“That is a pretty good sign that they are not here. Where is the boat they came in?”
“I don’t know that either. It is also missing.”
“Where is the boy they brought with them?”
“When the Banner rounded the point he was standing in the mouth of that cave,” replied Walter, pointing to the Kitchen, “and shouted to us to get away from here while we could—that this schooner is a smuggler and that Fred Craven is a prisoner on board of her.”
“Well, where is the boy now?”
“I can’t tell you, sir.”
“Isn’t he on the island?”
“We can find no signs of him.”
“Then he hasn’t been here to-night.”
“He certainly has,” replied Walter, “for we saw him and heard him too.”
“Who did?”
“Every one of the crew of the Banner.”
“Did anybody else? Did you, Mr. Bell? Or you, Captain Conway? Or any of your men?”
The persons appealed to answered with a most decided negative. They had seen no boy in the cave, heard no voice, and knew nothing about a prisoner or a pirogue. There was one thing they did know, however, and that was that no dugout that was ever built could traverse forty miles of the Gulf in such a sea as that which was running last night.
“Well, young man,” said the revenue officer, addressing the captain of the yacht somewhat sternly, “I am sure I don’t know what to think of you.”
“You are at liberty to think what you please, sir,” replied Walter, with spirit. “I have told you the truth, if you don’t believe it search that schooner.”
“You have failed to give me any reason why I should do so. Your story is perfectly ridiculous. You say that a couple of desperate smugglers captured an acquaintance of yours and put him in a canoe; that you met them in a bayou on the main shore and had a fight with them; that they eluded you and came out into the Gulf in a gale that no small boat in the world could stand, and brought their prisoner to this island. When I expressed a reasonable doubt of the story, you offered, if I would come here with you, to substantiate every word of it. Now I am here, and you can not produce a scrap of evidence to prove that you are not trying to make game of me. The men, the boy, and the boat they came in, are not to be found. I wouldn’t advise you to repeat a trick of this kind or you may learn to your cost that it is a serious matter to trifle with a United States officer when in the discharge of his duty. Mr. Bell, as the wind has now subsided so that I can go out, I wish you good-by and a pleasant voyage.”
“One moment, captain,” said Walter, as the revenue commander was about to move off; “perhaps you will think I am trifling with you, if I tellyou that I have some deserters from your vessel on board my yacht.”
“Have you? I am glad to hear it. I have missed them, and I know who they are. I thought they had gone ashore at Bellville, and it was by stopping to look for them that I lost so much time. Haul your yacht alongside the cutter and put them aboard.”
“I am going to set them at liberty right where the yacht lies,” replied Walter, indignant at the manner in which the revenue captain had treated him, and at the insolent tone of voice in which the order was issued; “and you can stand by to take charge of them or not, just as you please.”
“How many of them are there?”
“Two.”
“Only two? Then the others must have gone ashore at Bellville, after all,” added the captain, turning to his second lieutenant. “I wish they had taken your vessel out of your hands and run away with it. You need bringing down a peg or two, worse than any boy I ever saw.”
Walter, without stopping to reply, turned on his heel, and walked around the cove to the place where the Banner lay, followed by his crew, whogave vent to their astonishment and indignation in no measured terms. The deserters were released at once. When informed that their vessel was close at hand, and that their captain was expecting them, they ascended to the deck, looking very much disappointed and crestfallen, and stood in the waist until the cutter came alongside and took them off. They were both powerful men, and the boy-tars were glad indeed that they had been discovered before they gained a footing on deck. If Walter had been in his right mind he would have examined the hold after those two men left it; but he was so bewildered by the strange events that had transpired since he came into the cove, that he could think of nothing else.
While the crew of the yacht were liberating the deserters, the smuggling vessel filled away for the Gulf—her captain springing upon the rail long enough to shake his fist at Walter—and as soon as she was fairly out of the cove, the cutter followed, and shaped her course toward Bellville.
The boys watched the movements of the two vessels in silence, and when they had passed behind the point out of sight, turned with one accord toWalter, who was thoughtfully pacing his quarter-deck, with his hands behind his back.
“Eugene,” said the young captain, at length, “did you keep an eye on the smuggler all the time that we were in The Kitchen?”
“O, yes,” replied Eugene, confidently. “I saw everything that happened on her deck.” And he thought he did, but he forgot that he had two or three times left his post.
“You didn’t see Chase taken on board the schooner, did you?”
“I certainly did not. If I had, I should have said something about it.”
“Then there is only one explanation to this mystery: Chase was somehow spirited out of the cave and hidden on the island. We will make one more attempt to find him. Three of us will go ashore and thoroughly search these woods and cliffs, and the others stay and watch the yacht.”
