The Voyage of the Hoppergrass

d Mr. Daddles, in a kind of awed whisper;

Toppan, and I were n

ss'!" we all burst out

th his "Hear what I have to say!" he repeated the announcement word for word as he had given it the

ter him in

re i

as it s

Captain B

th some air of indignation, an

e," said he, pointing hi

e begged the other th

e Ho

What

id was stolen. Captain Banniste

the 'Hoppergrass'

ings

the other name of

she travel under an

r cal

s' and he said he had thought of changing the

up the street in the direction that the crier had p

nge the name like this. You have to re

ng of calling her the Hannah

es

boat. There wouldn't be two knock

r chairs around and watched us through the window as soon as we entered the office. This room was empty, but

in Bannis

h, no, Bannis

h as to say: "I wouldn't have a

WAS here,

yes, he WAS her

e was here until

e gone

Oh, yes, he'

w-as a joke. They both laughed uproariously. The hotel man was evidently unwilling to give up any i

ow where h

away before

ou know WHE

me-Joe, where'd he

en on the pi

g D

uck Is

p.

in. "He says to me

ers

s'? Wher

otel man, "'bout three miles t

ss" at the wharf, and came up into the town. When he returned, an hour later, his boat had disappeared. One or two men had seen it sail down the river, but in the fog had not noticed who was on board. The Ca

urglars had took it. The fellers that have

them fellers," sa

ched

rom a feller that was off Bailey's this mornin', haulin' lobster-pots. They got the whole gang, and put 'em in jail, an' they all got out again,

e very gravely, and rub

ll turn out all right. Well, we want to find Captain Ba

ep on to the far end of the island,-you

ung feller," said one of the men, "I heard

e to try them both

ked down the street again Sprague said that we

his name was, come here with news about the bur

me. When you had lost your boat and your Captain it was bad enough. But now the

to go to Big Duck Is

," said

arbor?" asked Pete, w

on't think so. I noticed Rogers's Island on the chart.

ar on which we had travelled yesterday. Then there was a walk of less than two miles to a point on the shore from which a row-boat could take us to Rogers's Island. It was a long way

an all sail over to Big Duck Island tonight or to-morrow morning and join us there. If he doesn't see anything of them, he can come back here to Lanesport, and spend the n

a last year's magazine. We routed him up, and cooked the dinner. Whil

an pleased when I saw that I had,-well, I was going to say: won. I thought I had w

ome money, and I left Lanesport on the horse-car. At Squid Cove I looked anxiously to see if the

ss knuckles. Say, did you ever see any brass knuckles? I did. I know a feller that has got a pair. He keeps 'em in the hay in the barn, so's his father won't get onto him. Gee! They put the burglars into the new jail, but they all got out, an' no one knows how they did it. Nat

car and hit the horse a loud s

landers is madder

d I. Which was g

An' when they got away, Eb pretty near bust his biler. He got his possy together again, an' he says he'll ha

rin at me through a gap where four front teeth were missing. He wa

t summer for haulin' Levi Sanborn's lobster-pots,-he took an' tied 'em back to back an' carried 'em over to Lanesport in his boat,

ing to Roge

e excursion aint

xcursion?" bef

the Comp'ny? Gran'father's goin'. Everbo

. What is it,-a picnic? How many pe

in the 'Mayflower' or with Christopher C'lumbus, or somebody. When Gran'father was a boy there was twenty-seven of 'em livin' there, an' nineteen of 'em was children. Gee! there must have been a mob,-all in one house! But they've been dyin' off, or movin' away or somethin', an' when old man Rogers died there wasn't no on

s beside the road. One of the women commenced to ask questions and I did not get much chance to ta

erely stopped to ask the boy if I would be a

he, "there's a bridge. You'

ley's Harbor, but quite passable. The island was in plain sight at the end of the road,-a rocky hummock of land, with two patches of trees. At the edge of one of these groups of trees I could see a chimney and one corner of a house. A big,

O

HE VAS

OC

UP HIS

L

TO THE MO

OMFORT PLA

CH OF A

ITAN MAR

MP

E GRAND DE

COMPANY

S'S I

RSIONS-M

ERN

LY

" and the excursion. This was the thing he had meant. Well, it was nothing to me,-I had only to find out if Captain Bannister and the "Hoppergrass" were there, an

auseway was a wooden

tream, not much more

is was the only water

rom the

dge was tacked another pi

CH

EPTUNE

EA

E BOUND

D SLAVE ALL

ANS FOR LUX

OR

URSIONS T

ULY 30. S

EAVES LA

M., AN

ETROP

GOLD

BY THE LEADI

TISTS OF

D

HARVEY B

ENOCH

ESP

sters,-about the Metropolitan Marine Gold Company, and the excursions to Rogers's Island. At the end of the causew

N MARINE GOLD C

st black. For a hundred years or more the wind and rain and snow had beaten against it,-storms from the ocean, storms from the land, winds from all quarters, for except at one corner it was unprotected by trees. It stood o

s which had opened it, however,-there was no one inside, so far as I could see. I looked into an empty hall, dusty and neglected. A broad staircase led upstairs, but the only thing in the hall was a pile of pink han

sort of wooden stand, built out of boards and packing boxes. This was decorated with flags and colored bunting, as if for a band-concert. I

to do. Evidently Captain Bannister was not here, but why had he said he was coming to such a place? What had made

oot of the hill, and at the end of it was another of the white cloth signs. It faced out over the water, so I could not read what it sai

ly. I had not stepped upon the woodwork before I noticed a trap-do

ere two men, with a lantern beside them. They were both in their shirt-sleeves, and they seemed to be work

in, but at last I gave a kind of

if their heads had been pulled back on wires. One of

he reached the top; "who ar

at his hair was rather short. As for his age, I could not have told about that,-it might have been twenty-fiv

"someone told me that it was here,

ht," he answered,-"what kind of a

oat,-the 'Hoppergras

's more likely

black, with a white neck-tie. His hair was sandy, and he had reddish side-whiskers,-the kind called "side-boards." I never saw a man with such a solemn face,-nor one with so long a nose. But he smiled

said, "what is your name,

nd I tried to drop his clammy hand. But he hel

e had a smooth voice that somehow made me feel

," I said, trying again

ild surprise, "and what is

ut as I hadn't made up one in advance, it seemed to stick. Of course, I had often read of various kinds of criminals and desperadoes who went under false names, and also of people who were no more criminals than we, who h

-James B-B-Brown,

" he said, in his but

n, what is it

told us at Lanesport that Captain Bannister

tall man to let go of my hand, and I backed a little away from him. I described the "Hop

hey?" said the litt

! of Lanesport? Ca

esp

he co

e's been in Lanespor

where he lost t

you what. He isn't here now, but I expect he will be her

ead the h

here tomorrow. Now, have you got

like a word with you just for a second. You'll excuse me, young man, if I con

ere they whispered together for three or four minutes. The tall man kept his h

y came b

to Lanesport tonight?

"if I didn't find

r. Besides, your surest way to find this Captain Bannister is to stay right here. He'll be here tomorrow, sure. Then you ca

yone whom I disliked so much, from the very first instant. But the Professor seemed perfectly straightforward. The cars had stopped, and I was left here on Rog

, and told them t