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Java Foundations, 3rd Edtion Exercise Solutions, Ch. 8

Chapter 8 Exercise Solutions

EX 8.1. Draw a UML class diagram showing an inheritance hierarchy containing classes
that represent different types of clocks. Show the variables and method names
for two of these classes.

EX 8.2. Show an alternative diagrm for the hierarchy in exercise 8.1. Explain why it may
be a better or worse approach than the original.

The value of the organization is dependent on how the classes are used. The hierarchy
in exercise 8.1 might be better suited to a system maintaining the inventory and online
shopping for a store, whereas the hierarchy in exercise 8.2, centered around the
mounting capabilities, might be better suited to a manufacturing system.
Java Foundations, 3rd Edtion Exercise Solutions, Ch. 8

EX 8.3. Draw a UML class diagram showing an inheritance hierarchy containing classes
that represent different types of cars, organized first by manufacturer. Show
some appropriate variables and method names for at least two of these classes.

EX 8.4. Show an alternative diagram for the hierarchy in exercise 8.3 in which the cars
are organized first by type (sports car, sedan, SUV, etc.). Show some appropriate
variables and method names for at least two of these classes. Compare and
contrast the two approaches.
Java Foundations, 3rd Edtion Exercise Solutions, Ch. 8

The hierarchy in exercise 8.3 has the manufacturer information as an inherent part of
the inheritance structure, and might store car type information as data in lower level
classes. The hierarchy in exercise 8.4 is organized around car type, with the
manufacturer as data. Which one would be best depends on the purpose of the
system.

EX 8.5. Draw a UML class diagram showing an inheritance hierarchy containing classes
that represent different types of airplanes. Show some appropriate variables and
method names for at least two of these classes.

EX 8.6. Draw a UML class diagram showing an inheritance hierarchy containing classes
that represent different types of trees (oak, elm, etc.). Show some appropriate
variables and method names for at least two of these classes.
Java Foundations, 3rd Edtion Exercise Solutions, Ch. 8

EX 8.7. Draw a UML class diagram showing an inheritance hierarchy containing classes
that represent different types of transactions at a store (cash, credit card, etc.).
Show some appropriate variables and method names for at least two of these
classes.

EX 8.8. Experiment with a simple derivation relationship between two classes. Put
println statements in constructors of both the parent and child classes. Do not
explicitly call the constructor of the parent in the child. What happens? Why?
Java Foundations, 3rd Edtion Exercise Solutions, Ch. 8

Change the child's constructor to explicitly call the constructor of the parent.
Now what happens?
When a parent's constructor is explicitly called, its program statements are executed as
expected. But even in the absence of an explicit call, the parent's constructor is called
when the child class is instantiated. An explicit call allows the child to pass parameters,
allowing the parent to set up its contribution to the child's state. Without an explicit call,
the default constructor is called, without parameters.
Other documents randomly have
different content
 The Project Gutenberg eBook of Motor Boat
Boys Among the Florida Keys; Or, The Struggle
for the Leadership
 This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Motor Boat Boys Among the Florida Keys; Or, The Struggle
for the Leadership

Author: Louis Arundel

Release date: December 2, 2012 [eBook #41536]

Most recently updated: October 23, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online

Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MOTOR BOAT

BOYS AMONG THE FLORIDA KEYS; OR, THE STRUGGLE FOR THE
LEADERSHIP ***
“He’s got something, for a fact!” exclaimed
Herb.
 Motor Boat Boys
Among the Florida Keys
Or

The Struggle for

the Leadership

By

LOUIS ARUNDEL
Author of “Motor Boat Boys on the St. Lawrence,” “Motor Boat
Boys’ Cruise Down the Mississippi,” “Motor Boat Boys on the
Great Lakes,” “Motor Boat Boys Down the Coast.”

Chicago
M. A. DONOHUE & COMPANY
 Copyright 1913.
M. A. Donohue & Company.
all rights reserved.

