The “bite” resolved itself into a capacious meal of steak and eggs, reinforced by fragrant coffee, after which, obeying orders, he rolled into his bunk and at once fell into deep and dreamless sleep.
Meanwhile, the ship awoke to the life of a new day. The sun streamed down from cloudless skies and a spanking breeze blew over the quarter. The air was like wine and to breathe it was an inspiration. The sea smiled and dimpled as its myriad waves reflected back the glorious light. TheFearlessslipped through the long swells as swiftly as a water sprite, “footing it featly” on her road to Hawaii, the Paradise of the Pacific. Everything spoke of life and buoyancy, and the terrible events of the night before might well have been a frightful nightmare from which they had happily awakened.
There were grim reminders, however, that it had been more than a dream in the hurrying doctors, the bandaged hands and faces, the haggard features of the men and the semi-hysterical condition of some of the women. But there had been no death or mortal injury. The Red Death had gazed upon them with its flaming eyes and scorched them with its baleful breath, but theyhad not been consumed. There were property losses, but no wife had been snatched from her husband, no mother wailed for her child. Under the comforting influence of a hot breakfast, the heartfelt sympathy of the passengers and the invigorating air and sunshine, they gradually grew more cheerful. After all, they were alive, snatched by a miracle from a hideous death; and how could or dared they complain of minor ills? The tension relaxed as the hours wore on, and by the time that Bert, after a most refreshing sleep, appeared again on deck the scene was one of animation and almost gaiety.
Straight to the wireless room he went, to be met on the threshold by Dick and Tom and Ralph, who gathered around him in tumultuous greeting.
“Bully for you, old man,” cried Dick. “We hear that you did yourself proud last night.”
“Yes,” chimed in Ralph. “I wouldn’t dare to tell you what Father says in a message I’ve just received, or you’d have a swelled head, sure.”
“Nonsense,” answered Bert. “I simply did what it was up to me to do. Good morning, Mr. Howland,” he said, as the young fellow seated at the key rose to greet him. “How are things going?”
“Just jogging along,” answered Howland. “I guess you cleaned up about everything before you turned in. We’re getting beyond the shore range, but I’ve been keeping in touch every hour with theNippon. The captain figures that we’ll get together at about four this afternoon.”
The former operator of theCaledonianwas a well set-up, clear-eyed young fellow, about the age of Bert and his chums, and a liking sprang up between them at once. With the recuperative power of youth he had almost entirely recovered from the events of the night before, although his singed hair and eyebrows bore eloquent testimony to the perils he had faced and so narrowly escaped. He had stuck to his post until the blistering heat had made life impossible in the wireless room, and then had done yeoman’s work in aiding the officers and crew to fight the fire and maintain order among the passengers. The boys listened with keenest interest, while he went over in graphic style his personal experiences.
“I can’t tell you how I felt when I got your message,” he said, as he turned to Bert. “I had about given up hope when your answer came. I rushed at once to the captain and he passed the word to the passengers and crew. It put new heart and life into them all, and it was the only thing that kept many from jumping into the seawhen the flames got so horribly near. But they held on desperately, and when they saw your rockets I wish you could have heard the cry that went up. They knew then that it was only a matter of minutes before your boats would be under the stern. But it was fearfully close figuring,” he went on, soberly. “You saw yourself that fifteen minutes after the last boat pulled away the whole stern was a mass of flames.”
“Well,” said Bert, as he slipped on the receiver, and took charge of the key, “it’s lucky that I got your call just when I did. A little later and I’d have been off duty.”
“That reminds me,” broke in Ralph. “I sent a message to Father to-day about that, urging that you have an assistant to take charge when you are at meals or in bed. I suggested, too, that since Mr. Howland was here, he might be willing to go on with us and act as your assistant. He says he is agreeable if they want him to, and I expect a wireless from Father to the captain authorizing him to make the arrangement.”
“I hope he will,” said Bert, warmly. “Accidents have an awkward way of happening just when they ought not to, and when one thinks of the life and property at stake it certainly seems that somebody should be on the job all the time.”
A little later the looked-for message came instructing Captain Manning to engage Howland as Bert’s deputy during the voyage. From now on, there would not be one moment of the twenty-four hours that someone would not be on watch to send or receive, much to Bert’s relief and delight. Now he could breathe freely and enjoy his work, without any torturing fears of what might have happened while he slept.
By half-past three that afternoon the ships were within twenty miles of each other. The beautiful weather still continued and the sea was as “calm as a millpond.” All were on the alert to greet the oncoming steamer. Soon a dot appeared, growing rapidly larger until it resolved itself into a magnificent steamer, seven hundred feet in length, with towering masts and deck piled on deck, crowded with dense masses of people. She made a stately picture as she came on until a quarter of a mile from theFearless. Then she hove to and lowered her boats.
With deep emotion and the warmest thanks, the survivors bade their rescuers good-by and were carried over to theNippon, their third temporary home within twenty-four hours. By the time the last boat had unloaded and been swung on board, dusk had fallen. The ships squared away on their separate courses and the bells inthe engine room signaled full speed ahead. Handkerchiefs waved and whistles tooted as they passed each other, and the white-coated band on the upper deck of theNipponplayed “Home Again.” The electric lights were suddenly turned on and the great ship glowed in beauty from stem to stern. They watched her as she drew swiftly away, until her gleaming lights became tiny diamonds on the horizon’s rim and then faded into the night.
“Land ho!” shouted the look-out from his airy perch in the crow’s nest, and with one accord the passengers of theFearlessrushed on deck to catch the first glimpse of that wonderful land they had all heard so much about. Hawaii! What a vision of hill and plain, of mountain and valley, of dangerous precipice and treacherous canyon, of sandy beach and waving palm, of radiant sunshine and brilliant moonlight, the magic of that name evokes!
