Part 17 (1/2)

”I thought I'd wait about telling the police until I had heard what you had to say,” said d.i.c.k, to his father.

”I am afraid in a big city like New York it won't do much good to tell the police,” answered Anderson Rover. ”However, we can report it to-morrow. But I think Cuffer and Sh.e.l.ley will keep in the shade until they see Sid Merrick and have a chance to get away,” and in this surmise Mr. Rover was correct. The matter was reported to the police, and that was the end of it, so far as the authorities went, for they failed to apprehend the evildoers.

Mr. Rover was much worried when he learned that Merrick had fallen in with a captain of a tramp vessel who was ready to go on a hunt for the treasure. And he was still more worried when d.i.c.k told him of the letters which had been abstracted from his coat pocket by the thieves.

Among them was one from Mrs. Stanhope mentioning the treasure hunt and how she would be on hand at Philadelphia to board the steam yacht with Dora and the Lanings.

”If Cuffer and Sh.e.l.ley turn that letter over to Merrick it will give him some idea of our proposed trip,” said Mr. Rover, ”and more than likely he will strain every nerve to get ahead of us.”

”His vessel may not be able to sail as fast as our steam yacht,” said Tom.

”That is true, Tom, but he may get down among the West Indies before we can locate Treasure Isle and then he'll have as good a chance as ourselves. Moreover, if he should land on the isle at the time we did----”

”There'd be a hot time, that's sure,” said the fun-loving boy, with a grin.

”Do you think they'd fight?” asked Sam.

”Yes, if they saw a chance of getting the best of us,” answered his father.

”I wish I had caught Tad Sobber,” came from Tom, regretfully.

”That might have done some good, but I doubt it,” said Anderson Rover.

”From what I have learned of this Sid Merrick he is a man bound to do as he sees fit, regardless of those around him. When the freight thieves were captured he managed to get away, and he'll try to get away even if we catch Tad, Cuffer and Sh.e.l.ley.”

”I guess he is a worse man than Arnold Baxter was,” was d.i.c.k's comment.

He referred to an old enemy of the Rovers, who had now reformed.

”Much worse than either Mr. Baxter or his son Dan ever were,” answered Mr. Rover. ”If caught in a corner I think this Merrick would be capable of any wicked thing.”

”What do you advise?” asked Tom.

”We will go to Philadelphia as soon as possible and get the steam yacht ready for the trip. The best way to foil Merrick and his crowd is to find the isle, get possession of the treasure, and get away before they know what we are doing,” answered Anderson Rover.

On the following day the party was rejoined by Songbird, and then all journeyed to Philadelphia, taking Aleck Pop with them. They found the _Rainbow_ tied up to a dock along the Delaware River, and went aboard. The master of the craft, Captain Barforth, was on hand to greet them, and he speedily made them feel at home. The captain was a big, good-natured man of about forty, and the boys knew they would like him the moment they saw him.

”Well, this is certainly a swell boat,” said Sam, after an inspection.

”And as clean as a whistle.”

”Puts me in mind of the deserted steam yacht we boarded in the Gulf of Mexico,” answered d.i.c.k, referring to a happening which has been related in detail in ”The Rover Boys in Southern Waters.”

”Wonder if we'll have as many adventures as we did on that boat,” mused d.i.c.k. ”Those were hot times, eh?”

”We'll not lack for adventures if we come into contact with Merrick and his gang,” answered Songbird, who had been told all the details of the adventures in New York.

There were six single and four double staterooms aboard the steam yacht, so the Rovers and their friends were not crowded for accommodations, since even a single room contained two berths, an upper and a lower. Each room was done in white and gold, giving it a truly aristocratic appearance. There was a good deal of bra.s.s and nickel-plated work, and the metal shone like a mirror.

”I declare it's most too good to use,” said Sam when on a tour of inspection. ”This craft must have cost a sight of money.”

”It did,” answered his father. ”But the owner is a millionaire so he can well afford it.”

The boys were as much interested in the machinery as in anything, and they visited the engine room and became acquainted with Frank Norton, the head engineer. They learned that the engine was of the most modern type, and that the _Rainbow_, in spite of her breadth of beam--she was rather wide--could make twenty to twenty-six knots an hour in an ordinary sea.