The story told by Ben Wrensch—for such proved to be the name of the lonely sailor-cannot be set down as he told it. In the first place, there was little of chronological order about it, and in the second place he was interrupted so often by Cora, or one of the others, asking questions, or he interrupted himself so frequently, that it would be but a disjointed narrative at best. So, I have seen fit to abridge it, and tell it in my own.
As a matter of fact, the questions Cora, her girl chums, or the boys asked, only tended to throw more light on the strange affair, whereas the interruptions of Ben himself were more dramatic. He was so afraid that it was all a dream that, he would awaken from it only to find himself alone again.
"But you are real, aren't you, now?" he would ask, pathetically.
"Of course," said Cora, with a gentle smile.
"And you won't go away and leave me, as the others did?" he begged, but he did not couple Slim Jim with one of those. In fact, he did not pay much attention to the negro, for which Jim, a rather superstitious chap, was very grateful.
"Certainly we won't leave you here," Jack said. "We'll take you wherever you want to go, Ben."
"That's good. Well, as I was saying—" and then he would resume his interrupted narrative.
So, instead of telling his "yarn" in that fashion, I have sought to save your time and interest by condensing it.
Up to the time of the hurricane, which caught the Ramona in rather a bad stretch of water, there was nothing that need be set down. The vessel bearing the mother of Jack and Cora, and the parents of the Robinson twins, had gone on her way, until the sudden bursting of the storm, with unusual tropical fury, had thrown the seas against and over the craft with smashing fury. Boats and parts of the railing and netting, had been carried away, and one or two sailors washed overboard.
Then had come the mutiny, if such it could be called—an uprising of some of the sailors, driven to almost insane anger because of the refusal of the captain to put into a port, the harbor of which could not be made in such a sea as was running, nor in the teeth of such furious wind. The only thing to do was to scud before the gale, with the engines and crew doing what they could.
There had been an incipient panic, and a rush for the boats quelled hardly in time, for some had been lowered, and swamped and others had gotten away.
There was an exchange of shots between the captain and some of the mutineers, and, as our friends knew, one sailor, at least, was wounded, though whether by the captain or by the mutineers was uncertain.
Ben Wrensch, who appeared of better character than the usual run of West Indian sailors, had his share in the mutiny—that is, he refused to take sides with the small part of the crew who berated the captain for something he could not do. He had sided with the small part of the crew who remained loyal.
"And what did they do to you?" asked Jack. For the man had come to a pause, after describing how many shouted that the ship was foundering.
"The rascals drove me and some of the other to a boat, and lowered us away," was the answer. "They said they didn't want us aboard. I guess they was afraid we'd give evidence against them, if we ever got the chance, and so I would."
"And did you land here?" asked Cora, indicating the lonely isle.
"Not at first, Miss. We tossed about in the boat and the sea got higher and the wind stronger. And how it did rain! It seemed to beat right through your skin. The rain helped to keep the seas down, but not much. It was fearful!"
He then went on to tell how, after laboring hard in the darkness of the night, the boat he was in (five other sailors being his companions) was swamped by a huge wave. He was tossed into the sea, and must have been rendered unconscious by a blow on the head, for he remembered nothing more until he found himself being washed back and forth on the beach by the waves, and at last had understanding and strength enough to crawl up beyond the reach of the water.
So he had come to Lonely Island. And there he had existed ever since.
Some few things—including the cap that had been of such value to our friends—had been washed ashore from the boat, or otherwise Ben might have starved at first, for he was too weak to hunt for food. Gradually he regained the power to help himself.
He found mussels clinging to the rocks, he gathered some turtles eggs, and was lucky enough to kill a bird with a stone. On such food he lived. For shelter he made himself a hut of bark and vines, and so the days passed in loneliness.
It had not taken him long to find that he was the only inhabitant of Lonely Island. He alone, of the company in the boat, had come ashore to be saved.
Of the time he spent on the island you would not be interested to hear. One day was like another, save as he had better or worse luck in providing food. His great anxiety was to be taken off and to this end he made a signal, but it was a small one, and it is doubtful it would ever have been seen.
Gradually his hardships, his exposure and the loneliness preyed on him until he was well-nigh insane. He became almost like an animal in his fight against nature.
He was on the verge of madness when he saw the boat load of fishermen approaching for water, and it was his queer actions that drove them off. In his despair he threw his cap at them, the most fortunate thing he could have done.
"And now you come to me!" he said, simply.
"Yes, we're here," admitted Jack. "But can you give us any more news of the Ramona? That is what we want to know. Which way was she headed when you were forced to leave her? Have you any idea where she is now?"
"She was headed southeast," was the answer.
"And how long would you say she could keep afloat?" Walter wanted to know.
"She ought to be afloat now!" was the startling reply.
"Now!" cried Jack. "What do you mean?"
"Why, she was in no danger of sinking," Ben went on, and Cora and the girls felt new hope springing up in their hearts.
"Are you sure of this?" demanded Jack.
"Very sure; yes. I was below just before I was forced into the small boat, and there wasn't a plate sprung. The engines were in good order and if the mutineers hadn't raised a hue and cry, everything would have been all right. But they wanted their way, for their own ends, I fancy."
"Meaning what?" asked Jack.
"That they were glad of any excuse to seize the ship. I overheard some of their plans. They would have done it, storm or no storm. There was a plot to take the Ramona, put off all who would be in the way, take her to some port, change her name and engage her in what amounted to piracy."
"The plotters were going to do this?" cried Walter, aghast.
"Yes, and the storm only egged them on. It was their opportunity."
"Then the Ramona may be afloat now?" demanded Cora.
"She very likely is, Miss, I should say. A little damaged perhaps, but not more than could be."
"And what of the passengers?" asked Bess.
"Well, they're either aboard her, as prisoners, or have thrown their lot in with the mutineers, or—"
He did not go on.
"Well?" asked Jack, grimly.
"Or they were put adrift, as I was," went on Ben.
"But you did not see that happen?" asked Cora, for the story was nearing its end now.
"No, Miss, I didn't see that. When I was put overboard, all the passengers—and there weren't many of them—were still aboard."
"Did you see any of them?" asked Bess.
"Oh, yes, Miss. All of 'em, I fancy."