Walter, Perk, and Bab, after arming themselves with handspikes, sprang ashore and bent their steps toward The Kitchen to begin their search for the missing Chase. As before, no signs of him were found in the cave, although every nook and crevice large enough to conceal a squirrel, was peeped into.Next the gully received a thorough examination, and finally they came to the bushes on the side of the bluff. A suspicious-looking pile of leaves under a rock attracted Bab’s attention, and he thrust his handspike into it. The weapon came in contact with something which struggled feebly, and uttered a smothered, groaning sound, which made Bab start back in astonishment.
“What have you there?” asked Walter, from the foot of the bluff.
“I don’t know, unless it is a varmint of some kind that has taken up his winter quarters here. Come up, and let’s punch him out.”
Perk and Walter clambered up the bluff to the ledge, and while one raised his handspike in readiness to deal the “varmint” a death-blow the instant he showed himself, the others cautiously pushed aside the leaves, and presently disclosed to view—not a wild animal, but a pair of heavy boots, the heels of which were armed with small silver spurs. One look at them was enough. With a common impulse the three boys dropped their handspikes, and pulling away the leaves with frantic haste, soon dragged into sight the missing boy, securely bound and gagged, and nearly suffocated. To give himthe free use of his hands and feet, and remove the stick that was tied between his teeth, was but the work of a moment. When this had been done, Chase slowly raised himself to a sitting posture, gasping for breath, and looking altogether pretty well used up.
“You don’t know how grateful I am to you, fellows,” said he, at last, speaking in a hoarse whisper. “I’ve had a hard time of it during the half hour I have been stowed away in that hole, and I never expected to see daylight again.”
“Now I’ll tell you what’s a fact,” said Perk. “You never would have got out of there alive if Walter hadn’t been thoughtful enough to search the island before going home. Now let me ask you something: Where did you go in such a hurry, after shouting to us from the mouth of The Kitchen?”
“I can’t talk much, fellows, till I get something to moisten my tongue,” was the almost indistinct reply. “If you will help me to the spring, I will tell you all about it. Where are the smugglers?”
“Don’t know. We haven’t seen any,” said Walter.
“You haven’t?” whispered Chase, in greatamazement. “Didn’t you see those men who were standing on the beach when you came in?”
“Yes; but they are not smugglers. They’ve got clearance papers, and the captain of the cutter says he knows they are all right. Besides, one of them was Mr. Bell.”
“No difference; I know they are smugglers by their own confession, and that Mr. Bell is the leader of them. O, it’s a fact, fellows; I know what I am talking about. Where are they now?”
“Gone.”
“Gone!Where?”
“To Havana, most likely. That’s the port their vessel cleared for.”
“And did you rescue Fred Craven? I know you didn’t by your looks. Well, you’ll have to find that schooner again if you want to see him, for he’s on board of her, and—wait till I rest awhile, fellows, and get a drink of water.”
Seeing that it was with the greatest difficulty that Chase could speak, Perk and Walter lifted him to his feet, and assisted him to walk down the gully, while Bab followed after, carrying the handspikes on his shoulder. Arriving at the spring, Chase lay down beside it and took a large and hearty drink,now and then pausing to testify to the satisfaction he felt by shaking his head, and uttering long-drawn sighs. After quenching his thirst, and taking a few turns up and down the path to stretch his arms and legs, he felt better.
“The first thing, fellows,” said Chase, “is to tell you that I am heartily sorry I have treated you so shabbily.”
“Now, please don’t say a word about that,” interrupted Walter, kindly. “We don’t think hard of you for anything you have done, and besides we have more important matters to talk about.”
“I know how ready you are, Walter Gaylord, to overlook an injury that is done you—you and the rest of the Club—and that is just what makes me feel so mean,” continued Chase, earnestly. “I was not ashamed to wrong you, and I ought not to be ashamed to ask your forgiveness. I made up my mind yesterday, while we were disputing about those panther scalps (to which we had not the smallest shadow of a right, as we knew very well), to give Fred Craven a good thumping, if I was man enough to do it, for beating me in the race for Vice-Commodore;and the next time I met him he paid me for it in a way I did not expect. He tried to assist me, and got himself into a terrible scrape by it.”
“That is just what we want to hear about,” said Bab, “and you are the only one who can enlighten us. But Eugene and Wilson would like to listen to the story also; and if you can walk so far, I suggest that we go on board the yacht.”
“What do you suppose has become of Coulte and Pierre?” asked Walter. “Are they still on the island?”
“No, indeed,” replied Chase. “If the rest of the smugglers are gone, of course they went with them.”