Electrotyped, Printed and Bound by

M. A. Donohue & Co.
 CONTENTS
Chapter Page
I — At Anchor, Inside the Bar 7
II — The Warning Rattle 18
III — Down the Indian River 29
IV — That Same Old Unlucky Wireless 40
V — The Mysterious Power Boat 54
VI — Nick Tries Again 63
VII — The Lost Chum 74
VIII — Tracked to the Bayou 85
IX — For the Sake of Chum Josh 97
X — Aboard the Strange Power Boat 106
XI — In Honor Bound 115
XII — An Invasion of the Camp 124
XIII — Jimmy Refuses to Give up the Game 133
XIV — When the Comfort Was Hung Up 142
XV — The Bird Roost 151
XVI — A Screecher from the North 160
XVII — The Shelter Back of the Key 169
XVIII — Jimmy Forges to the Front 178
XIX — From Tampa, North 187
 XX — The Shark Fisherman 196
XXI — Victory Comes to Nick 205
XXII — Where Ambition Led 214
XXIII — Winding Up the Voyage—Conclusion 223

THE MOTOR BOAT BOYS

AMONG THE FLORIDA KEYS
or

A Struggle For the Leadership

 CHAPTER I.
AT ANCHOR, INSIDE THE BAR.

“Get busy here, Nick; now’s your chance to make a big score for a
starter!”
“It’s awful kind of you, George, to let me out of my part of the
work this afternoon, and that’s a fact. I appreciate it, too; because I
just want to beat Jimmy out in this thing the worst kind.”
“Oh! shucks! don’t mention it, Nick. We’re all interested in your
game, and you know it. Besides, there goes your rival, Jimmy, right
now, in his little dinky boat, and with a wide grin on his face. Jack’s
given him a holiday, to celebrate the opening of the great fishing
contest. Get a move on, you slow-poke!”
“Gee! then he’ll get a start on me. I must hurry. Now, where in the
dickens is that other oar, George? Oh! here she is, tucked away
under the thwart. And can you tell me what I did with that mullet
the cracker gentleman gave me, to use for bait? Please help me get
started, George. Seems like everything wants to go wrong at once!”
“Here you are, Nick. Got your tackle all right, have you; and sure
that life preserver is in the boat? All ready? Then away you go; but
keep clear of the inlet, if the tide changes, or you might get carried
out to sea in that eight-foot dinky.”
Three minutes later, and Nick Longfellow—who belied his name
dreadfully, in that he was short, and fat, and built pretty much after
the style of a full meal bag—was rowing clumsily toward a likely
spot, where he believed he might do some successful fishing.
A trio of motor boats were anchored just inside Mosquito Inlet, not
far from the town of New Smyrna on the east coast of Florida,
having come in that very afternoon, after making the outside
passage from the mouth of the St. Johns River.
They might have entered at St. Augustine, and taken the inside
passage down to this place, only that something was wrong with the
connecting canal that led to the Halifax River, and it seemed unwise
to take the chances of being held up.
The boat from which Nick had put out on his fishing excursion was
a slender looking craft, and evidently capable of making high speed;
but from the way she rolled whenever any one aboard moved, it
could be seen that she must prove rather an uncomfortable home on
which to spend very much time. The name painted in letters of gold
on her bow was Wireless; and her skipper, George Rollins, took more
or less pride in her accomplishments; although, truth to tell, he
spent much of his time tinkering with her high-power engine, that
had a way of betraying his trust when conditions made it most
exasperating.
The boat from which the said Jimmy had started was called the
Tramp. Her lines were not so fine as those of the hurry boat; but,
nevertheless, an experienced cruiser would have picked her out as
an ideal craft for combined business and pleasure. Her skipper was
Jack Stormways, really the commodore of the little fleet; and his
crew consisted of Jimmy Brannigan, a boy who sported many
freckles, a happy-go-lucky disposition, and a little of the Irish brogue
whenever he happened to remember his descent from the old kings
of Erin.
As to the third motor boat, it was a broad beamed affair, that
really looked like a pumpkin seed on a large scale; or, as some of the
boys often called it, a “tub.” It was well named the Comfort, and its
owner, Herbert Dickson, content to take things easy and let others
do the hustling, never denied the claim George was fond of making,
that he could draw circles around the “Ark” with his fast one. The
engine of the Comfort had never failed to do its level best, which
