemed that frank and the girl were astonishingly intimate on short acquaintance, for their postures were almost lover-like, the girl’s being especially so. he did not understand her words, but he knew she was pleading with frank.
the face of the minister grew livid with rage, and he seemed to shake in every limb. he stood there staring some seconds, and then he turned about and walked away. as he disappeared, what sounded like an oath came to frank’s ears.
“it’s too bad!” exclaimed merry. “now he is furious!”
“who cares!” came recklessly from the girl. “he is nothing to me. i never promised to marry him, and i never will. once i thought i might, but i have changed my mind since—since—a little while ago.”
frank understood her, and he realized that he was in[130] a very awkward position. his bravery in rescuing the girl, his chat with her, his general manliness, had led her to fall in love with him.
he looked at her, and she saw that he had read her secret. the hot color came to her face with a rush and swept down her neck.
“i am a fool!” she exclaimed, angrily. “i don’t know what you will think of me! i can’t help it; think what you like. i was brought up in the woods, and a few years at boarding school have not made me strictly proper and conventional. i hate shams and deceptions! there! as long as you will not do what i wish, i must do what i can for you, and you may find me a friend worth having. perhaps i can recover that rifle for you without trouble. i will try it. do you know, although we seem well acquainted now, i have not even learned your name?”
“and i am equally at a disadvantage in regard to you. my name is frank merriwell.”
“i like the sound of that name. it seems to fit you. mr. merriwell, i will try to recover your rifle for you. if you will come up to blank island to-morrow afternoon, i think i will have it for you.”
now merriwell was astounded.
“why, how can that be?” he cried.
“never mind. come to-morrow afternoon. will you?”
“why—of course—yes——”
“i have your promise. here is forest city, and the[131] boat is going to stop. you had better get off here. i will leave it at the island. good-by.”
the little steamer was swinging in to the landing at the settlement. but, just then, frank merriwell had eyes for no one save the handsome girl at his side. she held out her hand and he took it. he started a bit, realizing she had removed the glove from that hand, and it was warm and plump in his grasp.
“good-by!” she whispered.
“but there is one thing you have forgotten,” said frank, hastily, looking down into her eyes and feeling himself drawn toward her by a strange attraction.
“what is it?”
“your name.”
“so i did.”
the boat swung gently in to the landing, was made fast, and the plank run out.
“she will not stop here long,” said the girl.
“but your name?” urged frank. “you have not told me yet.”
“it is hilda.”
“hilda what?”
“isn’t hilda enough?”
“no! no! tell me your whole name!”
“well, then, it is hilda dugan!”
“dugan? is it possible that——”
“yes; it is possible. i am the daughter of enos dugan; but i am your friend just the same, frank merriwell. come to the island to-morrow afternoon. i will wait for you. good-by.”