"My father and mother—"
Ben described, as well as he could, the various characteristics and appearances of the Ramona's passengers, and Mrs. Kimball and Mr. and Mrs. Robinson were easily recognized.
"Then we must still keep on searching for them," decided Jack, at the conclusion of the narrative. "We'll just have to keep on!"
"It looks so," admitted Cora.
"Oh, we mustn't think of giving up!" cried Bess. "I know my father. He just wouldn't give in to those horrid mutineers, and he wouldn't throw in his fortunes with them, either. I can't explain it, but, somehow I feel more hopeful than at any time yet, that they are all right—Papa and Mamma, and your mother, too, Cora."
"I am glad you think so, dear. I haven't given up either. But let's get away from here, Jack."
"That's what I say!" murmured Belle, with a little nervous shiver."This place gives me such a creepy feeling."
"You might well say so, Miss," put in Ben. "That is, if you had to stay here all along, as I did, with nothing but them parrot birds screeching at you all day long. It was awful!"
There was no use in staying longer on Lonely Island, and Ben Wrensch was only too glad to be taken from it. At first the motor girls talked of taking him with them, on the remainder of the cruise, but, as Jack pointed out, there was no need of this.
He could give no further information as to the location of the Ramona, providing the steamer still was afloat. And he would only be an added, and comparatively useless, passenger. He was not exactly the sort of personage one would desire in the rather cramped quarters of the Tartar, though he was kind and obliging. He would be better off ashore, for the time being, where he could get medical treatment.
So the big motor boat swept out of the blue lagoon, and headed for St. Kitts, for it was planned to leave Ben, and once more take up the search.
They had not been under way more than an hour, however, before Jack, who was steering, uttered a cry.
"There's a boat cording toward us!" he said. "She seems to be asmall launch."
"Yes, and she's signaling to us!" added Walter. "She wants to speak with us!"
Joe came up from the motor room, and looked long and earnestly at the approaching craft.
"That's an English revenue cutter," he said, "and she's in a hurry, too."
"I wonder what she can want with us," mused Jack, as he ordered a signal to be run up on the small mast, indicating that they would speak to the approaching craft.
Over the slowly heaving swell of the blue waters the swift revenue cutter came on. Those aboard the Tartar watched her with eager eyes. Did she have some news for them? This was the question in the mind of the motor girls.
"Oh, perhaps they have mother aboard!" breathed Cora, her hopes running thus high.
"And they might have our mother and father!" added Bess, taking bold heart as she heard Cora speak.
Inez said nothing. It was too much for her to dare to think that her father might be released from his political prison. She could only wait and hope.
"Some speed to her," observed Jack, admiringly, as he watched the white foam piled up in front of the bow of the oncoming craft.
"But she's not very big," spoke Walter.
"She's built for speed," remarked Engineer Joe. "She doesn't usually come out this far to sea; just hangs around the harbors, and tries to catch small smugglers. She couldn't stand much of a blow, and it's my opinion we're going to get one."
"Oh, I hope not soon!" exclaimed Cora, with a little nervous glance up at the sky.
"Well, within a day or so," went on Joe. "It's making up for a storm all right, and I guess that cutter is trying to get her job done—whatever it is—and scoot back into harbor."
"But why should she want to speak to us?" asked Bess. "Of course it's interesting, and all that—almost like a story, in fact—but what does she want?"
"Tell you better when she gets here," said Walter with a laugh. "Perhaps there are some ladies aboard, and they want to learn the latest styles from the United States-seeing how recently you girls came from there."
"Silly!" murmured Belle, but it was noticed that she glanced at her brown linen dress, relieved with little touches of flame-colored velvet here and there—in which costume she made a most attractive picture. At least, Walter thought so.
"Perhaps zey are in search of him," suggested Inez, pointing toSailor Ben, who was lying on a coil of rope in the bow.
"That's right!" exclaimed Jack, with a look of admiration at the Spanish girl. "They may have heard a story of his being on the island, and come out to rescue him. They could tell we came from that direction."
"It's possible," admitted Walter.
Whoever was in charge of the revenue cutter, seeing that their signals to speak the Tartar had been observed and answered, cut down the speed somewhat, so that the government vessel came on more slowly. In a short time, however, she was near enough for a hail, through a megaphone, to be heard.
"What boat is that?" was the demand.
"The Tartar, from San Juan," was Jack's reply.
"Where bound?"
"It's too long a story to yell this way," was Jack's answer. "Shall we come aboard?"
"No, I'll send a boat," came back. Presently a small boat, containing three men, was lowered, for the sea was very smooth, and in a little while a trim-looking lieutenant was at the accommodation ladder of the Tartar.
"Why, it's just like a play!" murmured Bess, as she saw the sword at the officer's side. "I wonder if he's going to put us all under arrest?"
"Would you mind?" asked Cora.
"I don't know. He has nice eyes, hasn't he?"
"Hopeless!" sighed. Cora, with a little smile at her chum.
A quick glance on the part of the lieutenant seemed to give him an idea of the nature of the cruise of the Tartar.
"Oh! a pleasure party!" he exclaimed. "I am sorry we had to stop you, but—"
"That's all right," said Cora, for she thought it would be less embarrassing if one of the feminine members gave some assurance. "It doesn't happen to be a pleasure trip."
"No? You astonish me, really! I should say—"
His eyes caught sight of the ragged and un-kempt figure of the marooned sailor.
"Has there been a wreck? Did you save some one?" the lieutenant asked, quickly. His practiced eye told him at once that some tragedy had occurred.
"Something like that—yes," Cora assented. "But the rescue is not over yet. My brother will tell you all about it," and she nodded to Jack. The lieutenant, with a courteous lifting of his cap, turned to face Walter's chum.
"We rescued him from a little island back there," Jack said. "We thought you might be on the same errand."
"No," the officer said, "though we would have gone if we had heard of it. But we are after bigger game. Are you going back to St. Kitts?"
"Yes, and then on again. We're trying to find the Ramona, or some—"
"The Ramona!" cried the lieutenant, and there was wonder in his tones. "Do you, by any possible chance, mean the Ramona of the Royal Line?"
"That's the one," said Jack, something of the other's excitement 'communicating itself to him. "Why, do you know anything about her?"