was limited to some nine miles an hour.
 Herb also had an assistant, a tall, lanky lad, by name Josh Purdue.
By rights he and Nick should have exchanged places; but Josh had
had one experience on the dizzy speed boat, and absolutely refused
to try it again.
These lads belonged in a town far up toward the sources of the
mighty Mississippi River. They would have been attending high
school, only that a fire had almost demolished the buildings, and
vacation season was enforced until after New Year’s.
Owning these boats, and having had considerable experience in
making long trips, the boys had, with the consent of their parents,
shipped the craft east to Philadelphia, and some five weeks
previously started down the coast by the inside route.
And now they were starting on the second half of the remarkable
voyage, which they intended would take them around the end of the
peninsula of Florida, among the keys that make this region the small
boat cruiser’s paradise, and finally land them at New Orleans in time
to ship their boats north by steamboat.
Spending several days in Jacksonville, and taking aboard supplies,
before making a start, Nick and Jimmy had fallen into quite a heated
dispute as to which of them could be called the more expert
fisherman.
Now, truth to tell, neither of the boys had had very much
experience in this line; but, egged on by Josh and Herb, they had
finally entered upon a contest which was to last until they reached
New Orleans. Jack had solemnly entered the conditions in his log
book; and the one who, during the duration of the cruise, could
catch and land unassisted the heaviest fish of any description, was
to be declared the champion.
Eager to accomplish wonderful “stunts,” the two boys naturally
seized upon this very first chance to get their lines overboard, in the
hope of starting things moving by a weighty capture.
And the others, anticipating more or less fun out of the bitter
rivalry, lost no opportunity to “sic” the contestants on. Just as a
breeze fans a flame, so their frequent allusions as to the budding
qualities of the rivals as fishermen kept Nick and Jimmy eager for
the fray.
As might have been expected, when George secured a tender for
his speed boat, while in Jacksonville, as they were told they would
need such things right along, in order to make landings where the
water was too shoal for the larger craft to get close to the shore, he
selected a dumpy little flat-bottomed “dinky,” just about on a par
with the Wireless when it came to eccentric qualities.
An expert with the oars or a paddle might manage the affair fairly
well; but as Nick was as clumsy as he was fat, it seemed as though
he would never get the hang of the squatty tender.
When he sat in the middle, one dip of an oar would cause the
boat to spin wildly around as if on a pivot; and as to rowing in a
straight course, the thing was utterly beyond Nick’s abilities. So,
when he was aiming for a certain spot, he was wont to approach his
intended goal by a series of eccentric angles.
The flood tide was still coming in lazily, for they had managed to
hit the inlet when the bar was well covered, wishing to take no
chances. So Nick, after managing to propel the “punkin seed” over
to the spot near a bunch of mangroves, that he had selected as
most promising, set to work.
He tied the boat, first of all, by a piece of cord, so that it would
not float away while he fished. Then he laboriously got his tackle in
readiness.
Those on the motor boats had kept an eye on the actions of the
two rivals, as if anticipating that sooner or later they might have
something to laugh over; for Nick was forever tumbling into
difficulties of some sort.
“I don’t believe Nick will ever get the hang of that dinky, George,”
remarked Jack, as he leaned over the side of the Tramp, peeling
some potatoes which they intended having for supper; and, as there
did not seem to be any decent chance to cook this ashore, the
voyagers would have to do as they had often done before, use their
little kerosene gas stoves aboard the several boats.
“It takes an expert to run that cut-off runt properly,” said Herb,
who was also engaged, wiping his engine, while Josh started
operations looking to the evening meal, the lanky boy being by all
odds the best cook in the party.
“Thank you for the compliment, Herb,” laughed George. “It
happens that I’ve always been at home in small boats. And there