“Gee, fellows, can you see anything that looks like land?” Bert asked of his companions, as they elbowed their way through the crowd to the railing of the ship. “Oh, yes, there it is,” he cried a moment later, pointing to a tiny spot on the horizon, “but it looks as if it were hundreds of miles away.”
“It sure does,” Dick agreed. “If this atmosphere were not so remarkably clear, we wouldn’t be able to see it at all. It doesn’t matter howfar away it is, though, as long as it’s in sight. For the last few days it has seemed to me that we would never reach it,” and he gazed longingly at the speck on the horizon that seemed to be dissolving into two or three smaller parts that became more distinct every moment.
“Yes, I can’t wait to try the little old ‘Gray Ghost’ on some of those swell Hawaiian roads. Say, fellows, can’t you just imagine yourselves in the old car; can’t you feel the throb of the motor and the whistling of the wind in your ears as she takes a steep hill with a ‘give me something hard, won’t you’ air? Can’t you?” he demanded, joyfully, while the boys thrilled at the mere prospect.
“You bet your life,” Tom agreed, enthusiastically. “Make believe we won’t make things hum in little old Hawaii, eh, fellows?” and they all laughed from sheer delight.
“Glad to find you in such good spirits this fine morning, boys,” came a genial voice behind them and the boys turned to find the doctor regarding them with a good-natured smile on his friendly face. “I don’t wonder you feel good at the prospect of setting foot on solid ground again. For, no matter how enjoyable and prosperous the voyage may be, one is always glad to get on shore and feel that he may come and go when he pleasesand is not at the mercy of the elements. I for one will be glad when we cast anchor.”
“I have always heard that Hawaii was one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and I’ve always wanted to see it,” said Bert. “What do you think of it, Doctor? You must have been here many times.”
Dr. Hamilton took two or three long puffs of his cigar before he answered, reflectively, “It has always seemed to me that when Nature discovered Hawaii she had some time on her hands that she didn’t know what to do with, so she spent it in making this obscure little group of islands way out in the Pacific, the garden spot of the world. Over those islands the wind never blows too roughly or too coldly, the sun never shines too brightly and there is no snow to blight and kill the vegetation that warm rain and summer sun have called forth. Over there the grass is greener, the sky bluer and the scenery more beautiful than it is in any other part of the world. If you should take everything that you consider beautiful, multiply it by one hundred and put them in one small portion of the earth, you would have some idea of what Hawaii is like.”
The boys were struck by the outburst.
“Hawaii is the doctor’s favorite hobby,” Ralph said, in response to the look of astonishmentand wonder on the boys’ faces. “If he had his way, he’d live here all the year round.”
“That I would,” said the doctor, with a sigh, “but my profession claims me first, last and all the time. However,” he added, with his cheerful smile, “I want you boys to make the most of the few days we are to spend here, to have the time of your lives. The only thing I ask of you is that you don’t run the ‘Gray Ghost’ over the side of a precipice or seek to inquire too closely into the mysteries of the firepit, Halemaumau. I’ll have to leave you, as I have some important matters to attend to before I can enjoy the beauties of Hawaii. Coming, Bert? Yes, I shouldn’t wonder if we would be getting some wireless messages very soon.”
The three companions watched Bert and the doctor until they disappeared down the companion-way and then turned once more to the islands.
After a moment of silence Tom said, “Say, if Hawaii is all the doctor says it is, Ralph, we ought to have some fun. Imagine driving the machine along a precipice and visiting fire-pits with outlandish names. What was it he called it?”
“Halemaumau,” Ralph answered. “It is a jaw-breaker, isn’t it, but I’ve heard Dad talk so much about Hawaiian wonders that I’ve got thename down pat. You see Halemaumau means ‘House of Everlasting Fire,’ and it’s the name of the fire-pit of the crater, Kilauea. There, don’t you think I’ve mastered the subject and learned my lesson well?”
“You have, indeed, my son,” Dick said, assuming his best grandfatherly air. “If you continue on the road you have begun you will make a success of your life.”
“Say, fellows,” Tom broke in. “Stop your nonsense and look at what you’re coming to. I’m beginning to think that Dr. Hamilton didn’t exaggerate, after all. Just look at that line of beach with the cliffs behind it, forming a dark background for the white of the buildings. And what are those funny, bobbing things in the water? I suppose they must be boats of some sort, but they don’t look like anything I ever saw.”
“I guess they must be the boats of the native money divers.”
“Money divers!” Tom exclaimed. “Where do they get the money?”
“We give it to them,” said Dick. “I remember reading about how passengers throw their perfectly good money into the water just for the fun of seeing those little grafters pick it up. A waste of good money I call it.”
“Gee, I’m going into the business,” Tom affirmed.“Just give me a diving costume and I bet you couldn’t tell me from the natives.”
“You needn’t count on annexing any of my hard-earned cash, because you won’t get it. I’d be more likely to throw a dynamite bomb in just as you were getting ready to dive,” Dick said.
“I know you would, you old skinflint. The only thing is that you would be just as likely as I to get blown up. I guess you left that out of your calculations, didn’t you?”
“What’s all this about dynamite bombs and getting blown up?” Bert asked, coming up behind them. “It sounds rather bloodthirsty.”
“Oh, he’s just threatening my very valuable life,” Tom answered, “but I forgive him, for he’s not responsible for what he says. To change the subject, what are you doing up here when you ought to be taking down wireless messages?”
“Oh, I’m off duty for a few days, now. I’m glad of it, for, although I like nothing better than taking down messages and sending them out, it’s good to have a few days to explore this country that the doctor has recommended so highly. It sure does look promising.”