"I only wish we knew more of her!" snapped the lieutenant, with a grim tightening of his lips, while the girls looked on in wonder at the strange scene. "We're after her, too," the officer continued. "She's in the hands of a mutinous crew, and she's been trying to do some smuggling. We've orders to take her if we can, but first we have to find her, and that's the errand we're on now. We stopped you to ask if you had had a sight of her. But why are you interested in finding her, if I may ask?"
"We're looking for my mother, who sailed on her," said Cora, quickly, "and for Mr. and Mrs. Perry Robinson, the parents of these girls," and she nodded toward the twins.
"Is it possible!" exclaimed the lieutenant. "This is indeed a coincidence."
"Have you sighted the Ramona?" asked Cora.
"No, Miss, and I wish we would—soon," spoke the lieutenant. "We're going to have a storm, if I'm any judge, and our cutter isn't any too sea-worthy. But it's all in the line of business," and he shrugged his shapely shoulders as though preparing for the worst. He would not shirk his duty.
"Well, I'm sorry we can't give you any information," Cora said. "We, too, are very anxious to find the steamer, for we are not even sure that our parents are aboard. There was a terrible storm, you know, and she may have foundered."
"No, she did not. We have good evidence of that," was the officer's answer. "She had a hard time in the hurricane, and suffered some damage, Miss, but she's sound and able to navigate. We heard that some of the crew, who would not join with the mutineers, were marooned—I am glad to get confirmation of that," and he nodded at Ben, whose story had been briefly told.
"But what of the passengers?" asked Bess, anxiously. "Oh, did you hear anything of father and mother?"
"Not personally, I am sorry to say," was the answer of the lieutenant as he touched his cap, and smiled at the eager girl.
"But did you hear anything?" asked, Cora, for somehow she fancied she detected a tone as though the officer would have been glad to answer no further.
"Well, Yes, Miss, I did," he was the somewhat reluctant reply. "The story goes that all the passengers are still aboard."
"Still on board!" echoed Jack. "Why, I thought they were also marooned."
"Evidently not," said the lieutenant. "Either the storm must have made them change their plans, or the mutineers were afraid of evidence being given against them by the passengers, for they kept them aboard, according to the latest reports we have had.
"After living through the hurricane, the Ramona was headed for a quiet harbor, where the smugglers have their headquarters, and there repairs were made. Since then the ship, under another name, has been engaged in running contraband goods. We were ordered to get after her, but, so far, we have had our trouble for our pains. We hoped you might have sighted her."
"We're going to keep on trying," said Cora. "We are going back to St. Kitts, to land him," and she nodded at the sailor they had rescued.
"Well, then we may see you again," the lieutenant said, with a bow, that took in the motor girls impartially. He shot a quick glance at Inez, but Cora did not think it wise to speak of the Spanish girl, nor mention her father.
After some further talk, in the course of which the lieutenant said the mutineers and smugglers would be harshly dealt with when caught, he returned to the cutter, which was soon under way again. She sheered off on a new tack, while the Tartar resumed her journey to St. Kitts.
"Wasn't that remarkable?" asked Bess.
"Very strange," agreed Cora.
"And it gave us news," spoke Belle. "We know now that your mother,Cora, and that our folks are all right."
"All right?" cried Jack, questioningly.
"Well, I mean they are safe on board, and not suffering on some little island," went on Belle.
"They might better off on some island," murmured Jack, but onlyWalter heard him, and he cautioned his chum quickly.
"Don't let the girls hear you say that," he whispered. "I agree with you that they might be better off on an island, than on the steamer, with the mutineers and smugglers. But if the girls hear that, they'll have all kinds of fits. Keep still about it."
"Oh, I intend to. But this complicates matters doesn't it? We'll have to find a constantly moving steamer, instead of a stationary island."
"It's about six of one and a half dozen of the other," spoke Walter. "But we have help in our search now," and he nodded toward the cutter, only the smoke of which could now be seen.
St. Kitts was reached without further incident, and Sailor Ben was taken ashore, Cora insisting on leaving him a sufficient sum of money to insure his care until he could find another berth. Then the pursuit of the Ramona was again taken up.
For two days the Tartar cruised about on her strange quest, and when the third evening came, with the sun setting behind a bank of slate-colored clouds, Cora said to Jack:
"It looks like a storm."
"You're right, Sis," he agreed. And, I even as he spoke, there came a strange moaning of the wind, which sprang up suddenly, whipping feathers of foam from the crests of the oily waves.
At the same moment, Joe, who had come up from the motor room for a breath of fresh air, cried out:
"Sail ho!"
"What is it?" cried Cora, as she came up from the little dining cabin, where she and the other girls had been "doing" the dishes.
"A small steamer, Miss," answered the engineer of the Tartar. "I can't just make out what she is—sort of misty and hazy just now."
"She seems to be headed this way, too," spoke Bess, who had joined Cora on the little deck. "Oh, but doesn't the weather look queer?"
She turned a questioning and rather frightened gaze at her chum.
"I think we're in for a storm," Cora spoke.
"But we're too good sailors to mind that—aren't we?"
"I hope so," faltered Bess.
It was not so much a question of sea-sickness with the motor girls, as it was a fear of damage in a comparatively small craft. They had been on the water enough, and in stressful times, too, so that they suffered no qualms. But a storm at sea is ever a frightful sensation, to even the seasoned traveler.
"Why, that boat is headed right for us," observed Belle, who had also come out of the dining cabin. As for Inez, she frankly did not like the water except when the sky was blue and the sun shining, though she was far from being cowardly about it. So she remained below.
"Jack! Jack!" called Cora, for Walter and her brother had gone down to their stateroom to don "sea togs," as Jack called them—meaning thereby clothes that salt water would not damage.
"What is it, Sis?" he asked.
"There's another boat headed for us, perhaps she wants help?" Cora suggested.
"We'll give them all we can," Jack called, as he came hurrying up. Then, as he steadied himself at the rail, and looked off through the mist toward the on-coming boat, he uttered an exclamation.
"Why—that's the revenue cutter again!" he cried. "I'm sure of it!How about that, Joe?"
The engineer, who had left his machinery in charge of Slim Jim, for the time, cleared his eyes of the salty spray.
"I guess you're right," he agreed. "Couldn't make her out at first, but that's who she is. Guess she wants to ask us if we have any more information. Shall I heave to?"