was something about that stumpy little affair that made me take a
fancy to her. Nick will do better after he learns the ropes. And he
generally manages to get there, even if he does cover twice as much
distance as I might. Look at Jimmy, fellows!”
“He’s got something, for a fact!” exclaimed Herb; “and Nick is
excited over it. See him wiggle around to watch, just as if he feared
the game was going to be settled right in the start. Hi! sit down,
Nick! Want to upset that cranky thing, do you? Well, it’s good you’ve
got your air bag fastened on; for without a life preserver you’d
drown in this tideway, if ever you fell over.”
“Watch Jimmy, will you, boys?” chuckled Jack. “Look at the grin on
his face as he pulls his line in. You can see that half his fun is in
keeping an eye on Nick, to enjoy his confusion and disappointment.”
“Wow! why, the fish is pulling his boat around, do you notice?”
demanded George.
“That looks as if it might be a good one. There, I thought Jimmy
couldn’t keep still much longer. Listen to him yap, would you?” Herb
called out.
Jimmy had started to crow over his rival, as any ordinary boy
would be apt to do under similar conditions.
“Don’t be after gettin’ downhearted too soon, Nick, me bhoy!” he
shouted. “Sure, this is only a little one for a stharter, so it is. Wait till
I get going, and I’ll open your eyes good and sthrong. Och! how he
pulls! If only ye were a bit closer now, I’d let ye fale of the line, to
know the sensation. Come in, ye darlint, and let’s have a look at ye.
Whirra! but he’s bigger than I thought; and it’s me as hopes he
won’t upset the boat when I pull him over the side!”
Of course much of this talk was for the purpose of making his rival
squirm with envy; though the captive did show signs of being a
strong fighter.
After about five minutes of apparently strenuous effort, Jimmy
concluded that it would be unwise to risk losing his prisoner by
playing it longer; so he dragged the hooked fish over the side. There
was a flash of bronze and white that told Jack the story.
“A channel bass, and something like fifteen pounds in weight, too.
We’re sure of fish on this trip, anyway, with the two of them bending
every energy to the winning of the medal!” he exclaimed.
“There goes Nick back to his work,” said George. “If there are fish
here, he hopes to get his share. But ten to one he’s nearly choking
with envy right now, because Jimmy drew the first blood. It’s an
uphill game for poor old Nick.”
“Well,” Herb went on to remark, “the game will last a whole
month, and more; so nobody can tell how the finish may turn out.
Nick might get hold of a bigger fish any minute. But it’s up to us to
encourage ’em right along. We’ll never want for a fish diet if we do,
for they’ll stay up nights to keep at it.”
“There, I declare, if Nick didn’t have a jerk at his line then; but he
failed to hook the rascal!” Jack exclaimed.
“And came near upsetting the boat in his excitement, too,”
complained George. “If he does, I can see the finish of my oars,
which will go out of the inlet with the ebb tide.”
“But what about Nick; you don’t seem to worry about how he’ll
act?” laughed Herb.
“Oh! he’ll just float around, with that life preserver holding him up,
till one of us pushes out and tows him ashore. Whatever is he doing
now, do you suppose?” George demanded.
 “Throwing out that shark hook of his, with the clothes line
attached,” Jack explained. “You see, Nick has evidently made up his
mind to go in for something worth while. He wants to knock the
spots out of Jimmy’s hopes right in the start.”
“But, my stars! if he hooks a big shark while he’s sitting in that
punkin seed of a boat, there’s bound to be a warm old circus!” Herb
declared.
Some little time passed, and those aboard the anchored motor
boats, busily engaged in their various occupations, had almost
forgotten about the bitter rivalry going on so near by, when suddenly
they were startled by a great shout.
“It’s Nick, this time!” exclaimed Jack, as he jumped to the side of
the Tramp to observe what was taking place.
“And say, he’s fast to a whopper, as sure as you live!” cried Herb.
George added his contribution on the heels of the rest.
“That string’s broke away, just as I expected, and there goes Nick
and the punkin seed, full tilt for the inlet! By all that’s out, fellows,
he must have caught a whale that time, fresh run from the sea. Hi!
hold on there, Nick, that’s my boat!”
 CHAPTER II.
THE WARNING RATTLE.