After Chase had taken another drink from the spring, he accompanied his deliverers down the gully. The watch on board the yacht discovered them as they came upon the beach, and pulling off their hats, greeted them with three hearty cheers. When they reached the vessel, Wilson testified to the joy he felt at meeting his long-lost friend once more, by seizing him by the arms and dragging him bodily over the rail.
“One moment, fellows!” exclaimed Walter, andhis voice arrested the talking and confusion at once. “Chase, are you positive that Featherweight is a prisoner on board that schooner?”
“I am; and I know he will stay there until he reaches Havana, unless something turns up in his favor.”
“Then we’ve not an instant to waste in talking,” said the young captain. “We must keep that schooner in sight, if it is within the bounds of possibility. Get under way, Perk.”
“Hurrah!” shouted Eugene, forgetting in the excitement of the moment the object for which their cruise was about to be undertaken. “Here’s for a sail clear to Cuba.”
“Now, just listen to me a minute and I’ll tell you what’s a fact,” said Perk. “One reason why I fought so hard against those deserters was, because I was afraid that if they got control of the vessel they would take us out to sea; and now we are going out of our own free will.”
“And with not a man on board;” chimed in Bab, “nobody to depend upon but ourselves. This will be something to talk about when we get back to Bellville, won’t it?”
The crew worked with a will, and in a very fewminutes the Banner was once more breasting the waves of the Gulf, her prow being turned toward the West Indies. As soon as she was fairly out of the cove, a half a dozen pairs of eyes were anxiously directed toward the southern horizon, and there, about three miles distant, was the Stella, scudding along under all the canvas she could carry. The gaze of the young sailors was then directed toward the Louisiana shore; but in that direction not a craft of any kind was in sight, except the revenue cutter, and she was leaving them behind every moment. Exclamations of wonder arose on all sides, and every boy turned to Walter, as if he could tell them all about it, and wanted to know what was the reason the tug had not arrived.
“I don’t understood it any better than you do, fellows,” was the reply. “She ought to have reached the island in advance of us. And I don’t see why the Lookout hasn’t put in an appearance. If father and Uncle Dick reached home last night, they’ve had plenty of time to come to our assistance. It would do me good to see her come up and overhaul that schooner.”
“Isn’t that a cutter, off there?” asked Chase, who had been attentively regarding the revenuevessel through Walter’s glass. “Let’s signal to her. She’ll help us.”
“Humph! She wouldn’t pay the least attention to us; we’ve tried her. The captain wouldn’t believe a word we said to him.”
It was now about nine o’clock in the morning, and a cold, dismal morning it was, too. The gale of the night before had subsided into a capital sailing wind, but there was considerable sea running, and a suspicious-looking bank of clouds off to windward, which attracted the attention of the yacht’s company the moment they rounded the point. The crew looked at Walter, and he looked first at the sky and clouds and then at the schooner. He had been on the Gulf often enough to know that it would not be many hours before the sea-going qualities of his little vessel, the nerve of her crew, and the skill on which he prided himself, would be put to a severer test than they had yet experienced, and for a moment he hesitated. But it was only for a moment. The remembrance of the events that had just transpired in the cove, the dangers with which Fred Craven was surrounded, and the determination he had more than once expressed to stand by him until he was rescued—all these things cameinto his mind, and his course was quickly decided upon. Although he said nothing, his crew knew what he was thinking about, and they saw by the expression which settled on his face that there was to be no backing out, no matter what happened.
“I wasdreadfullyafraid you were going to turn back, Walter,” said Eugene, drawing a long breath of relief.
“I would have opposed such a proceeding as long as I had breath to speak or could think of a word to utter,” said Perk. “Featherweight’s salvation depends upon us entirely, now that the tug has failed to arrive and the cutter has gone back on us.”
“But, fellows, we are about to undertake a bigger job than some of you have bargained for, perhaps,” said Bab. “Leaving the storm out of the question, there is the matter of provisions. We have eaten nothing since yesterday at breakfast, and the lunch we brought on board last night will not make more than one hearty meal for six of us. We shall all have good appetites by the time we reach Havana, I tell you.”
“I can see a way out of that difficulty,” replied Walter. “We will soon be in the track of vessels bound to and from the Balize, and if we fall in withone of those little New Orleans traders, we will speak her and purchase what we want. I don’t suppose any of us are overburdened with cash—I am not—but if we can raise ten or fifteen dollars, a trader will stop for that.”
“I will pass around the hat and see how much we can scrape together,” said Eugene, “and while I am doing that, suppose we listen to what Chase has to say for himself.”