"Better, I think," advised Cora, following Jack's questioning glance. For, be it known, Jack deferred more than usual to his sister on this cruise, since he had been under her direction, rather than she under his.
That it was the desire of the on-coming craft to have the Tartar slow up was evident a moment later. For, as the powerful motors revolved with less speed, a hail came over the heaving blue waters, that now had turned to a sickly green under the strange hue of the setting sun.
"On board the Tartar!" came the cry. Evidently the boat of our voyagers had not been forgotten.
"Ahoy!" shouted Jack, using a megaphone Cora handed him.
"Stand by!" was the next command. "We want to send"—there came an undistinguishable word—"aboard."
"They're going to send some one aboard!" cried Bess. "Oh, if it should be our folks—mother and father-your mother, Cora dear!"
A flush of excitement gathered on Cora's cheeks. Belle, too, felt that something was impending. Jack, and Walter exchanged glances.
The sea was running higher now, under the influence of an ever-increasing wind, and it was no easy matter to lower a small boat from the cutter—a small boat containing three men.
"It's just as it was before—when they came to us for news," exclaimed Bess. "I wonder if they bring us news, now."
"They certainly aren't bringing any of our people," said Cora with a sigh, for, though she had discounted the hope that Bess had expressed, yet she could not altogether free herself from it. It was evident that none save sailors were coming toward the Tartar.
And, when the small boat drew nearer, those aboard the gasoline craft saw that they were to receive the same Lieutenant Walling who had before paid them a visit.
"What is it, please?" asked Cora, leaning over the rail. She was unable to withhold her question longer.
"We have news for you!" exclaimed the lieutenant, the pause coming as he made an ineffectual grasp for the rail as his boat rose on the swell.
"News!" gasped Cora. Her heart was beating wildly now.
"Oh, we haven't rescued your people," Lieutenant Walling hastened to assure her, as this time he managed to grasp the rail of the motor boat, swinging himself over on the deck. The swells were so high that no accommodation ladder was needed. "That's all—you may go back, and say to Captain Decker that I will look after matters," he said to the sailors in the small boat.
One of them fended off from the side of the Tartar, while the other pulled on the oars. Soon they were on their way back, crossing the stretch of now sullenly heaving water between the two craft.
"I find myself, under the direction of my commanding officer, Captain Decker, obliged to ask for help," said Lieutenant Walling, with a smile.
"Help?" repeated Jack, who, with Walter, had joined the group of girls about the officer.
"Yes. We have had news that the Ramona has been seen in this vicinity, and we were after her. But there was an accident to our machinery, and we can't go on in the storm. The cutter was obliged to put back when we sighted you.
"I suggested to Captain Decker that possibly you could give us the very help we needed. You have an object in finding the Ramona, not the same object as ourselves, but stronger, if anything," and the lieutenant looked at Cora. She nodded her head in assent.
"So it occurred to me," Lieutenant Walling went on, "that I might continue the chase in the Tartar. It is doubtful if our cutter could manage to navigate in the storm we seem about to have, so we should have been obliged to put back in any case, even if we had not had the accident. But you can stand a pretty good blow,"' he said, referring to the Tartar.
"She's a good little boat, all right," said Jack, who knew somethingof motor craft.
"So I perceive. And now, if you will allow me to use it on behalf of the government, we will try to catch the Ramona."
"Is there really a chance of doing that?" asked Cora, in her eagerness laying her hand on the sleeve of the young officer.
"There really is," was his answer. "She has been sighted by a fishing schooner—we had word from the captain of it. And the Ramona seems to be crippled. She was going slowly. We ought to catch her soon—if this storm holds off long enough."
"Oh, isn't it exciting, Cora!" whispered Bess. "Almost like the time when you saved the papers in the red oar at Denny Shane's cabin!"
"Only I hope there are no physical encounters," spoke Cora, with a shudder, as she recalled the strenuous days spent on Crystal Bay.
"I fancy you need not be alarmed," the lieutenant said. "From what we can learn, the mutineers and smugglers are rather sick of their bargain. There have been dissentions and part of the crew is ready to give up. But the others are afraid of the punishment that will be meted out."
"Will it be heavy?" asked Belle. "Heavy enough," was the significant answer. "It is a high crime to mutiny on the ocean, especially in time of storm and trouble."
"Then you have a good chance of catching them?" asked Jack.
"We think so—yes."
"'But isn't this a rather—er—small force to capture a large steamer, in possession of desperate men?" Walter wanted to know.
"It isn't as risky as you might think," answered Lieutenant Walling, with a smile. "As I said, the smugglers are now divided. One-half is already to turn on the other half. Once they are commanded to surrender, in the name of the government, I fancy they'll be only too glad to."
"And what of the passengers—our folks?" asked Cora.
"Well, they are still aboard, as far as can be learned," was the revenue officer's reply. "If we have luck, you may be with them before another day passes. But we need luck," and as he said this, he glanced around the horizon, as if to judge how much the elements might figure in the odds against him.
Truly they seemed likely to make the chances anything but easy. The wind was constantly increasing in force, and from a low moan had changed to a threatening whine and growl. The seas were running high and the swells were breaking into foam. As yet the Tartar rode easily, being now under way again, but though she might stand even heavier waves than those now rolling after her, it would not be very comfortable for those aboard.
"Will you take command?" asked Jack in answer to a look from his sister. "We'll turn this boat over to you, though we're United States subjects and you're—"
"British—you needn't be afraid to say it," frankly laughed the lieutenant. "But I fancy we can strike up a friendly alliance. No, I don't wish to take command. This is merely asking you for an accommodation on your part. You are after the Ramona, as I understand it, and so am I. I merely ask to be allowed to go along and help you find her. Once I get aboard I shall put under arrest all the mutineers. And you will be with your people."
"Oh, if we ever are again!"
"Which way was she headed when you last had information?" askedWalter.
"Southeast," was the reply, "and she isn't far ahead of us now. By crowding on speed we can overtake her by morning."
"Hear that, Joe?" cried Jack. "Do your best now!"
"Aye, aye, sir!" was the reply.
"Have you gasoline for a long run?" asked the lieutenant.
"Yes," Jack answered. "We filled the tanks at St. Kitts. But won't you come below, and we'll arrange for your comfort."