Jack Stormways was a quick-witted lad. He had proved this fact on

numerous occasions in the past, within the memory of his chums.
When anything sudden happened, while others might appear to
be spellbound, and waste precious seconds in staring, Jack was very
apt to be on the jump, and doing.
So in the present instance, while it might appear more or less
comical, seeing the fat boy crouched in that silly little boat belonging
to the Wireless, and being dragged through the water at a most
rapid rate by the shark he had hooked, there was always an element
of danger connected with the affair.
And so Jack, after taking that one look out over the water, sprang
forward, and started dragging his anchor aboard with all possible
speed. That done, he next applied himself to getting power on the
boat, which fortunately could be done with a simple turning over of
the engine.
“Hello! are you going to chase the runaway with the Tramp?” cried
Herb, who was in the act of climbing over the side into his tender, as
though meaning to put out in pursuit himself.
“Yes; jump aboard here, Herb; I might need help!” came the
answer; and, accustomed to respecting Jack’s judgment, the one
addressed managed to clamber over the side of the Tramp just as
that craft started off.
Meanwhile Nick was going at a great rate, not in a direct line for
the inlet, but following jerky, eccentric angles, as though the shark
hardly knew what to do, on feeling the contact with the point of the
big hook at the end of the chain.
Several times the fat boy seemed on the point of creeping forward
to get at the rope that was fastened to a cleat in the bow of the
dinky. It was George who roared at him on such occasions.
“Keep still, Nick; sit down, can’t you? You’ll upset sure, if you don’t
lie flat! Jack’s coming out after you on the jump! Hey, look out there,
Jimmy, or you’ll get foul, too! Whew! what a race horse you’ve got
fast to, Nick. If only you could land him, Jimmy’s name would be
Mud. There he goes again, heading for the bar! Look at the water
shooting up on either side of that dandy little boat, would you? And
ain’t Nick having the ride of his life, though? There he goes, crawling
along up to the bow again. Perhaps he wants to cut loose; small
blame to him if he does!”
Everybody was either laughing, or shouting advice to Nick, while
this exciting little drama was taking place.
Indeed, Nick himself seemed to be the only one who was not
getting some measure of fun out of the affair. His usually red face
looked pale, as he managed to reach the squatty bow of the little
boat. But when he found that it was dragged down by the action of
the fish, as well as his own weight, he drew back again in alarm, for
water had come rushing aboard.
Once the motor boat got started, of course it speedily came up
with the runaway. Jack had given the wheel into the charge of Herb,
who was fully competent to run things. This allowed the other an
opportunity to do anything that offered, looking to the rescue of
poor frightened Nick.
“Get me out of this, won’t you, Jack? I don’t like it one little bit,”
pleaded the fat boy; and then, as some new freak on the part of the
shark caused the dinky to lunge sideways in a fearful manner, he
shouted in new alarm: “Quit it, you ugly beast! Who wants to nab
you now? I pass, I tell you! Let go, and get out of this! Wow! look at
him splash the water, Jack, would you?”
 “He wanted to take a look at you, that’s all,” Jack called out.
“Don’t you think you’d better cut loose, and let your hook go, Nick?”
“I ain’t got any knife; it went overboard the first thing. Besides,”
added the occupant of the dinky, who was now once more crouching
in the stern, “if I go up there, the water just pours in. I’m sitting in it
right now. Jack, can’t you think of some way to make him leave me
alone?”
“Perhaps I might,” came the reply, as the skipper of the Tramp
dodged back into the hunting cabin of his boat.
He almost immediately reappeared again, holding a rope in his
hands. This he made fast to a cleat at the bow; and then, turning to