The Club Afloat.
The Club Afloat.
The young sailors moved nearer to the boy at the wheel so that he might have the benefit of the story, and while they were counting out their small stock of change and placing it in Eugene’s hands, Chase began the account of his adventures. He went back to the time of the quarrel which Bayard Bell and his cousins had raised with himself and Wilson, told of the plan he and his companion had decided upon to warn Walter of his danger, and described how it was defeated by the smugglers. This much the Club had already heard from Wilson; but now Chase came to something of which they had not heard, and that was the incidents that transpired on the smuggling vessel. Walter and his companions listened in genuine amazement as Chase went on to describe the interview he had held with Bayard andhis cousins (he laughed heartily at the surprise and indignation they had exhibited when they found him in the locker instead of Walter, although he had thought it anything but a laughing matter at the time), and to relate what happened after Fred Craven arrived. At this stage of his story Chase was often interrupted by exclamations of anger; and especially were the crew vehement in their expressions of wrath, when they learned that Featherweight’s trials would by no means be ended when he reached Havana—that he was to be shipped as a foremast hand on board a Spanish vessel and sent off to Mexico. This was all that was needed to arouse the fiercest indignation against Mr. Bell. The thought that a boy like Fred Craven was to be forced into a forecastle, to be tyrannized over by some brute of a mate, ordered about in language that he could not understand, and perhaps knocked down with a belaying-pin or beaten with a rope’s end, because he did not know what was required of him—this was too much; and Eugene in his excitement declared that if Walter would crack on and lay the yacht alongside the schooner, they would board her, engage in a hand-to-hand fight with the smugglers, and rescue the secretary at all hazards.Had the young captain put this reckless proposition to a vote it would have been carried without a dissenting voice.
When the confusion had somewhat abated Chase went on with his story, and finally came to another event of which the Club had heard the particulars—the siege in Coulte’s house. He described the sail down the bayou, the attempted rescue by the Club, the voyage to the island during the gale, the destruction of the pirogue, and his escape and retreat to The Kitchen. His listeners became more attentive than ever when he reached this point, and his mysterious manner increased their impatience to hear how he could have been spirited out of the cave without being seen by any one.
“It was a surprise to me,” said Chase, “but it was done as easily as falling off a log. After I fell asleep the Stella, seeing the signal which Pierre and Coulte had lighted on the top of the bluff, came into the cove. I awoke just in time to keep Pierre from stealing a march upon me, but too late to prevent the entrance of Coulte. The old fellow must have come in just before I opened my eyes, and he was in the cave close behind me all the time I was talking to the smugglers; but he kept himself outof sight, thinking, no doubt, that it would not be a safe piece of business to attack me as long as I held my axe in my hand. The captain of the Stella told me that I was surrounded, and on two different occasions asked in a tone of voice loud enough for me to hear: ‘Where is Coulte, and why don’t he bestir himself?’ This made me believe that there was something amiss, and I stood in such a position that I could keep an eye on the interior of the cave and watch the men below at the same time, thus giving Coulte no opportunity to take me at disadvantage. But when I saw the Banner come in, I forgot everything in the fear that if you did not immediately turn about and leave the cove, you would all be captured. Intent upon warning you I threw down my axe and shouted to attract your attention. This was just what the old Frenchman was waiting for. No sooner had the words I shouted out to you left my lips, than he jumped up and seized me; and before I could say ‘hard a starboard’ I was helpless, being bound and gagged. I had no idea the old fellow possessed so much muscle and activity. He handled me as if I had been an infant.”
“But how did he ever get you down from the cave without being seen by some of us?” asked Eugene.
“O, he had opportunities enough,” said Bab—“while we were getting our vessel free from the schooner and out of the bushes for instance.”
“Or while we were talking with Mr. Bell,” said Wilson.
“He might have done it while we were looking for the pirogue, or at any time within ten minutes after we entered the cove,” remarked Walter. “I for one was so much astonished at what I saw and heard when we came around the point, that, after Chase ceased speaking to us, I never thought of him again until we had got our vessel moored to the bank.”
“I can’t tellwhenit was done, fellows,” continued Chase, “but I know itwasdone. As soon as Coulte had secured me, he looked out of the cave, waved his hand once or twice, and then began throwing out the articles he had given me for an outfit. Perhaps he thought you might look in ‘The Kitchen’ for me before you left the island, and he didn’t think it best to leave any traces of me there. In a few minutes Pierre came up with a rope over his shoulders. This they made fast under my arms, and watching their opportunity, when your attention was engaged with something else, they loweredme into the gully. They then followed me down the pole by which Pierre had come up, and hid me away under the rocks where you found me.”