"And do let me make you a cup of tea!" begged Cora. "I know youEnglishmen are so fond of it—"
"Well, we get rather out of the habitat sea," was the reply, "but I should be glad of some—if it isn't too much trouble."
Through the gathering dusk, the advent of which was hastened by the coming storm, the Tartar heaved her way over the tumbling waters. Night came, and still the storm did not break. The lieutenant proved a good seaman, and, under his direction the motor boat kept on through the hours of darkness. The motor girls did not rest much, nor did Walter or Jack.
As morning came, the storm broke in all its fury—being little short, in violence, of a West Indian hurricane. On through the mist, through the smother of foam, over the big greenish-blue waves scudded the Tartar, the lieutenant, in oilskins, standing in the bows, peering ahead for a sight of the steamer.
And, at noon, following a fierce burst of wind, he give a cry.
"What is it?" asked Jack, struggling toward.
"Ship ahead! I think it is the Ramona!" was the answer.
Clinging to the life-lines that had been stretched along the deck, Jack made his way to a partly-sheltered spot near which the lieutenant stood.
"Where is she?" asked Jack, fairly shouting the words into the officer's ear, for the noise of the storm was such as to make this necessary.
"Right ahead!" was the answer. "Look when we go up on the next crest."
One moment the Tartar was down in the hollow of the waves, and the next on the top of the swell, and it was only on the latter occasion that a glimpse ahead could be had.
"Now's your chance!" cried Lieutenant Walling to Jack. "Look!"
Eagerly Cora's brother peered through the mist, wiping the salty spray from his eyes. Just ahead, wallowing in the trough of the sea, as though she were only partly under control, was a steamer.
"I see her!" Jack shouted, and then the Tartar, went down in the hollow between two waves again, and he could glimpse only the seething water as it hissed past under the force of the wind.
"I think it's the Ramona—I'm not sure," was the lieutenant's next remark.
"What are you going to do about it?" Jack wanted to know.
"Hang on as long as I can," was the grim reply. "She doesn't look as though she were good for much more, and we are."
"Yes, we seem to be making it pretty well," Jack answered.
Indeed the staunch little Tartar was more than living up to her name. She was buoyant, and there was a power and thrust to her screw that kept her head on to the heavy seas, which allowed her to ride them.
The chase was now on, and a chase it was, for soon after sighting the steamer ahead of them, Lieutenant Walling, by means of powerful glasses, had made sure that she was the Ramona, and, without doubt, in charge of the mutineers, unless, indeed, the half of the crew opposed to them, had risen, and taken matters into their own hands.
"But we'll soon find out," said the lieutenant, grimly.
"How?"' asked Cora, for, the officer had come down into the cabin."Can you board her now?"
"Hardly, in this blow, Miss Kimball. But we can hang on, and get them as soon as it lets up a little."
"Won't they get away from us?" Bess wanted to know. She, as well as her more fragile sister, had thoroughly entered into the spirit of the chase now.
"I think we can more than hold our own with them," answered the lieutenant. "You have a very fast craft here, and owing to the fact that they haven't much coal, and that they have probably suffered some damage, we won't let them get away very easily. We can hold on, I think."
"Then you won't try to run up alongside now?" Walter wanted to know.
"Indeed not! It would be dangerous. She rolls like a porpoise in a seaway, and she'd crush us like an egg shell if we got too close. All we can do is to hold off a bit, until this blows out. And it can't last very long at this season of the year. Storms never do."
For all the hopeful prediction of the young officer, this blow showed no signs of an early abatement. The wind seemed to increase, rather than diminish and the seas were still very high.
Through it all the Tartar behaved well. Joe, with Slim Jim, the faithful negro, to help, kept the motors up to their work, and Walters Jack and the lieutenant took turns steering, for it was too much to ask Joe or Jim to do this in addition to their other work.
The afternoon was waning, and it was evident that there would be another early night, for the clouds were thick. Walter and Jack had gone up on deck, while the lieutenant remained in the cabin, taking some hot tea which Cora had prepared for him. A warm feeling of friendship sprung up between the young officer and our travelers. Inez was not feeling well, and had gone to lie down in her berth, though it was anything but comfortable there, since the boat rolled and pitched so.
"I say!" called Jack, down a partly opened port into the cabin, "I think you'd better come up here, Lieutenant."
"Oh, he hasn't had his tea yet!" objected Cora.
"That doesn't matter—if something is up!" was the hasty rejoinder, and, leaving the table, the revenue officer hastened up on deck, buttoning his oilskins as he went.
"What is it?" he asked of the two young men.
"She seems to be turning," said Jack, "thought you'd better know."
"That's right. I'm glad you called me. Yes, she is changing her course," said Lieutenant Walling. "I wonder what she's up to?"
The Ramona—Jack and Walter had made out her name under her stem rail now—was still slowly wallowing in the sea. She appeared to have lost headway, for she was moving very slowly, having barely steerage-way on. The Tartar had no trouble in keeping up to her.
"I wonder if they've seen us, and are waiting for us?" venturedWalter.
"They may have seen us, but they wouldn't stop—not in this sea," was the reply of the revenue officer. "They're up to some trick, and I can't just fathom what it is."
With keen eyes he watched the steamer as it tore on through the mist.It was much nearer now.
"I have an idea!" suddenly exclaimed the British officer. "I'll be back in a moment."
He hurried down to the cabin again, and through a port Jack and Walter saw him bending over some charts. In a few minutes the lieutenant was up on deck again.
"I understand!" he cried. "I know what they're up to now."
"What?" asked Jack. He did not have to shout so loudly now, as the storm seemed to be lessening in its fury.
"They're going to run in under the lea of Palm Island," said Lieutenant Walling. "I guess they've had enough of it. This is the beginning of the end. They must be in bad shape."
"Sinking—do you mean?" asked Walter.
"No, not exactly. But they may have run out of coal, and can't keep the engines going any longer. Yes, that's what they're doing—making for Palm Island."
"What sort of a place is that?" Jack wanted to know.
"A mighty ticklish sort of place to run for during a storm," was the answer. "There's a bad coral reef at the entrance to the harbor, but once you pass that you're all right. I wonder if they can navigate it?"
"And if they don't?" asked Jack.
"Well, they'll pile her up on the reef, and she'll pound to pieces in no time in this sea."