Herb, asked him to bring the motor boat as close to the fleeing dinky
as possible.
Leaning down, Jack managed to get a peculiar sort of hitch
around the taut line; and a quick jerk seemed to secure his own
rope, so that it would not slip. His next action was to take a keen
knife, and lay its edge upon the line, close to the spot where it was
fastened to the wobbling dinky.
Of course it instantly parted.
“Oh! that’s too bad! Now I’ve lost my tackle!” cried Nick; although
he looked vastly relieved at finding that he was no longer fast to the
queer sea horse.
Jack paid no further attention to the rescued chum. The fight was
now to be all between himself and the shark.
Quickly the line paid out, until there came a heavy jerk, and then
once more it became taut.
“Bully! it’s holding fine, Jack!” shouted Herb, who had watched to
see the result; for he doubted whether the connection, brought
about under such difficulties, would be maintained.
“Now, gradually bring the boat to a full stop,” said Jack, as he
again reached back into the cabin, and drew out a rifle. “As soon as
you’ve got him halted, begin to back up. That will drag him to the
top, you understand; and I’ll have a chance to pot the rascal.”
“That’s right,” declared Herb, who could grasp a thing readily
enough, even if slow to originate clever schemes himself.
Just as Jack had said, when the pull was being exerted in the
other direction, the struggling monster was presently seen splashing
at a tremendous rate, though unable to resist the drawing powers of
the ten-horsepower engine.
Jack, crouching there, with one elbow resting on his knee, took as
good an aim as the conditions allowed. Then came the sharp report
of the gun.
“Whoop! you hit him all right, that time, Jack!” shouted Herb; as
there ensued a tremendous floundering at the end of the rope. “But
he ain’t knocked out yet. Give him another dose of the same sort!”
Across the water came the cries of the others who were watching
this exciting scene. And loudest of all could be heard the voice of
Nick, now once more in possession of his nerve.
“Give it to him, Jack! Pound the measly old pirate good and hard!
He won’t try that game again in a hurry, I tell you! Hey! Jimmy, you
ain’t in it this time, with that little minnow of yours. Hurrah! that’s
the time you poked him in the slats, Jack! Trust you for knowing
how! I guess he’s a sure goner after that meal of cold lead.”
Jack had fired a second time; and, just as the wildly excited Nick
said, he seemed to have met with better success than on the former
occasion. The trapped sea monster threshed the water still, but not
in the same violent manner as before; and his fury seemed to be
rapidly diminishing as the result of his wounds began to be felt.
“Now, stop her, Herb, and start ahead slowly!” Jack called out,
hovering over the spot where the line was fast to the cleat.
The boy at the wheel did as he was directed; and as the line
became slack Jack took it in, ready to hastily secure the same about
another cleat in case the dying shark developed a disposition to
make a last mad dash.
But evidently the big fish was “all in,” and when they reached a
point nearly over where he lay, there were seen only a few
spasmodic movements to his body.
“Let’s drag him near the other boats, so we can pull the old fellow
up on that little beach,” Jack suggested.
Ten minutes later, and the six boys were all ashore, laying hold of
the rope in order to drag the captured fish out.
“Say, he’s some whopper, let me tell you!” exclaimed George, as,
having drawn the shark high and dry, they all hastened to examine
the capture.
Nick was dancing with joy, and his eyes fairly beamed as he stood
beside the great bulk, putting one foot up on it after the manner in
which he had seen noted hunters do, in pictures that told of their
exploits when hunting big game.
“Now, how about it, Jimmy?” he demanded, as Jack was cutting
the stout hook from the jaw of the monster. “Think this is some
punkins, don’t you, now. Three hundred pounds, if it weighs an
ounce. Have to hustle some, let me tell you, my boy, if you ever