And Chase might have added that after they had disposed of him, they went on board the smuggling vessel and concealed themselves in the hold until she was safe out of the cove. But this was something of which he had no positive evidence. In a few days, however, the crew met some one who told them all about it, and then Eugene, to his great surprise, learned that if he had faithfully performed the part Walter had assigned him, he might have been able to make a great change in the fortunes of Fred Craven. He could then have revealed to the revenue captain the whereabouts of the men who had captured Chase and brought him to the island, and that gentleman might have been induced to look into the matter.
When Chase finished his story, and the Club had questioned him to their satisfaction, he expressed a desire to hear what had happened to them since they last met. Eugene spoke for his companions, and it is certain that there was not another member of the Club who could have described their adventures in more glowing language, or shown up theobstinacy and stupidity of the revenue captain, in a more damaging light. Eugene said he could not tell what had become of the remains of the pirogue, or tell how Coulte and Pierre had left the island; but he made everything else clear to Chase, who, when the story was finished, was as indignant as any of the Club. The incidents of the interview with Mr. Bell were thoroughly discussed, and the conclusion arrived at was, that they had been very nicely outwitted; that the smugglers had played their part to perfection; and that the revenue captain was totally unfit for the position he held.
During the next hour nothing worthy of record transpired on board the yacht. Walter kept as much sail on her as she could carry, and although she did splendidly, as the heaving of the log proved, she moved much too slowly to suit her impatient crew. Directly in advance, apparently no nearer and no farther away than when the pursuit began, was the smuggling vessel; and in the west was that angry-looking cloud, whose approach the boy-sailors awaited with no little uneasiness.
Having had their talk out, Fred Craven’s mysterious disappearance having been fully explained, and knowing that nothing could be done to assisthim until the schooner was overtaken and help obtained from some source, the crew of the Banner began to busy themselves about matters that demanded their immediate attention, with a view to making their voyage across the Gulf as safe and agreeable as possible. The first thing to be done was to put Chase and Wilson at their ease. Now that their excitement had somewhat worn away, these young gentlemen began to look upon themselves as interlopers, and to wish that they were anywhere but on board the yacht. Their desire to assist Featherweight was as strong as ever, but remembering all that had passed, and judging the Club by themselves, they believed that their absence would have suited Walter and his friends quite as well as their company. Nothing had been done, a word said, or a look given to make them think so, but the manner in which they conducted themselves showed plainly enough that such was their impression. They took no part in the conversation now, answered the questions that were asked them only in monosyllables, and exhibited a desire to get away from the crew and keep by themselves. The Club saw and understood it all, and tried hard to make them believe that all old differences had been forgotten,and that their offers of friendship were sincere. When lunch was served up—the last crumb the baskets contained was eaten, for Walter said that one square meal would do them more good than two or three scanty ones—the Club made them talk by asking them all sorts of questions, and requesting their advice as to their future operations; and Eugene even went so far as to offer Wilson the bow-oar of the Spray to pull in the next regatta—a position which he regarded as a post of honor, and which, under ordinary circumstances, he would have been loth to surrender to his best friend. Wilson declined, but Eugene insisted, little dreaming that when the next regatta came off, the Spray would be locked up in the boat-house and covered with dust, while he and the rest of her gallant crew would be thousands of miles away.
By the time lunch had been disposed of, the Club, by their united efforts, had succeeded in dispelling all doubts from the minds of their late enemies, and harmony and good feeling began to prevail. While the dishes were being packed away in the baskets, Wilson discovered a sail which he pointed out to Walter, who, with his glass in his hand, ascendedto the cross-trees. After a few minutes’ examination of the stranger, he came down again, and the course of the Banner was altered so as to intercept the approaching vessel. At the end of an hour she was in plain sight, and proved to be a schooner about the size of the Stella—a coaster, probably. In thirty minutes more the two vessels were hove-to within speaking distance of each other; Walter, with his trumpet in his hand was perched upon the yacht’s rail, and the master of the schooner stood with one hand grasping the shrouds and the other behind his ear, waiting to hear what was said to him.
“Schooner ahoy!” shouted Walter.
“Ay! ay! sir!” was the answer.
“I have no provisions; can you spare me some?” The captain of the schooner, after gazing up at the clouds and down at the water, asked: “How much do you want?”
“How much money did you raise, Eugene?” asked the young commander, turning to his brother.
“Thirty dollars. And that’s every cent there is on board the yacht.”
“About twenty-five dollars worth,” shouted Walter.
“What sort?”