Walter and Jack followed the lieutenant to the after deck, where the wheel was. There the revenue officer relieved Joe, the latter going to his motor, which needed attention. The storm was constantly growing less in violence.
As yet there was no sign of an island, but presently, through the gathering darkness, there loomed up a black mass in the swirl of white waters.
Now came the hard and risky work of getting in through the opening of a dangerous coral reef to the sheltered harbor. The big steamer went first, and, for a time, it seemed she was doomed, for the current played with her like a toy ship. But whoever was in charge of the wheel had a master's hand, and soon the craft had shot into the calm waters, followed by the Tartar.
It was a great relief from the pitching and tossing of the last two days.
"Oh, to be quiet again!"
"Isn't it delightful!" agreed Bess. "And now if we can only find our folks!"
Lieutenant Walling lost no time. As the Ramona dropped her anchor, he sent the Tartar alongside, and on his official hail a ladder was lowered. Walter and Jack mounted with him.
"Every mutinous member of this crew is under arrest!" was the grim announcement of the revenue officer. "Who's in charge? Are there any passengers aboard?"
Anxiously Jack looked for a sign of his mother, or for Mr. and Mrs.Robinson. He saw nothing of them.
"The passengers were all put ashore, sir," said sailor, with a salute.
"Where?" demanded the lieutenant.
Before he could answer there came on deck a fat man, at the sight of whom Jack uttered an exclamation.
"Senor Ramo!" cried Cora's brother.
Unaware of what was taking place on the deck of the Ramona, for they were far below its level in the Tartar, Cora, Belle, Bess and Inez looked anxiously aloft. They could hear a murmur of voices, but little else. It was nearly dark now, but Joe switched on the electrics in the motor boat, and aboard the steamer lights began to gleam.
"Well!" exclaimed Cora, with her usual spirit. "I'm not going to stay here and miss everything. I want to see mother just as much as Jack does."
She was as yet unaware, you see, of what the sailor had said to her brother.
"Where are you going?" asked Bess, as Cora started for the dangling accommodation ladder.
"Up there!" was the quick answer.
"Oh, Cora! Don't leave us!" begged Bess.
"Come along then," suggested Jack's practical sister.
"But it is so steep!" complained Bess, who was more "plump" than ever, due to the inactivity of the sea trip.
"It wont be any the less steep from waiting," spoke Cora, grimly, "and it'll soon be so dark that you'll likely fall off, if you try to go up. I'm going—mother must be up there, and so must your folks."
"Of course!" cried Belle. "Don't be a coward, Bess."
"I'm not, but—"
"I will help," said Inez, gently, as she glided up from the cabin."Perhaps zere may be news of my father!"
She had been very patient all this while regarding news of her parent—very unselfish, for though the trip was partly undertaken to aid Senor Ralcanto, if possible, nothing as yet had been done toward this. All efforts had been bent toward getting news of Mrs. Kimball, and Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, and Inez had said nothing. Even now, she was willing to help others first.
"You're a dear," murmured Cora, her foot on the first step of the mounting ladder. "Oh, to think that all our worry is over now!" She had yet to learn what was in store for her and the others.
"Oh, I know I'll fall in!" cried Bess, as she essayed to go up.
"Don't be silly!" cautioned Cora. "Belle, you pull her from in front, and, Inez, you push. We've just got to get her up."
The Tartar was made fast by a rope tossed from the deck of the Ramona, and Joe and Slim Jim stood on deck, ready to execute any commands that might come from the young navigators. Cora and the other girls safely reached the deck of the steamer.
A carious sight confronted them.
Jack and Walter stood confronting, in the glare of several electric lights, the portly form of Senor Ramo, who seemed ill at ease. The members of the mutinous crew stood about, rather shame-facedly, it must be confessed. Lieutenant Walling wore an air of triumph. He had brought the criminals to the end of their rope.
"Jack! Where are they?" asked Cora, impulsively.
"They—they're not here," her brother answered.
"Not here? Then where are they? Oh, don't say they're—"
Cora's voice could not frame the words.
At this moment Inez caught sight of Senor Ramo. She was rather a timid girl, and her troubles and, tribulations had not made her any bolder, but now, at the sight of the man she believed had done, or who contemplated doing her father an injury, the Spanish maid's courage rushed to the fore.
Inez sprang forward and began to speak rapidly in Spanish. Cora, who had managed to pick up a few words, understood that Inez was making a spirited demand for the papers which she accused the fat man of having taken from her room. Over and over again she insisted on receiving them—here, now, at once, without delay!
So insistent was she that it looked, as though she meant to make a personal assault on-Senor Ramo, and take the papers from his ill-fitting frock coat.
"Whew!" whistled Walter, "that's going some, isn't it?"
"Walter! How can you?" remonstrated Cora. "At such a time, too!"
"Just can't help it!" he murmured. "He's getting his deserts all right."
Senor Ramo fairly backed away from the excited Inez, but she followed him to the very rail, where, as he could go no further, he made a stand, and continued to listen to her voluble talk.
"She certainly has some spirit," murmured lieutenant Walling to Cora. "Is that the fellow she suspects?" he asked, for he had been told the story of Inez.
"Yes," answered Cora. "But is my mother aboard? And Mr. and Mrs.Robinson?"
"They're not!" broke in Jack. "These scoundrels have put them ashore—somewhere!"
"Oh!" cried Bess and Belle in chorus.
"Where?" demanded practical Cora.
"I am going to institute an inquiry at once," said LieutenantWalling. "I'll also have something to say to that fat Spaniard.Better tell your friend so," he suggested to the motor girls. "Shemight cause him to act hastily. He might do something desperate."
"She only wants some papers she thinks he has," said Jack, "and I guess she's going to get them," for Senor Ramo was putting his hand to his inside breast pocket.
"I'll soon straighten out this tangle," the lieutenant promised."I'll have the ring-leaders locked up, and then we'll get at thebottom of the whole affair. I'd better send ashore for help, though.May I use your boat?"
"Certainly," answered Cora. She was keenly disappointed at not finding the lost ones aboard. She and the others had counted so much on this when they should have come up to the Ramona. Where could the passengers be?