By this time theFearlesshad weighed anchor and the boats were being let down to convey the passengers to the shore. All around the ship were the queer little craft of the natives, the occupantson the alert to catch the first bit of money thrown to them. They had not long to wait, for soon small pieces of coin were being showered down. As each piece fell into the water, the little brown-skinned native boys would dive in after it and catch it, with a deftness born of long experience, before it reached the bottom. In spite of the boys’ declared intentions not to waste their “hard-earned and carefully-hoarded cash,” a few pieces of that very same cash went to increase the spoils of one especially active and dextrous young native. No matter how hard they tried to be prudent or how emphatically they declared that “this would surely be the last bit of money that that little rascal would get out of them,” another coin would find its way into the eager hands of the little dark-skinned tempter. There was a very strong bond of fellowship between this small native diving for money way off in the islands of the Pacific and the strong, sturdy college boys who had fought so gallantly on the diamond for the glory of Alma Mater. It was the call of the expert to the expert, the admiration of one who has “done things” for the accomplishments of another.
However, the boys were not very sorry when they reached the shore where they were beyond temptation. Tom voiced the general sentimentwhen he said, “Gee, if we hadn’t touched land just as we did, I’d have had to telegraph home to Dad for more money. They nearly broke me.”
While they were waiting for Ralph, who had stayed behind to see that the “Gray Ghost” got over safely on the raft rigged up for the purpose, the comrades took a look around them. And there was enough to occupy their attention for an hour just in the country in the immediate neighborhood of the harbor. All around them swarmed the natives, big, powerful, good-natured people, all with a smile of welcome on their dark faces. Everywhere was bustle and life and activity.
“I always thought that Hawaii was a slow sort of place,” Dick said, “but it seems that I was mistaken. This crowd rivals the business crush on Fifth Avenue.”
“It does that,” said Bert. “But just take a glance at this scenery, my friends. Did you ever see anything on Fifth Avenue that looked like that?”
“Well, hardly. But it’s the town that takes my eye. Look at those quaint houses and the big white building—I suppose it must be a hotel—towering over them. And isn’t that a picture, that avenue with the double border of palm trees?We must explore that first thing when we get the ‘Gray Ghost.’ Say, I’m glad I came.”
“So am I,” said Tom. “If it hadn’t been for you, Bert, we shouldn’t any of us be here. Prof. Gilbert didn’t know what a public benefactor he was when he nominated you for the telegraphy job. Say, isn’t that the car coming over now?” he asked, pointing to a great raft that was heading slowly for the dock.
“It looks like it,” Bert replied. “Make believe it won’t seem good to be in a car again. I’m anxious to get my belongings up to one of the hotels, too.”
“Yes, I’m glad we decided to stay in a hotel for the few days we are going to spend here. It will be good to be able to eat our breakfast on shore for a little while instead of on the briny deep,” said Tom, who had not been altogether free from occasional pangs of sea-sickness during the voyage.
By this time the raft had landed the car and the other luggage. Ralph was beside his favorite, looking it over from one end to the other to see that everything was intact, while a crowd of curious little urchins watched his every action. In a moment our three fellows had joined him and were busily engaged in trying to remedy an imaginary fault. They finally gave this up as ahopeless task as the car was in absolutely perfect condition.
“I guess there’s nothing very much the matter with the old car, eh, fellows?” said Ralph with the pride of possession in his voice. “I shouldn’t wonder if she could show the natives something of the art of racing and hill-climbing. I bet she is just as anxious as we are to try her speed on that palm avenue there.”
“Don’t let’s waste any time then,” Dick suggested. “What’s the matter with piling our luggage into the car and going right over to the hotel? By the way,” he added, as a second thought, “what hotel are we going to?”
“Why, Dad told me that if we wanted to get off the ship at Hawaii that the best place to put up at would be the Seaside House,” said Ralph. “He thinks that we can have more fun at a small place than we could at one of the swell hotels.”
“I agree with him there,” said Bert, “but do you know the way?”
“You just watch me,” said Ralph. “If I don’t get you to the Seaside in ten minutes I give you leave to hand me whatever you think I deserve in the way of punishment. Come on, jump in, and the little ‘Gray Ghost’ will have you and your baggage at your destination before you know it.”
So Tom and Dick jumped into the tonneauwith the luggage, while Bert took his seat beside Ralph. Once more they were flying over the road with the wind whistling in their ears to the tune of the throbbing motor. Many nights they had dreamed of it and many days they had talked of it, but to really be there, to feel the mighty power of that great man-made monster, to feel the exhilarated blood come tingling into their faces with the excitement of the race, ah, that was heaven indeed.
But all delightful things must come to an end sometime and so, in the very midst of their enjoyment the speed of the great car slackened and they drew up before a building that looked like an overgrown cottage with a sign in front, announcing to all whom it might concern that this was the “Seaside House.” It all looked very comfortable and homelike, and even as they stopped the host advanced to give them welcome.
It took the boys a very short time to explain that they had just come in on theFearlessand only wanted accommodations for a very few days. In less time than it takes to tell the machine was taken around to the garage and the boys had been shown up to two very comfortably furnished rooms.
“Doctor Hamilton expects to stay here, too,” Ralph volunteered when they had finished exploringtheir small domain, “but he won’t be able to get here until late this evening. I promised to take the car around for him at the dock about nine o’clock. I suppose all you fellows will go with me, won’t you?”
“Surest thing you know,” Bert agreed. “I’m glad that he’s going to be with us for he knows a lot about the country and he’ll go with us on all our expeditions. The Doctor’s a jolly good sort.”
“He sure is that,” said Tom, and so, in the course of time the Doctor arrived and was given the room next to the boys. Just before they went to sleep that night Bert called into Ralph, “Say, Ralph, what do you love best in the world?” and the answer came in three words, “The Gray Ghost.”
Next morning bright and early the boys, the Doctor and the “Gray Ghost” started for a visit to Halemaumau, the fire-pit of the crater, Kilauea. The day was ideal for such a trip and the party started off in high spirits. They rode for miles through the most beautiful country they had ever seen until, at last, they came to the foot of the great crater. Only a very few minutes more and they stood within a few yards of the edge of that wonder of wonders, the fire-pit of Kilauea. It is impossible to describe the grandeur of that roaring, surging sea of fire, the tongues of flamelapping one upon another like raging demons in terrific conflict. It is the greatest wonder of Nature ever given to man to witness.