expect to go a notch higher than this.”
“Arrah, come off, would you!” indignantly cried Jimmy. “Sure, ye
wouldn’t be claiming that ye took this same ould sea wolf, and inter
it in the competition. I do be laving it to Jack here, if that’s fair?”
“But I hooked it, you all saw that?” expostulated Nick.
“I don’t know,” remarked Herb, looking very serious; “I was under
the impression that the shark had got you, up to the time Jack came
along with his little gun, and tapped him on the head. How about it,
Commodore? Can Nick enter any claim to having caught this prize?”
“Wait,” said Jack, smiling; “let me read out the exact words of the
wager. I’ve got a copy right here in my note book. Listen now, both
of you. It reads like this: ‘Each contestant shall have the liberty of
fishing as often as he pleases, and the fish may be taken in any sort
of manner; the one stipulation being that the capture shall be
undertaken by the contestant, alone and unaided; and that he must
have possession of the fish long enough to show the same, and
have its weight either estimated or proven.’”
“That settles your goose, me bhoy!” croaked Jimmy, gleefully;
“and I’m top notch in the game up to the prisent moment. Do we
get busy again, Nick, I say; or are ye satisfied to lit me claim first
blood?”
“Well, it seems mighty small, that after grabbing that nice fellow,
I’ve got to let the honors go for the day,” remarked the fat boy. “And
I guess I’ve had quite enough excitement for once. I’m all soaked in
the bargain; and it feels kind of cool, you see. So I won’t fish any
more right now. But next time, just you look out for yourself, Jimmy.
I’m after you like hot cakes. Say, ain’t we going to have that fish for
supper, boys?”
Nick was a voracious eater. He liked nothing in the world so much
as to enjoy a glorious meal; and long after his chums were through,
he often sat there, finishing the dishes. On the other hand, lean,
lanky Josh, while possessed of a knack for cooking all sorts of good
things, had a poor appetite, and often merely nibbled at his food, to
the wonderment and disgust of the fat boy.
“If you get to work and clean it,” said Jack, “I think there ought to
be plenty to go around. But you’ll find that one-third of a channel
bass is the head. As we had one before, we know it’s worth eating,
so pitch in, Nick. Since you lost your knife overboard, take mine
here, and get busy.”
It pleased Jimmy to strut around near where his rival was
occupied with his menial task, and make occasional remarks about
“his prize,” calculated to rub salt in Nick’s wounds. But after all, the
fat boy was good-natured, and took things in a matter-of-fact way.
Besides, he was grimly resolved that sooner or later, by hook or by
crook, even if it were a fish-hook, he would overcome this strong
lead of his rival in the race for high honors.
As more or less fuel had been found ashore, and Josh expressed
his desire to manage the supper, as head chef, it was found
advisable to change their plans. And so, assisted by many willing
workers, the lanky wonder started operations.
He was soon bustling around, looking very consequential. Nick had
made him a chef’s cap out of a piece of white muslin, which he was
requested to wear on all such occasions as this, when in charge of
affairs about the cooking fire.
Nick himself was busy trying to mend some little contraption,
purchased on the street in Jacksonville, and which he had broken
before he could have any fun with the same as originally intended.
Jack, stepping off from the Tramp, where he had gone to get
some of the tinware needed for coffee and substantial food, was
electrified to hear Josh give a whoop; and at the same instant his
ears were assailed by a dreadful rattling noise that sounded for all
the world like the angry buzz of a diamond-back rattlesnake.
“Thunder and Mars! Great Jerusalem! I’m struck in the leg!”
bellowed the lengthy Josh, as he came tumbling back from the edge
of the bushes, grabbing at his shin in a frantic manner.
 CHAPTER III.
DOWN THE INDIAN RIVER.