Jim and Joe were sent, in the Tartar, to bring aboard representatives of the English government, Palm Island belonging to Great Britain. The mutinous crew had no spirit of resistance left. The erstwhile commander of the rebelling forces was locked in his stateroom, until Lieutenant Walling was reinforced, when others of the leaders were put in irons.
"And I now I hope we can get some news," spoke Cora, when some sort of order had been brought out of the confusion, and the ship had been formally taken in charge by the authorities.
"You shall have all there is," promised Lieutenant Walling. "First, in regard to your parents," and he looked from Cora to the twins. "They are safe, so far as can be judged, though they may be in some distress."
"But where are they?" asked Cora, for Jack had found a chance to tell her that he had been informed they were put ashore.
"On Double Island," answered Lieutenant Walling. "They were made prisoners when the mutineers rose and seized the ship. They were locked in their cabins, so some of those who have confessed told me, and when the storm was over, they were treated fairly well. They were forced to remain on board while the plan of entering into the smuggling game was carried on. They tried to get ashore, or to send messages for help, but were frustrated.
"Then, finally, some of the crew began to grumble at the presence of the passengers. Food was running low, and a certain amount of care was required to prevent them from escaping. The upshot of it was that your parents were put ashore on Double Island, with a fairly good amount of food and other supplies."
"How long ago?"
"Where is a Double Island?"
"Can't we start and rescue them?"
"What of Inez's father?"
These questions were fairly rained on Lieutenant Walling, "One at a time, please," he said, as he gazed at the young people gathered about him in the cabin of the Ramona. "It was over a week ago that the passengers were put ashore on Double Island—there were only your parents," he added, glancing again from Cora to the twins. "All the others had departed in the small boats when it was feared that the Ramona was sinking. As to the location of Double Island—it is about two days' steaming from here. We certainly can, and will, rescue them, and as for the father of Miss Inez—well that is another matter. We shall have to see Senor Ramo. He seems to know something about the prisoner—at least Miss Inez thinks that does."
At that moment Inez came into the cabin. Whether she had been all this while "laying down the law," as Jack phrased it, to the Spaniard was not, for the present, disclosed. But she was greatly excited, and she flourished in her hand a package of documents.
"I have ze papairs!" she cried, exultantly. "Now my father will be free. Oh, Senorita you will help me—will you not—to go to Sea Horse Island and rescue him?"
"Of course," spoke Cora, in answer to this pleading. "My! but we have lots of work ahead of us!" and she sighed.
"But you are equal to it, my dear," said Bess.
"Oh, to see papa and mamma again!"
"And to think of them living on some lonely little island!" sighed her sister. "We can't get to them quickly enough!"
"You had better go ashore for the night," suggested Lieutenant Walling, "and we'll start early in the morning. I'll go with you—if you will let me," and he looked at Jack's sister.
"Of course," murmured Cora, blushing slightly.
"You'll need more gasoline perhaps, and other stores," the officer went on. "And the journey will be much easier made with a good morning's start."
So it was decided. Supper was served for the young people aboard the Ramona, by direction of the British officer who was put in charge. There was rather more room to move about than on the Tartar. After the meal—the merriest since the strange quest had begun—explanations were forthcoming.
"I want to know how Inez got those papers away from Ramo," saidWalter, with a flash of admiration at the Spanish girl.
"Ah, Senor, it is no secret!" she laughed. "I said I knew he had zem, and if he did not gif 'em I would tear zem from his pocket!
"He gave zem to me," she finished, simply.
"Good for you!" cried Jack. "What became of him?"
"I believe he went ashore in a small boat," said the lieutenant. "I'm having him watched, though, for I think he had some hand in this smuggling. In fact, he may prove to be at the bottom of the whole business."
And so it turned out. Senor Ramo, while pretending to be a respectable Spanish coffee merchant, had been engaged secretly in smuggling. It was he who planned the mutiny on the Ramona for purposes of his own, though the storm gave him unexpected aid. He had joined the steamer later, after having stolen the papers from the room of Inez.
For it was Ramo who had taken them. His agents had sent him word that Inez had the means to free the political prisoner, and as this would have interfered with the plans of Ramo and his cronies, he determined to frustrate it. So, watching his chance, he took the papers and fled to join his mutinous and smuggling comrades. But the fates were against him. Later, it was learned that Ramo had tried, through agents in New York, to get the papers from the Spanish girl. And the tramp in Chelton was, undoubtedly, one of them.
Inez said Ramo explained to her that he intended to keep her father a prisoner only a short time longer. With Senor Ralcanto free, the plans of the smugglers would have been interfered with, for the father of Inez, and his party, stood for law and order.
"But now I free my father myself!" cried the Spanish girl, proudly."No more do I wait for that fat one!"
So with the papers which would eventually release the Spanish prisoner, and well fitted out for the cruise to Double Island, the party once again set forth on her cruise.
"There the island is!" cried Lieutenant Walling, on the second day out. "And I think I can see a flag flying. Few ships pass this way, but, very likely, the refugees would try to call one."
And, a little later, as the Tartar came nearer, Cora, who was looking through the glasses, cried out:
"I can see them! They are on shore! There's mother, Jack! She's waving, though of course she doesn't know who we are. And I see your mother and father, girls! Oh, Bess—Belle—we've found them!"
There proved to be a good harbor at Double Island—a harbor ringed about with sand-fringed coral, with a sandy bottom which could be seen through the limpid depths of the blue water that was as clear as a sapphire-tinted crystal. And, a short way up from the beach was a line of palms and other tropical plants, while, in a little clearing, near what proved to be a trickling spring, was a rude sort of hut.
"Ahoy, folks!" yelled Jack, his voice a shout with its old vigor."Here we are!"
What the three on the beach said could not be heard, but they were plainly much excited.
"They don't yet know who we are," said Cora.
"They only know they are being rescued," echoed Bess.
"Oh, but isn't it great—we've found them!" cried Belle in delight, hugging first Cora, Bess and next Inez.
Inez said nothing, but her shining eyes told of the joy she felt in the happiness of her friends. Her time for rejoicing was yet to come.
So little did the beach in the coral harbor shelve that the big motor boat could come up to within a few yards of the shore.
"Why it's Jack—and Cora!" cried Mrs. Robinson. "It's your son and daughter—and the girls! Oh, of all things!"