For a few seconds the boys could only stand in amazement that such a thing could be. “If anybody had told me,” said Bert, almost whispering in his excitement, “a few months ago that I would be standing here at the edge of the largest living crater in the world, I would have thought that either I was crazy or that they were. I never could forget that sight if I lived forever.”
“It sure is about the slickest little bit of Nature that I ever came across,” Tom agreed. “If all the scenery is like this we ought to spend four years here instead of a measly four days. I’m beginning to be as much interested in this place as the Doctor is.”
“The more you see of it the more you will love it,” the Doctor prophesied. “If you would like to we can take a ride across the island to-morrow. It will be about a day’s journey, but I can show you a great many points of interest as we go along. What do you say?”
The boys fell in with the plan very readily, and so it was decided that the next morning they would start early. With great reluctance and many backward glances they finally tore themselves away from Halemaumau and turned the“Gray Ghost” toward home. During the ride they could talk of nothing else than the wonder and the magnificent beauty of “The House of Everlasting Fire.”
Mile upon mile they rode with the sun filtering through the trees in little golden patches on the road before them, with the caress of the soft breeze upon their faces and the song of the birds in their ears.
“I don’t wonder that you think Hawaii’s about the nicest place on earth, Doctor,” Bert said after a few minutes of silence. “I’m almost beginning to agree with you.”
And again the Doctor answered, “The more you see of it the more you will love it.”
The next morning after an early breakfast the “Gray Ghost” was brought around in front of the “Seaside” and the boys began to look her over to make sure that she was in condition for the day’s trip. They found that everything was all right, so they began loading her with baskets of delicious eatables that the host had prepared for them. In a very short time all was ready and Tom, Dick and Ralph piled in the tonneau, while the Doctor took his seat beside Bert, who was to drive that day. There had been some discussion that morning as to whether Bert or Ralph were to run the machine. Bert claimed that as it was Ralph’s car it was his right and prerogative to drive. But Ralph wouldn’t listen to such an argument for a minute. For wasn’t Bert his guest and wasn’t he there to give his guest a good time, especially as he, Ralph, had driven the car the day before? So after a time it had been settled and Bert reluctantly took the wheel.
But the reluctance didn’t last long, for, when hefound himself guiding the great car over the road, the old feeling of exultation took possession of him and the old wild desire to put on full speed came surging over him. But Bert was never one to give way to impulse when caution told him it would be unwise, so he held his desire and, incidentally, his machine well in check.
“You said last night that you would tell us about the hunt for sharks, Doctor Hamilton,” Dick reminded him. “Won’t you tell us about them, now?”
“Why, yes, if you would like to hear about it,” the Doctor consented. “These seas, as you probably know, are full of sharks, and therefore are very dangerous. The natives of Hawaii are not the people to be terrorized, however, by any animal on land or sea. So, after careful consideration, they decided that, as long as they couldn’t hope to exterminate the pests, the only thing for them to do was to learn how to defend themselves against them. So, when a man wanted to go out into the deep, shark-infested waters he would take with him a handy little dagger. Then, instead of swimming for home and safety at the first sign of a shark, he would wait boldly for the creature to come near enough for a hand-to-hand (or, rather, a fin-to-hand) conflict.”
“Say, a man would have to have some nerveto wait calmly while one of those cute, harmless little animals came prancing up playfully to be petted,” Tom broke in. “I’d rather be excused.”
“It does take an immense amount of courage to brave a shark, but I shouldn’t wonder if there were thousands of people in the world who are at this moment making greater sacrifices, performing deeds that call for more real fortitude and courage than these shark hunters ever dreamed of. Only, you see we don’t know of those cases. However, that’s neither here nor there. Well, to get back to my story, when the shark nears the man he turns on his back to grab him. Then comes the crucial moment. Before the shark has a chance to accomplish his purpose, the native deftly buries the dagger up to the hilt in the shark’s throat.”
“Yes, but suppose the shark nabbed the hunter before he had a chance to use his weapon,” Ralph suggested.
“It is very probable in that case that the hunter would hunt no more sharks,” the Doctor laughed. “However, that very rarely happens these days, for the Hawaiians are trained to hunt as soon as they leave the cradle, and are experts at the age of nine or ten.”
“I wouldn’t mind trying it myself,” Bert declared, for, to him danger and excitement werethe very breath of life, “only I’d like to practice up for a few years before I hung out my sign.”
“Well, they went on killing the sharks by means of a dagger for some time,” the Doctor went on, “but one day some bright young native discovered what seemed to him to be a much more interesting and, at the same time, just as sure a way of killing the shark. So one day he called all his relatives and friends together and told them to watch his new method. They all noticed that, instead of the usual dagger, this youth carried in his hand a pointed stick. ‘What good will a sharp stick do?’ they all asked one another. ‘He surely cannot mean to kill the shark with such a weapon,’ and they tried to persuade him not to try anything so foolish. However, he was not to be persuaded, so he started out with his stick to fight the shark. He had not gone very far before his eagerly watching friends on the shore saw a fin rise above the water and knew that the shark was near. With breathless interest they watched the coming conflict. Nearer and nearer came the shark until it was only a very few yards from the daring hunter. Then in a flash it was on its back and bearing down on its prey. With the speed of lightning our hero reached down the shark’s throat and wedged the pointed stick right across it so that the shark couldn’t closehis wicked, gaping mouth. Of course, not being able to shut his mouth he drowned there in his native element. There is an instance of the irony of fate, isn’t it?”
“It surely is,” Dick answered. “But, Doctor, is that really so or is it only a story?”
“It’s the truth. The shark hunters use both methods, the dagger and the sharp stick, but the stick is the favorite.”