“Every sort—beef, pork, coffee, sugar, biscuit, and some fresh vegetables, if you have them. I haven’t a mouthful on board.”
After a short time spent in conversation with a man who stood at his side, during which he was doubtless expressing his astonishment that the commander of any craft should be foolish enough to venture so far from land without a mouthful of provisions for himself and crew, the captain of the schooner called out:
“All right. I reckon I shall have to take them aboard of you?”
“Yes, sir. I have no small boat to send after them.”
The captain walked away from the rail, and the young yachtsmen, overjoyed at their success, began to express their appreciation of his kindness in no measured terms. It wasn’t every shipmaster who would have sold them the provisions, and not one in a hundred who would have sent his own boat to bring them aboard.
“It is the money he is after,” said Walter. “These little traders will do almost anything to turn a penny. Now Chase, hold her just as she is, as nearly as you can. Eugene, open the fore-hatchand rig a block and tackle; and the rest of us turn to and get up some boxes and barrels from the hold to stow the provisions in.”
The crew, headed by Walter carrying a lighted lantern, went down into the galley and opened the hold. What was the reason they did not hear the strange sounds that came up from below as they threw back the hatch? They might have heard them if they had not been so busy thinking and talking about something else—sounds that would have created a panic among them at once, for they strongly resembled the shuffling of feet and angry excited whispering. It was dark in the hold in spite of the light the lantern threw out, or Walter, as he leaped through the hatchway, might have seen the figure which crept swiftly away and hid itself behind one of the water-butts.
The barrels for the pork, beef, fresh vegetables and biscuit, and the boxes for the coffee and sugar were quickly selected by Walter and passed up to Wilson in the galley, who in turn handed them up to Bab through the fore-hatchway. When this had been done the boys below returned to the deck and waited for the schooner’s yawl, which soon made itsappearance, rowed by four sailors and steered by the captain.
Judging by the size of the load in the boat they had a liberal man to deal with, for he was bringing them a goodly supply of provisions in return for their promised twenty-five dollars. When he came alongside the yacht he sprang over the rail and gazed about him with a good deal of surprise and curiosity.
“Where’s the captain?” he asked.
“Here I am, sir,” replied Walter.
The master of the schooner stared hard at the boy, then at each of his companions, ran his eye over the deck and rigging of the little vessel, which was doubtless cleaner and more neatly kept than his own, and finally turned and gave Walter another good looking over. “Are these your crew?” he inquired, waving his hand toward the young sailors.
“Yes, sir.”
“No men on board?”
“Not one.”
“Well, now, I would like to know what you are doing so far from shore in such a boat, and in such weather as this. Are you running away from home?”
“No, sir,” replied Walter, emphatically. “Our homes are made so pleasant for us that we wouldn’t think of such a thing.”
“Perhaps you are lost, then?”
“No, sir. We know just where we are going and what we intend to do. Our vessel is perfectly safe, and this rough weather doesn’t trouble us. We’re used to it. Shall we stand by to take the provisions aboard?”
It was clear enough to the yacht’s company, that the captain would have given something to know what they were doing out there, where they were going, and what their business was, but he made no further attempts to pry into their affairs. The manner in which the yacht was handled when she came alongside his own vessel, and the coolness and confidence manifested by her boy crew, satisfied him that they understood what they were about, and that was as much as he had any right to know. The provisions were quickly hoisted aboard and paid for; and after Walter had cordially thanked the master of the schooner for the favor received at his hands, and the latter had wished Walter a safe run and success in his undertaking, whatever it was, the two vessels parted company—one continuing hervoyage toward New Orleans, and the other filling away in pursuit of the smuggler, which was by this time almost hull down.
“Now, fellows, let’s turn to and get these things out of the way,” said Walter, springing down from the rail, after waving a last farewell to the master of the schooner. “I feel better than I did two hours ago, for, to tell the truth, I was by no means certain that we should meet a vessel; or, if we did, I was afraid she might be commanded by some one who would pay no attention to our request. Suppose we had been knocked about on the Gulf for two or three days, with nothing to eat! Wouldn’t we have been in a nice fix? Now, Perk, we’ve got business for you; and I suggest that you serve us up a cup of hot coffee and a good dinner, with as little delay as possible.”
“Now, just listen to me a minute, and I’ll tell you what’s a fact,” replied Perk. “I can’t take charge of the galley and act as second in command of the yacht at the same time, so I will resign my lieutenancy in favor of Chase, if you will appoint him.”
“Of course I will,” said Walter.
“I can’t take it, fellows,” shouted Chase, from his place at the wheel.