Mrs. Kimball could not answer. She was softly crying on the shoulder of Mrs. Robinson, Mr. Robinson, who had been trying to catch some crabs along shore, had his trousers rolled up. He was rather a disheveled figure as he stood there—in fact, none of the refugees appeared to sartorial advantage—but who minded that?
"Hurray!" yelled Mr. Robinson, waving, a piece of cloth on a stick—an improvised crab-net.
"Hurray! So you've come for the Robinson Crusoes; have you?"
"That's it!" shouted Jack, who was getting the small boat ready to go ashore.
"I thought we'd find them," spoke Lieutenant Walling.
"Oh, and we can't, thank you enough!" Cora murmured to him gratefully. "Only for you we might not have located the Ramona in a long time, and we night have been a month finding the folks. And you dear good girl!" she went on, putting her arms about Inez. "Next we are going to rescue your father."
"I shall be glad—mos' glad!" said the Spanish girl, softly.
Then they all went ashore, and brother and sisters were clasped in the arms of their loved ones.
"But how did it all happen?" asked Mr. Robinson. "How did you know where to look for us? Did the Ramona's crew repent, and send you for us? Tell us all about it! How are you, anyhow?"
He poured out a veritable flood of questions, which the girls, Jack, Walter and Lieutenant Walling tried to answer as best they could—the girls, it must be confessed, rather hysterically and tearfully.
"It was Cora and Jack who had the idea," said Bess, when quiet had been a little restored. "They determined to charter a motor boat and go in search of you, after we heard that the Ramona had foundered in the storm. And of course we wouldn't be left behind."
"Brave girls," murmured their mother.
"Indeed they were brave," declared Jack, patting Bess on her plump shoulder.
"We—we were afraid of being left behind," confessed Belle. "So we came."
"But what have you done since being marooned here?" Cora wanted to know. "Wasn't it awful—just awful?"
"Not so awful!" answered Mr. Robinson, with a laugh that could be jolly now. "We've had a fine time, and you should see some of the orchids I have gathered! It was worth all the hardship!"
"But, really, it hasn't been so bad," said Mrs. Kimball. "The weather was delightful, except for the two storms, and we have had enough to eat—such as it was. We have been camping out, and no more ideal place for such a life can be found than a West Indian coral island in December."
She looked back amid the palms, among which grew in a tropical luxuriousness many beautiful blossoms, with birds of brilliant plumage flitting from flower to flower.
"And you look so well," commented Cora, for indeed, aside from traces of sunburn, the refugees were pictures of health.
"We are well," declared Mrs. Robinson. "But of course we have been terribly worried about you girls, and Jack, too. How are you, Jack?" she asked, anxiously.
"You needn't ask," laughed Cora. "One glance is enough."
"Oh, I had a little touch of my old trouble," said Jack, in answer to his mother's questioning glance, "but I'm fine and fit now. But tell us about yourselves."
"Well, we're camping out here," said Mr. Robinson, with a laugh, "waiting for some vessel to come along and take us off. We could have stood it for another month, though it was getting pretty lonesome, with all due respect to the ladies," and he made a mock bow.
"That's nothing to how tiresome just one man can get, my dears!" put in his wife, to the girls.
Then they exchanged stories of their adventures. As those of the motor girls are well known to our readers, there is no need to dwell further on them.
As the crew of the Ramona had confessed, they had set the passengers—Mrs. Kimball and Mr. and Mrs. Robinson—ashore on Double Island, some time after the uprising. Our friends were glad enough to leave the vessel, for there were constant bickering and quarrels among the mutineers. Affairs did not go at all smoothly.
So it was with comparatively small regret that the refugees found themselves set ashore. They were given a boat, and a sufficient supply of food and stores. Only in the matter of clothing were they handicapped, having only a few belongings, the mutineers keeping the remainder.
"When we got ashore, and took an account of stock," said Mr. Robinson, "I found some sort of shelter would be necessary, even if we were in a land of almost perpetual June.
"This wasn't the first time I had gone camping, under worse circumstances than these, so I soon put up this hut. Not bad, is it?" and he waved his hand toward the palm-leaf thatched structure.
"It's great!" cried Jack. "I think I'll stay here a while myself, and camp out."
"You may—I've had enough," said Mrs. Robinson. "Oh, I do hope you girls have some spare hairpins!" she exclaimed. "Perry said to use thorns, but even if Mother Eve did her hair up that way, I can't!" she sighed.
"Well, to make a long story short," resumed Mr. Robinson, "we've been here ever since. And we are beginning to enjoy ourselves. We've had enough to eat, such as it is, though the tinned stuff gets a trifle palling after a time. So I've been trying to catch a few crabs."
"And he hasn't had any luck—he might as well confess," said his wife.
"Give me time, my dear," protested Mr. Robinson. "There's one now!"
He made a swoop with the improvised net, but the crustacean flipped itself into deep water and escaped.
"Never mind—you're going to leave now, Dad!" said Bess, gaily.
The young folks inspected the rude hut, and were charmed by its simplicity.
"Though it does leak," said Mr. Robinson.
"I must admit that."
"Leak!" cried Mrs. Robinson. "It's a regular sieve!"
"Might as well haul down our signal," observed Mr. Robinson, for on a tall palm, at a prominent height of the island, he had raised an improvised flag.
Double Island was uninhabited, and was seldom visited by any vessels, though in the course of time the refugees would have been rescued even if the motor girls had not come for them. But their experience would have been unpleasant, if not dangerous.
"Well, let's go aboard and start back to civilization," proposed Belle, after Lieutenant Walling had been introduced, and his part in the affair told.
"But we mustn't forget Inez's father!" cried Cora. "We still have some rescue work to do."
"Oh, I'm so sorry I couldn't make any move along that line," spokeMr. Robinson. "But now I'll attend to it, Inez."
"We'll make for Sea Horse Island at once," said Cora. "Inez has the papers with her. Tell him how you threatened Senor Ramo, dear," and the tale of the fat Spaniard was related.
Made comfortable aboard the Tartar, which had resumed her strange cruise, the refugees told little details of their marooning, which story there had not been time for on the island.
The days were pleasant, the weather all that could be desired, and in due season Sea Horse was sighted. This was a small place, maintained by the Spanish government as a prison for political offenders. As the Tartar approached the fort at the harbor entrance, Lieutenant Walling looked through the glass at several flags flying from a high pole.