We took him down-stream and then unceremoniously picked him
up and dumped him overboard within a few feet of the shore. It was a rude
awakening, and nearly frightened the wits out of the man. But it brought
him to his senses, and in a moment we were dodging more stones, sent with
such good aim that we had to lie flat in the bottoms of the boats until
the current carried us out of reach.
A Double Surprise.
[Illustration: Fig. 145. A Joke on Dutchy.]
It was now quite dark, and we had some difficulty in groping our way back
to camp. There was no moon and the stars were obscured by clouds. Our only
course was to follow the shore line until we got around the bend, and then
we steered for the beacon fire, which, by prearrangement, had been kindled
on Point Lookout. But the spirit of mischief was in us. We thought we
would have some fun with Dutchy. We could see him silhouetted against the
blaze. Jim and I hung back in the canoes, while Reddy and Bill went on
with the scow, splashing their oars and shouting and singing in disguised
voices, like drunken men. Dutchy was evidently very much agitated. His
"Hello, there! Boat ahoy!" was greeted with derisive yells.
"Say, we'll lick the life out of you, the same as we did them other kids,"
shouted Reddy.
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