“Now, what d’ye know about that?” exclaimed Nick, scrambling to

his feet after his usual clumsy way; for when the fat boy happened
to become excited he generally “fell all over himself,” as Josh put it.
“What ails you, Josh?” demanded Herb.
No sooner had the lengthy one reached a spot near the fire than
he threw himself down, and commenced frantically to pull up the left
leg of his trousers.
“Gosh! looky there, will you, fellers?” he bellowed, as if in a panic.
“He sure got me that time; I guess I’m a goner. Won’t one of you
get down and suck the poison out for me? You know, I’d do it in
your case. Oh! please hurry up. My leg’s beginning to swell right
now, and in a few minutes it’ll be too late!”
“Poison!” echoed Herb, who seemed to be in utter ignorance of
the entire matter, and could only stare at the little speck of blood
showing on the white skin as if horribly fascinated.
“Yes, oh! didn’t you hear the terrible buzz he gave when he stuck
his fangs in me?” groaned poor Josh.
Jack had thrown himself down alongside the wounded one, and
was minutely examining the hurt. He looked up at this juncture, and
to the astonishment of Herb and George, was apparently grinning.
“Brace up, Josh,” he said, cheerfully; “you’re not going to kick the
bucket yet awhile, I reckon.”
“Oh! how kind of you to tell me so, Jack; but how do you know?
Please tell me why you say that,” pleaded the cook, beginning to
look relieved; for he had fallen long ago into placing the utmost
confidence in whatever Jack believed.
“Well, in the first place, there’s only one tiny puncture, you see;
and if this was a snake bite there’d be the plain marks of two fangs,”
Jack announced.
“Sounds all right, Jack; but perhaps this critter only had one fang.
Didn’t you hear the angry shake of his old rattle-box when he
struck? It gave me a cold chill, because, right at the same second, I
felt something stick me. I’ll never forget the awful sensation, even if
I do live through it,” and Josh rubbed his leg vigorously, as though
hoping that by inducing a circulation he might avert the threatened
dire catastrophe.
“Well, if you only look around right now, perhaps you’ll discover
the source of that same buzz,” Jack went on, soberly.
“Why, whatever can you mean?” Josh stammered, staring his
amazement.
“Notice how Nick, for instance, is trying the best he knows how to
keep his face straight, even while he’s just shaking all over with the
laugh that’s in him. Stand up, Nick; and hold out that hand you’ve
got behind your back.”
Jack pointed rather sternly at the culprit while speaking.
“Oh, well, I s’pose I’ll have to ’fess,” mumbled the fat boy, as he
whipped the hand in question around, so that all could see what he
was holding.
“Why, it’s that boozy little rattle he picked up in Jacksonville, and
broke on the first trial!” exclaimed George. “He’s been dabbling at it
ever since, trying to mend the old thing.”
“Yes,” said Jack, “and just succeeded in getting it to working.
Here, give it to me, Nick, and I’ll show them how it whirrs when you
turn it around rapidly.”
 Taking the little wooden contrivance, Jack gave it a series of quick
turns, with the result that a loud angry buzzing was produced, not
unlike the warning rattle of an enraged snake.
“Oh! that was it, Jack!” cried the relieved Josh. “Thank you for
showing me, too. It sure takes a big load off my mind, because
you’ll never know what a nasty feeling I had at the time. It was a
mean dodge, Nick, and I can’t forget it in a hurry, either. But Jack,
that don’t explain everything.”
“Now you’re thinking of that sudden little pain you had in the leg?”
suggested the other, nodding his head understandingly.
“You bet I am!” Josh declared. “It took me at the identical second
I heard that whirr. If it wasn’t a snake bit me, what did, Jack?”
“Let’s find out right away, so’s to relieve your mind,” Jack went on.
“Lead the way to the very spot where you were when you heard the
sound, and felt that sudden pain.”
“That’s dead easy,” remarked the tall boy; and as he said this he
scrambled to his feet, his trousers still rolled up to his knee, and
limped across the camp.
Jack noticed, however, that he approached the place cautiously, as
though not yet wholly convinced that there might not be a dreadful
diamond-back rattler lying in ambush, waiting for another chance to
puncture him.
“There it is, right in front of you, Jack!” Josh cried, pointing; “I
happened to want a handful of dry timber to hurry up the fire, and
stepped over here, because I’d noticed just the thing under this lone
palmetto. Just as I banged into that little bunch of brush it
happened.”
Jack laughed.
“Look here, fellows, and you’ll see what he ran against!” he
announced, taking hold of the long, narrow, dark green leaf of a
plant that was growing there.
 “What is it?” asked George.
“A plant they call Spanish Bayonet,” replied Jack, seriously now.
“You see, like lots of semi-tropical plants, such as the yucca, century
plant or Mexican aloe, and others, it’s got a sharp point, almost like
a needle. Well, just as luck would have it, Josh banged into one of
these leaves at the very second Nick began to rattle his alarm box.
No wonder he got a shock! It was enough to stagger the bravest.”
“Then it was what you might call a coincidence?” suggested Herb.
“Huh! a mighty tough one, too,” grunted Josh, as he rubbed his
injured limb ere turning down his trouser leg.
“But see here, fellows, are we going to let our funny man try that
stunt every little while?” demanded George, frowning at his
shipmate.
“I vote for one against such a thing,” declared Herb. “That nasty
little box has too suggestive a rattle to please me. If I was going
through the saw palmetto scrub, and he happened to amuse himself
with it, I just know I’d jump ten feet. It would make life miserable
for me right along.”
“Jimmy, what do you say?” demanded Jack.
“Me too!” piped up the Irish lad. “Sure it do be giving me the
crapes just to listen to that thing go whirring around.”
“You hear the verdict, Nick?” said Jack, pretending to assume the
air of a judge addressing the prisoner in the dock.
“Oh! I ain’t saying a word,” Nick replied, with a shrug of his fat
shoulders. “I c’n see myself that it would be a mean trick to play.
Never thought much about it that way. Give her a toss, Jack. And
Josh, I hope you won’t hold it against me too hard. You know, you’re
top-notch yet in that bully contest of ours.”
In this way did the contrite joker attempt to buy peace in the
camp; and that he was fairly successful might be judged from the
grin that slowly began to spread over the thin face of the cook.