“I have all that planned out,” Frank went on. “I’ll give him a note to hand to Jerry here. When he can’t find him, and discovers that we’ve left him in the lurch, of course he’ll think to open it. It will be a few lines written to him, telling that we have found out who he is; and that as Uncle Felix positively ordered us not to carry Marcus Stackpole as a passenger, we have had to send him adrift. I’ll enclose a ten-dollar bill in the letter. That would take him to New Orleans if he’s really what he claims. That’s to ease my conscience in the matter, boys.”
“And a good scheme, too!” remarked Bluff.
“It takes Frank to think ’em up; I always said so,” Will added.
They did not dare talk along that line any further, for fear the object of their conversation would suddenly come out of the cabin, and seeing them looking so mysterious, scent enough of the truth to keep on his guard the following day, which would interfere very much with Frank’s plan.
During the balance of that afternoon and the evening that followed, all the boys tried hard to appear natural whenever Luther was around. He may have thought they looked a little queer at times; but at least they gave him no reason to believe that his secret was known.
It was about ten the next morning that the hawser was made fast to a wharf at the river front of Memphis; which lies on a sort of bluff, high above the Mississippi.
The two chums went ashore, with numerous errands to do, that they declared would take them until noon. Yet in less than one hour later Frank caught the whistle from the cotton piles on the levee, that told him Bluff and Jerry were back, “keeping shady” until he could carry out his part of the little programme.
Will was very busy just then, dabbling in his daylight developing bath, so that anyone could see it was utterly out of the question for him to leave, and go on an errand.
Frank carried out his part of the plan very cleverly. And old Luther, taking the note which Frank had purposely sealed in an envelope, went ashore, and up toward the city. After he had vanished from view two skulking figures came aboard, chuckling with delight over the apparent success of Frank’s plan.
“Get the hawser aboard, and let’s push off,” said Frank, a little concerned lest Luther should come in sight even then, and demand to be taken back.