The Rival Campers; Or, The Adventures of Henry BurnsSmith, Ruel Perley
General
The Rival Campers; Or, The Adventures of Henry Burns
Smith, Ruel Perley
Boats and boating -- Juvenile fiction; Camping -- Juvenile fiction
“I did,” replied Harvey, shortly, “but I had no idea he was going across.
What can I do, now?”
“Nothing that I see,” said the storekeeper, “except to take it
comfortable here to-night, and go over with Jeff in the morning.”
Harvey strode angrily out and walked down to the shore again.
A rod or two out a fisherman was rowing in a small boat.
“Here, you, where are you going?” sang out Harvey.
The man looked up, surprised, but did not answer.
“I say, there, where are you going? Can’t you hear?” cried Harvey,
roughly.
The man stopped rowing. “What’s that to you?” he answered.
Harvey laughed. “You’ve got me there,” he said. “I didn’t mean to be
rude—but I’ve been disappointed. I didn’t know but you might be going to
row across to the island, and I thought perhaps you might like to earn a
dollar. I’ll help row, too, if you like. I want to go, the worst way.”
The man hesitated for a moment, started as though he were going to row
away, and then paused again.
“Where do you belong?” he asked.
“Over on the island,” said Harvey. “I’m camping there.”
“What’s that?” said the man, putting his hand to his ear. “Say it again.”
“I’m camping out over on the island,” repeated Harvey.
The man looked stealthily in at him from under his eyebrows. “Camping
there!” he muttered to himself, and began backing water slowly with his
oars.
“I’ll take you across for—for a dollar,” he said.
“Good!” cried Harvey. “Come on, lively, then. It’s a good five miles, and
I’m in a hurry to get across.”
The man, however, was in no hurry. He came in slowly, as though perhaps
he might still be considering the matter, whether he should take this
passenger aboard or not. He worked the boat inshore, finally, and Harvey
sprang aboard.
“You are going to help row,” said the man.
“Yes,” answered Harvey. “Didn’t I say I would?” He took his seat toward
the stern of the boat, where there were rowlocks for an extra pair of
oars.
The man at the bow oars was a thick, heavy-set, middle-aged man, burned
dark by sun and wind. He was roughly dressed in ill-fitting clothes, that
looked as though they might have come from the dunnage-bag of a fisherman
who had been long at sea. They were patched in one or two places with
cloth that did not match the original garments. He wore a red,
cheap-looking handkerchief tied loosely about his neck, and a rough beard
of several weeks’ growth heightened the effect of his swarthy complexion.
They rowed for some time in silence, making good headway, for the wind
had gone down with the sun, and the man in the bow pulled a powerful
stroke, making even the sturdy efforts of Jack Harvey seem like child’s
play.
The sun sank behind the hills and the shadows deepened across the water,
fading out at length into the darkness that settled over all the bay. A
few lights glimmered out from the shore of the island, some three miles
distant, and the stars appeared in the sky.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account