CHAPTER IX
SHANGHAIED!
SHANGHAIED!
SHANGHAIED!
The two men rowed steadily for ten or fifteen minutes, conversing at intervals in a conversation plentifully besprinkled with rude jests. At the end of that time the rowing suddenly ceased, and the steady ripple of water at the bow died down until Bobby knew that they must just be drifting. Whatever was in store for him, he hoped it would come soon and end the nerve-racking suspense.
The men soon resorted to their oars once more, but this time they rowed very slowly and cautiously, stopping at frequent intervals. They were approaching a big schooner lying at anchor in the bay, and as they neared it Bobby could hear the rattle of cranes and winches and the puffing of donkey engines.
For a long time the rowboat in which he lay remained stationary, but then, at a word from one of the two men, it moved forward under the impulse of the oars, and shortly afterward Bobby felt a bump as the bow struck against something.
A moment later he was seized and thrown on top of a heap of boxes and bags. “Guess that’ll fix him,” said one of the men. “And we’ll square up with Cap Garrish for his meanness. Now let’s get away from here before anybody gets wise to us,” and Bobby could hear the rapid beat of oars going away from him.
He did his best to struggle and cry out, but he had been so securely bound and gagged that he could hardly move and found it absolutely impossible to make any outcry. He was still endeavoring to free himself when he suddenly felt himself lifted bodily into the air, together with the boxes and bags on which the two ruffians had landed him. He was lifted rapidly upward, there was a rattle of blocks and the creak of cables, and he felt a sinking sensation as he was dropped swiftly downward. This lasted only a second or two, and then he brought up with a crash as bags and boxes tumbled all about him.
Though Bobby himself could not know just what was taking place, the schooner was loading from a lighter floating alongside, taking the cargo aboard in a net made of ropes, which with its contents was lifted by a crane and swung into the hold. When it landed the net was unfastened and the contents dumped out into the hold. The two rascals had watched their chance, and when the derrick was momentarily idle they had thrown Bobby into the net where, wrapped in the sack, he looked like any article of cargo.
When the winch resumed operations he was swung over into the ship’s hold, where it was only by a miracle that he escaped death or serious injury from the heavy bags and boxes that rolled all about him. Fortunately, the ship was almost through loading, and Bobby had not been in the hold very long before the rattle of the winch ceased, the hatches were clamped down, and momentary silence reigned in the dark hold. Evidently the trimming of this portion of the cargo was to take place later.
The air was hot and close, with a strong flavor of bilge water, and Bobby knew that if he did not soon get out of the stifling sack he would suffocate. He worked desperately at his bonds, straining every muscle in an effort to win freedom. For an hour he struggled sturdily, until he could feel a little looseness in the rope that bound his hands together. Little by little he wormed his hand out, bruising and lacerating it in the process, but caring nothing for that if he could only succeed.
At last with a desperate effort Bobby got his right hand clear, and then the rest was comparatively easy. He tore away the gag that was slowly stifling the life out of him, and then tore at the sack until he had made a rent in it. He got his feet free, and at last wriggled out of the sack, exhausted by his strenuous efforts, but with the will to live strong within him.
Then he had time to wonder what had become of his companions. Had they by any chance been brought to this same place? As the thought struck him he shouted their names. He thought he heard a muffled answer at the other side of the hold. He groped his way along toward the sound, stumbling over innumerable articles that encumbered the place, but getting steadily nearer the muffled voice that he was sure must belong to one of his friends. He would have given anything he possessed for a light, but the darkness was absolute. At length, however, he located the sound, and after feeling around discovered a sack that moved and gave forth sounds of protest when he stumbled over it. In a twinkling he had ripped it open, and with a joyful heart found good old Ginger within. It did not take long to free Fred of his bonds, and the two slapped each other joyously on the back in the relief at finding each other still alive, even though they were in desperate straits.
“There’s Mouser and Billy still to be accounted for, though,” said Bobby. “They’re probably in this place somewhere, but I haven’t heard anybody but you since I’ve been here.”
“You wouldn’t have heard me either, if I hadn’t managed to get that gag out of my mouth,” said Fred. “I only hope I get hold of the bunch that’s responsible for putting it there,” he added, and there was a grim determination in his voice that boded ill for Hen Lemming and his friends.
The two friends set about hunting for the others, but in that black hold it seemed an almost hopeless undertaking. But as it turned out, their aid was not needed, for before they had been hunting very long both Billy and Mouser succeeded in freeing themselves, and, guided by each other’s voices, the four friends came together.
“We’re in a fine pickle still, but just the same we’re all alive and no bones broken, and that’s half the battle,” said Bobby. “I’m not just sure where we are, but I think I have a pretty good idea.”
“That’s more than I have,” said Billy.
“I think we’re on board a ship,” went on Bobby. “If we are, it’s up to us to get off again as soon as possible. It may be bound for China for all we know, and I don’t hanker after taking any voyage like that without our folks knowing anything about it. They’ll think we’ve been killed when we don’t show up.”
“That’s right,” agreed Fred, gravely. “I agree with you that we ought to get ashore, Bobby. But have you any idea how we’re going to do it?”
“Our only chance seems to be to set up a big enough racket to draw attention,” replied Bobby. “I don’t believe the crew know anything about our being here, and if we can once make our presence known we’ll probably be sent ashore soon enough. Let’s bang on the walls and yell and see if that gets any results.”
They did both these things, but to all appearances they might as well have saved themselves the trouble. No answering sound came to show that they were heard, and in the midst of their efforts a new thing happened. A slow shudder ran through the ship, it trembled and vibrated, and then a rhythmic pulse began beating somewhere in the huge fabric.
The boys ceased their shouting and hammering, as the meaning of this sank in upon them. Under the power of the auxiliary engine the ship was moving, and they, prisoners on board, were being taken to a destination that for all they knew, might be on the other side of the world!