So the morning was passed in interesting tale and pleasant conversation, and they were all amazed when the Doctor informed them that it was half-past twelve. Soon afterward they came to a cozy little inn with the sign “Welcome” over the door painted in great gold letters on a black background. At this hospitable place they stopped for lunch.
When this most important function of the day was satisfactorily accomplished, they went for a stroll on the beach, as they had about half an hour to look around them before it was necessary to start on their way once more.
This part of the beach was perfectly protected from the unwelcome visits of the sharks by the large coral reefs, and the boys were surprised to see the number of people that were enjoying their afternoon dip.
“Look at those fellows over there riding inon the breakers,” Tom cried, pointing to a group of boys that looked as if they might be Americans. “Will you please tell me what they think they have on their feet?”
“They look like snow shoes,” Bert said, “but I never knew that you could use skees on the water.”
“They are really nothing more nor less than snow shoes, but you see over here they have no snow to use them on, so they make them do for the water,” said the Doctor.
“It’s a great stunt,” said Dick. “I wish we had brought our bathing suits along, we could take a try at it ourselves.”
“If bathing suits are all you want,” Ralph broke in, “I can soon get you them. This morning I thought we might want them, so, at the last minute, I ran back to get mine. While I was there I discovered your suits all tied together with a strap, so I brought them along, too. They are under the seat in the tonneau.”
“Bully for you, old fellow,” said Dick. “You have a head on your shoulders, which is more than I can say for myself.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Now we can try our skill at skeeing on the water. But, by the way, where will we get the skees?”
“They are not really skees; they’re only piecesof wood pointed at one end,” the Doctor explained, “and I think you will be able to get all you want up at the inn.”
“But you will come with us, too, won’t you?” Bert asked. “It won’t be half as much fun if you don’t.”
“No, I don’t think that I’ll go in with you to-day. I brought a little work along, and I thought that if I got a minute I would try to do some of it. You will only have a little while to stay anyway, so go ahead and enjoy yourselves while you may. I’ll tell you when time is up. I’ll go with you as far as the house. You needn’t be afraid that I’ll forget.”
So, in a few minutes the boys were on the beach once more, ready to try their luck on the skees. They watched the group of fellows that had at first caught their attention until they thought that they knew pretty well what to do. When they fancied they could safely venture they waded out until the water was about to their waists. Then, resting the long board on the water, they tried their best to mount it, as they had seen the other fellows do. But they would just get the board placed nicely with its point toward the shore, when a wave would come along and carry it out from under their feet.
They had very nearly given it up in despairwhen one of the fellows from the other group came over and spoke to them.
“Is this your first try at the surf boards?” he asked, and they knew from the very tone of his voice that he was what they had thought him, an American. “We saw you were having trouble, and we thought you wouldn’t mind if we gave you a few pointers. It’s hard to do at first, but when you once catch on it’s a cinch.”
“We would be very much obliged if you would show us how to manage them,” Bert replied. “I thought that I had tried pretty nearly every kind of water trick, but this is a new one on me.”
“Yes, we can’t seem to get the hang of it,” Tom added. “How do you stay on the thing when you once get there?”
So our boys and the others soon became very well acquainted, and it wasn’t very long before they were doing as well as the strangers. All too soon they saw the Doctor coming down the beach toward them, and they knew that the time was up. They bade good-bye to their new found friends and hurried up to the inn to get ready for the rest of the journey. For the whole afternoon they rode through scenes of the most striking beauty and grandeur.
They went through the historic valley of Nuuanu, where the great battle was waged by Kamehamehathe Great, sometimes called the Napoleon of the Pacific. They followed the scene of that terrible struggle until they came to the precipice over which the Oahu army of more than three thousand men had been forced to a swift death on the rocks below.
When they reached the hotel at which they had expected to stay for the night, they found a telegram waiting for them. Doctor Hamilton opened it and read, “Come at once. Ship sails to-morrow morning, nine o’clock.”
“That means,” said the Doctor, “that we will have to start for theFearlessas soon as we can get a bite to eat.”
So start they did, and it took hard riding nearly the whole night to get them to the ship in time. After they had settled with the landlord of the Seaside House and had hustled their belongings into the car, they started for the dock and found that they were just in the nick of time.
As Bert turned from his companions toward the operating room to take down any last messages that Hawaii might want to send, he said with a sigh, “I’m sorry that we had to leave sooner than we expected, but as long as we had to—say, fellows, wasn’t that ride great?”
It was a hot day, even for the tropics, and everybody felt the heat intensely. Awnings had been stretched over the deck, and under their inviting shade the passengers tried to find relief from the burning sun, but with little success. A slight accident to the machinery had caused the ship to heave to, so that they were deprived of the artificial breeze caused by the vessel’s motion. The oppressive heat rivaled anything the boys had ever felt, and for once even their effervescent spirits flagged. They lolled about the deck in listless attitudes, and were even too hot to cut up the usual “monkeyshines” that gave the passengers many a hearty laugh. Dick looked longingly at the green, cool-appearing water, that heaved slowly and rhythmically, like some vast monster asleep.
“Make out it wouldn’t feel good to dive in there, and have a good, long swim,” he exclaimed, in a wistful voice. “Just think of wallowing around in that cool ocean, and feeling as thoughyou weren’t about to melt and become a grease spot at any moment. Gee, I’d give anything I own to be able to jump in right now.”
“Go ahead,” grinned Bert, “only don’t be surprised if we fish you out minus a leg or two. Those two sharks that have been following the ship for the last week would welcome you as a very agreeable addition to their bill of fare.”
“Yes,” chimed in Ralph, “and that’s not the only thing, either. I’ve felt sorry for those poor old sharks for quite a while. Here they follow our ship around for a week, hoping that somebody will fall overboard and furnish them a square meal, and then everybody disappoints them. I call it pretty mean conduct.”