“You’ve no voice in the matter,” replied Eugene. “It is just as the captain says; so consider yourself appointed, and give me your place. It’s irregular for an officer to stand a trick at the wheel, you know. That is the duty of us foremast hands.”
Of course this was all strategy on Perk’s part. The Club knew it, and so did Chase and Wilson; and that was the reason the former remonstrated. After thinking the matter over, however, he decided to act in Perk’s place. He told himself that there would be no responsibility attached to the office, for Walter would never leave the deck while that rough weather continued. The young captain regarded his yacht as the apple of his eye; and when he was willing to allow any one even the smallest share in the management of her, it was a sure sign that he liked him and had confidence in him. If Chase had never before been satisfied that the Club were in earnest in all they said, he was now, and so was Wilson.
By the aid of the block and tackle which Eugene had rigged over the fore-hatchway, the provisions were lowered through the galley into the hold, where they were stowed away so snugly that they would not be thrown about by the pitching of the vessel. This done, the hatch that led into the hold was closed and fastened. Perk, remembering who had come through there a short time before, put down the hatch himself, stamping it into its place, and securing the bar with the padlock—the fore-hatch was closed and battened down, the block and tackle stowed away in their proper place, and things began to look ship-shape once more.
The foremast hands, as Eugene called himself and companions, who did not hold office, gathered in the standing room to converse; Walter and Chase planked the weather-side of the deck, the former linking his arm through that of his lieutenant,and talking and laughing with him as though they had always been fast friends; a fire was crackling away merrily in the galley stove; and Perk, divested of his coat, his sleeves rolled up to his shoulders, revealing arms as brown and muscular as Uncle Dick’s, was superintending the cooking of the “skouse” and “dough-boy,” and singing at the top of his voice, the words of an old but favorite song of the Clubs:
“The land of my home is flitting, flitting from my view;The gale in the sail is setting, toils the merry crew.”
“The land of my home is flitting, flitting from my view;The gale in the sail is setting, toils the merry crew.”
“The land of my home is flitting, flitting from my view;
The gale in the sail is setting, toils the merry crew.”
He roared out the following lines with more than his usual energy:
“Here let my home be, on the waters wide;I heed not your anger, for Maggie’s by my side.My own loved Maggie dear, sitting by my side;Maggie dear, my own love, sitting by my side.”
“Here let my home be, on the waters wide;I heed not your anger, for Maggie’s by my side.My own loved Maggie dear, sitting by my side;Maggie dear, my own love, sitting by my side.”
“Here let my home be, on the waters wide;
I heed not your anger, for Maggie’s by my side.
My own loved Maggie dear, sitting by my side;
Maggie dear, my own love, sitting by my side.”
Perk knew a Maggie—only her name was Ella—to whom he used to send valentines and invitations to barbecues and boat-rides, but she was not sitting by his side just then, and consequently we doubt if he would have been quite willing to make his home there on the waters wide, even though he had the yacht for a shelter and the Club for companions. The Maggie of whom Perk was thinking was safeat home in Bellville. She knew that her stalwart admirer was tossing about somewhere on the Gulf, and in spite of her fears for his safety she would have laughed could she have seen him at his present occupation.
“Mind what you are about, Eugene,” said Walter, shaking his finger warningly at his brother. “Handle her easy. Perk’s in the galley, and that’s a guaranty that there’s something good coming out of there. If you go to knocking things about and spoiling his arrangements, I’ll put you in the brig.”
“Very good, Commodore,” replied Eugene, touching his hat with mock civility, and giving his trowsers a hitch with one elbow; “I want some of that hot coffee as much as anybody does, sir, even if there is no cream to put in it; and I’ll make her ride every wave without a tremble, sir.”
Although the young sailors had eaten a hearty lunch not more than three hours before, they were quite ready for dinner, even such a dinner as could be served up out of plain ship’s fare. But the principal reason why Perk was ordered below as soon as the provisions were received, was because his services were not then needed on deck, and it was a favorable time to build a fire in the galleywhile the Gulf was comparatively smooth—that is, the Club thought it comparatively smooth, although a boy unaccustomed to the water would have thought that the yacht was going to roll over and sink out of sight every minute. But the probabilities were that in an hour things would be even worse. The storm that was coming up so slowly and surely promised to be a hard one and a long one; and the dinner that Perk was now serving up might be the last warm meal they would have for a day or two.