“That’s my idea exactly,” agreed Bert, “and I think it would only be doing the gentlemanly thing for Dick to volunteer. You won’t disappoint your friends on a little point like that, will you, Dick?”
“No, certainly not,” responded Dick, scornfully. “Just ring the dinner bell, so that the sharks will be sure not to miss me, and I’ll jump in any time you say. Nothing I can think of would give me greater pleasure.”
“Well, on second thought,” laughed Bert, “I think we’d better save you a little while, and fatten you up. I’m afraid you haven’t got fatenough on you at present to give entire satisfaction. We might as well do this thing up right, you know.”
“O, sure, anything to oblige,” grunted Dick. “Just dispose of me any way you think best. Naturally, the subject has little interest for me.”
“Aw, you’re selfish, Dick, that’s what’s the matter with you,” said Ralph. “I’d be willing to bet any money that you’re thinking more of yourself than you are of those two poor, hungry fish. Gee, I’m glad I’m not like that.”
“All right, then,” responded Dick, quickly, “as long as you feel that way, and I don’t, why don’t you serve yourself up to the suffering sharks? Besides, you’re fatter than I am.”
Apparently Ralph could think of no satisfactory answer to this profound remark and so changed the subject.
“Well,” he exclaimed, “all this doesn’t get us any nearer to a good swim. I wish this were one of the steamships I was on not long since.”
“Why, how was that?” inquired Bert.
“Well, on that ship they had a regular swimming tank on board. Of course, it wasn’t a very big one, but it was plenty large enough to give a person a good swim. Gee, I used to just about live in that tank on a day like this.”
“I suppose that was what you might call a tanksteamer, wasn’t it?” said Bert, and his remark raised a general laugh.
But now an elderly man among the passengers, who up to now had listened to the boys’ conversation with a smile on his face, but had not spoken, said, “Why don’t you ask the captain to rig up the swimming nets? I’m sure he would be willing to do it for you, if you asked him in the right way.”
“Swimming nets!” exclaimed Dick, “what’s a swimming net?”
“Why, it’s simply a sort of a cage that they rig up alongside the ship, and anybody that wants to can swim to their heart’s content inside it. The net keeps sharks out, and makes it safe.”
“Say, that would certainly be great,” exclaimed Ralph. “Come along, fellows, and we’ll see if we can’t persuade the captain to fix us up. The idea of a good swim certainly hits me where I live.”
The rest were nothing loath, and they jumped to their feet and rushed off in search of Captain Manning. He was soon found, and listened smilingly to Ralph, who acted as spokesman for the others.
“I guess we can arrange that, all right,” he said, after Ralph had finished. “It will be at least two hours before our repairs are finished.Between you and me, I’d like to jump in myself,” he added, regretfully.
He gave orders accordingly, and the crew soon had the netting rigged. Before they had finished, news of what was going on had flown through the ship. All who felt so disposed or had bathing paraphernalia with them, appeared on deck attired for a dip. Needless to say, Bert, Dick, and Ralph were among the first to put in an appearance, and great was their impatience while the crew were putting the finishing touches to the “cage.” While they were waiting, Ralph said, “Look at that, fellows. Those two sharks that we were talking about a little while ago have disappeared. I guess they must have overheard our conversation, and given us up for a bad job.”
“They’re certainly not in sight, at any rate,” said Dick. “However, I think I shall manage to control my grief at their desertion.”
“It always gave me a creepy feeling,” said the passenger who had first suggested the swimming nets, “they hung on so persistently, just as though they felt sure that their patience would be rewarded some time. It seemed uncanny, somehow.”
“It certainly did,” agreed another. “I guess they’re gone for good, this time, though.”
This seemed to be the general opinion amongthe crew, also, and the boys felt relieved in spite of themselves, for swimming in close proximity to a couple of hungry sharks, even when separated from them by a net, is not a particularly cheerful experience.
Soon everything was ready, and the swimmers descended the steps let down alongside the ship, and plunged into the water. It was very warm, but a good deal cooler than the air, and you may be sure it felt good to the overheated passengers. Bert and Ralph were expert swimmers, and dove and swam in a manner to bring applause from the passengers up above. Dick was not such a very good swimmer, having had little experience in the water. He enjoyed the dip none the less on this account, however, and if he could not swim as well as the others, at least made quite as much noise as they.
After half an hour or so of this the boys ascended to the deck to rest a little before continuing their aquatic exercises.
“My, but that felt good, and no mistake,” said Bert.
“It sure did,” agreed Ralph. “The only objection I can find is that you can’t swim far enough in any one direction. I like to have enough space to let me work up a little speed. I’ve half a mind to take a chance and dive off here outside the net.There’s no sign of those pesky sharks around now. I’m going to take a chance, anyhow,” and before anybody had a chance to stop him he had made a pretty dive over the side. He struck the water with scarcely a splash, and in a few seconds rose to the surface and shook the water out of his eyes. Bert yelled at him to come back on board, but he only shook his head and laughed.
Then he struck out away from the ship with bold, rapid strokes, and soon had placed a considerable distance between himself and the vessel. Bert and the others watched his progress with anxious eyes.
“The young fool,” growled one of the passengers, “hasn’t he got any more sense than to do a thing like that? Those sharks are likely to show up any minute. They don’t usually give up so quickly, once they’ve started to follow a ship.”
It seemed, however, as though Ralph would experience no bad results from his rash act. He had swum several hundred yards from the vessel, and had turned to come back, when a cry went up from one of the women passengers.
“Look! Look!” she screamed, and pointed wildly with her parasol. All eyes followed its direction, and more than one man turned white as he looked. For there, not more than five hundred feet from the swimmer, a black fin was cuttingthe water like a knife-blade. It was not headed directly for Ralph, however, but was going first in one direction, then in another, showing that the shark had not yet definitely located his prey.
A few seconds later a second fin appeared, and there was little doubt in the minds of all that these were the two sharks that had followed the ship for the last few days.
In the meantime, Ralph had drawn nearer the ship, but was swimming in a leisurely fashion, and evidently had no inkling of the deadly peril that threatened him. Bert was about to yell to him and point out his danger, when he thought better of it.
“If he knew those two sharks were on his trail,” he said in a strained voice to Tom, “he might get frightened and be unable to swim at all. I think we had better leave him alone and hope that he gets to the ship before the sharks locate him.”
“Let’s go after him in a boat,” suggested one of the sailors, excitedly, and this was no sooner said than done. Without even waiting for orders from the captain, several of the crew started to launch a boat, but it became evident that this could be of no avail. For at that moment the two searching fins suddenly stopped dead for asecond, and then started straight for the unconscious swimmer.
A cry went up from the passengers, which reached Ralph’s ears. He glanced behind him, and for a second seemed paralyzed at what he saw. Bert yelled wildly. “Swim for your life, Ralph,” he shrieked. “Here,” turning to the sailors, “get a long rope, and stand by. We’ll need it when he gets near the ship.”
Now Ralph had recovered from his panic to some extent, and struck out as he had never done before. At every stroke he fairly leaped through the water, but the two black fins overhauled him with lightning-like rapidity. Closer and closer they came, and still the swimmer was a good forty or fifty yards from the ship. Now he started a fast crawl stroke, and it was a lucky thing for him that day that he was an expert swimmer.
He was soon almost under the ship’s side, and one of the sailors threw the rope previously secured in his direction. Ralph grasped it with a despairing grip, but now the two fins were terribly close, and approaching at express train speed. A dozen willing hands grasped the rope, and just as the two man-eaters were within ten feet of him the exhausted swimmer was swung bodily out of the water. There was a swish alongside, two great white streaks flashed by, and the passengerscaught a glimpse of two horrible, saw-like rows of gleaming teeth. Then Ralph was drawn up on a level with the rail, and strong hands pulled him safely inboard.
No sooner did he realize that he was safe, than he collapsed, and it was some time before he recovered from the strain. When he was once more himself, he grinned weakly at Bert. “Next time I’ll follow your advice,” he said.
“Oh, well, ‘all’s well that ends well,’” quoted Bert. “Just the same, it was more than you deserved to have us work ourselves to death a hot day like this trying to keep you from doing the Jonah act. It would have served you right if we had let the shark take a bite or two.”
“Sorry to have troubled you, I’m sure,” retorted Ralph. “But say, fellows, just as soon as I can get enough nerve back to think, I’m going to dope out some way of getting even with those man-eaters. I’ll be hanged if I’m going to let even a shark think he can try to make hash of me and get away with it. In the meantime, you and Tom might set your giant intellects to work and see if you can think of a plan.”
A sailor had overheard this, and now he touched his cap, and said:
“Excuse me for buttin’ in, but I think me and my mates here can fix up those sharks for you,if the captain’s willin’. On a bark I sailed in once we caught a shark that had been annoyin’ us like these has, just like you’d catch a fish. We baited a big hook, and pulled him in with the donkey engine. If the captain ain’t got no objections, I don’t see why we couldn’s sarve these lubbers the same trick.”
This idea met with instant approval, and Captain Manning was soon besieged by a fire of entreaty. At first he seemed inclined to say no, but when he found that the majority of the passengers were in favor of capturing the sharks, he gave a reluctant consent.
The sailors grinned in happy anticipation of a good time, and set about their preparations with a will, while an interested group that surrounded them watched the development of their scheme with intense interest.
The species of shark that inhabits tropical waters is very voracious, and will eat almost anything that has the smell or taste of food about it. Therefore, the sailors were troubled by no fears that the bait they were preparing would not prove tempting enough.
The cook had provided them with a huge slab of salt pork, and then the problem arose as to what they could use as a hook. Finally, however, one of the sailors unearthed a large iron hook, such as is used on cranes and other hoisting machinery. The point of this was filed down until it was sharp as a needle, and the big piece of meat was impaled on it.
“That ought to hook one of them blarsted man-hunters,” remarked one grizzled old sea dog, who was known to his companions as “Sam,” and apparently had no other name. “If that hook once gets caught in his gizzard, we’ll have him on board unless the rope breaks, won’t we mates?”
“Aye, aye. That we will,” came in a gruffchorus from the bronzed and hardy crew, and matters began to look dark for the unconscious sharks.
When the meat had been securely tied to the hook, the big crane used to store the cargo in the hold was brought into use, and the hook made fast to the end of the strong wire cable.
“Gee,” said Tom, who had been regarding these preparations with a good deal of interest, as indeed had everybody on deck, “I begin to see the finish of one of those beasts, anyway. I can see where we have shark meat hash for the rest of this voyage, if the cook ever gets hold of him.”
“Oh, they’re not such bad eating, at that,” said Ralph. “Why, when once in a while one becomes stranded on the beach and the natives get hold of him, they have a regular feast day. Everybody for miles around is notified, and they troop to the scene of festivities by the dozen. Then they build fires, cut up the shark, and make a bluff at cooking the meat before they start to eat it. But you can hardly call it eating. They fairly gorge it, and sometimes eat steadily a whole day, or at any rate until the shark is all gone but his bones. Then they go to bed and sleep off the results of their feed. They don’t need anything else to eat for some days.”
“Heavens, I shouldn’t think they would, afterthat,” laughed Bert. “I think if I ate a whole day without stopping it would end my worldly career at once. Subsequent events wouldn’t have much interest for me.”
“Oh, well,” said Dick, in a whimsical tone, “I suppose they think if they did die, they would at least have died happy.”
“And full,” supplemented Bert.
“Oh, that’s the same thing with them,” laughed Ralph. “That’s their idea of paradise, I guess. They’re always happy when they have enough to eat, anyway.”
“Well, that’s the way with all of us, isn’t it?” asked Dick. “You’re never very happy when you’re hungry, I know that.”
“But there’s a shark not very far from here that’s not going to be very happy when he’s eaten a square meal that we’re going to provide him,” laughed Bert, and the others agreed with him.
By this time everything was ready for the catching of at least one of the sharks, and steam was turned into the engine operating the crane. The machine proved to be in first-class condition, and so the baited hook was carried to the side and slowly eased into the water. An empty cask had previously been tied to it, however, to act as a float, and all eyes were fastened eagerly on this. It drifted slowly away from the ship’s side, asthe cable was paid out, and was checked when it had reached a distance of perhaps a hundred and fifty feet from the vessel.
The sailors had armed themselves with axes and clubs, and waited expectantly for the disturbance around the cask that would show when the monster had been hooked.
For some time, however, the cask floated serenely, without even a ripple disturbing it. Many were the disappointed grumblings heard among passengers and crew, but the confidence of old Sam was not shaken.
“Give him time, give him time!” he exclaimed. “You don’t expect him to come up and swally the bait right on scratch, like as though he was paid to do it, do ye? Have a little patience about ye, why don’t ye? Bein’ disappointed in takin’ a nip out of the lad, there, them sharks will hang around, hoping for another chanst, never fear. Time ain’t money with them fellers.”
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the cask disappeared in a whirl of foam, and a cheer arose from the spectators. The steel cable whipped up out of the water, and sprang taut as a fiddle string. The big crane groaned as the terrific strain came upon it.
“Say, but that must be a big fellow,” exclaimed Bert, in an excited voice. “Just look at that cable,will you. It takes some pull to straighten it out like that."
But now the shark, seeming to realize that he could not get away by pulling in one direction, suddenly ceased his efforts, and the cable slackened. Captain Manning gave the signal to the engineer to start winding in the cable, but hardly had the drum of the crane started to revolve, when the shark made a great circular sweep in a line almost parallel with the ship. The cable sang as it whipped through the water in a great arc, and the whole ship vibrated to the terrific strain.
But the great fish was powerless against the invincible strength of steam, and was slowly drawn to the ship as revolution after revolution of the inexorable engine drew in the cable. Leaning breathlessly over the side, the passengers and crew could gradually make out the shape of the struggling, lashing monster as he was drawn up to the ship’s side. He made short dashes this way and that in a desperate effort to break away, but all to no purpose. When he was right under the ship’s side, but still in the water, the captain ordered the engine stopped, and requested the passengers to retire to a safe distance. Bert, Dick, and Ralph pleaded hard to be allowed to take a hand in dispatching the monster, but Captain Manning was inexorable, and they wereforced to withdraw from the scene of the coming struggle.
The crew grasped their weapons firmly, and as one put it, “cleared for action.”
Then the signal was given to resume hoisting the big fish aboard, and once more the crane started winding up the cable. Slowly, writhing and twisting, the shark was hauled up the side. He dealt the ship great blows with his tail, any one of which would have been sufficient to kill a man. His smooth, wet body gleamed in the sun’s rays, and his wicked jaws snapped viciously, reminding the spectators of the teeth of some great trap. All his struggles were in vain, however, and finally, with one great “flop” he landed on the deck.
He lashed out viciously with his powerful tail, and it would have been an ill day for any member of the crew that inadvertently got in its path. Needless to say, they were very careful to avoid this, and dodged quickly in and out, dealing the monster heavy blows whenever the opportunity offered. Slowly his struggles grew less strong, and at last he lay quite still, with only an occasional quiver of his great carcass. Then old Sam stepped quickly in, and delivered the “coup de grace” in the form of a stunning blow at the base of the shark’s skull.
This was the finishing blow, and soon the passengerswere allowed to gather around and inspect the dead monster. A tape-measure was produced, and it was found that the shark was exactly twelve feet and seven inches long.
“Why,” remarked Dick, “you’d have been nothing but an appetizer to this fellow, if he had caught you, Ralph. He sure is some shark.”
“Well, I won’t contradict you,” said Ralph, “but I don’t think this shark was the same one that chased me. Why, it seems to me that that fellow was nothing but teeth. That’s all I remember noticing, at any rate.”
“Yes, but this rascal seems to have quite a dental outfit,” said Dick. “Just think what it must be to a shark if he starts to get a toothache in several teeth at once. It must be awful.”
“I’m certainly glad our teeth aren’t quite as numerous,” laughed Bert. “Just think of having to have a set of false teeth made. A person would have to work about all his lifetime to pay for a set like that.”
“It would be fine for the dentists, though,” remarked Ralph, but then he added, “I wonder what they’re going to do with this fellow, now that they’ve caught him.”
“Throw him overboard, I suppose,” said Bert. “I don’t think he’s of much use to us, seeing that we’re not like the savages Ralph was telling us about.”
And that is just about what they did do. First, however, the sailors secured a number of the shark’s teeth, and these were distributed among the passengers as souvenirs. Then the great carcass was hoisted up until it dangled over the water, and the hook was cut out. The dead monster struck the water with a splash, and slowly sank from view.
“Well, Ralph, now you’ve had your revenge, anyway,” said Bert. “I don’t think there’s much doubt that that was one of the pair that came so near to ending your promising career. He looked to be about the same size as the one that almost had you when we hauled you out.”
“Oh, I guess it’s the same one, all right,” agreed Ralph, “and I owe everyone a vote of thanks, I guess. I hope I never come quite so near a violent death again. It was surely a case of nip and tuck.”
The crew now set to work to clear up the mess that had been made on the deck, and soon all mementoes of the bloody struggle were removed. Shortly afterward the chief engineer reported that the break in the machinery had been repaired, and it was not very long before the ship renewed its interrupted voyage.
At the dinner table that night little else was spoken of, and Ralph was congratulated many times on his lucky escape.
And one of the passengers voiced the general sentiment, when he said with a smile that “he was satisfied if the ship broke down often, provided they always had as exciting an experience as they had had to-day.”