Perk’s song arose louder and louder, a sure sign that the summons to dinner would not be long delayed. The savory smell of cooking viands came up from below every time the cabin door was opened, and the boys in the standing room snuffed up their noses, said “Ah!” in deep bass voices, and tried to get a glimpse of what was going on in the galley. The jingling of iron rods was heard in the cabin as the table was lowered to its place, then the rattling of dishes, and finally three long-drawn whistles, in imitation of a boatswain’s pipe, announced that the meal was ready. Chase, Wilson and Bab answered the call, leaving Walter and his brother to care for the yacht. In half an hour they returned to the deck looking very much pleased and refreshed, andwhen Perk gave three more whistles Walter and Eugene went below.
“Any orders, captain?” asked Chase, who did not like the idea of being left in charge of the deck even for a minute.
“Follow in the wake of the smuggling vessel,” replied Walter. “That’s all.”
If the sight that greeted Walter’s eyes as he went below would have been a pleasing one to a hungry boy under ordinary circumstances, it was doubly so to one who had stood for hours in wet clothing, exposed to the full fury of a cutting north-west wind. The cabin was warm and comfortable, the dishes clean and white, the viands smoking hot, and Walter, Perk and Eugene did ample justice to them. When the meal was finished, the two brothers lent a hand in clearing away the table and washing the dishes; and after the galley stove had been replenished, they, in company with Perk, stretched themselves out on the lee-locker and went to sleep. It seemed to the young captain that he had scarcely closed his eyes when he was aroused by a voice. He started up and saw Bab, whose clothes were dripping with water, lighting the lamps in the cabin. “Why, it isn’t dark, is it?” asked Walter.
“It is growing dark. You’ve had a glorious sleep, but you had better roll out now and see to things, for poor Chase is in a peck of trouble. It’s come.”
“What has?”
“Can’t you hear it and feel it? Rain and sleet, and wind, and such an ugly, chopping sea. It is coming harder every minute.”
That was very evident. The howling of the storm could be plainly heard in the cabin, and the pitching and straining of the yacht as she labored through the waves, told Walter that it was indeed high time he was taking matters into his own hands. Hastily arousing his sleeping companions, he went into the galley for some of his clothing, which he had left there to dry, and in a few minutes, equipped in pea-jacket, gloves, muffler and heavy boots, went up to face the storm. It was already dark, and the rain, freezing as it fell, was coming down in torrents.
“Where’s the schooner?” asked Walter.
“I lost sight of her just after I sent Bab down to call you,” replied Chase. “My only fear is that we shall not be able to find her again.”
“I have no hopes of it,” replied Walter. “We’ll take an observation to-morrow if the sun comesout, and hold straight for Havana. Call those fellows up from the cabin, and after we’ve made everything secure, go below and turn in for the night. There’s a good fire in the galley.”
The crew were quickly summoned to the deck, and in the face of blinding rain and sleet, proceeded to carry out the orders which Walter shouted at them through his trumpet. In twenty minutes more Chase and his drenched companions were enjoying the genial warmth of the galley stove, and the Banner, relieved of the strain upon her, and guided by the hands of her skilful young captain, who stood at the wheel, was riding the waves as gracefully as a sea-gull.
At eight o’clock the boys below, warmed and dried, and refreshed by the pot of hot coffee which the thoughtful Perk had left for them, were sleeping soundly, while Eugene steered the vessel, and Walter and Perk acted as lookouts. But there were other wakeful and active ones on board the Banner, besides Walter and his two companions—some, who, alarmed by the rolling and pitching of the little vessel, and knowing that she was manned only by boys, were making desperate efforts to reach the deck. Had any one been standing inthe galley ten minutes after the watch below went into the cabin to sleep, his eyes and ears would have convinced him of this fact. He would have heard a sound like the cutting of wood, and a few seconds afterward he would have seen the point of an auger come up through the floor of the galley, in close proximity to the staple which confined the hatch leading into the hold. Presently he would have seen the auger disappear and come into view again in another place. Then it would have been clear to him that some one in the hold was cutting out the staple by boring holes in a circle around it. Such a proceeding was in reality going on on board the yacht, although the fact was unknown to her crew. Walter had come into the cabin every half hour during his watch to see that everything was safe—looking at the stove, and turning the coats and trowsers that hung before it, so that his companions might have dry clothing to put on when they awoke; but he never thought of casting his eyes toward the hatch.
The auger was kept steadily at work, and presently the plank into which the staple was driven, was cut entirely through, the staple with the circular piece of wood attached was pushed up, the hatchslowly and cautiously raised, and a pair of eyes appeared above the combings and looked through the open door into the cabin. They roved from one to the other of the sleeping boys, and then the hatch was laid carefully back upon the floor of the galley, and a man dressed in the uniform of the revenue service sprang out. Another and another followed, until four of them appeared—all stalwart men, and armed with hatchets, chisels and billets of wood. They halted a moment to hold a whispered consultation, and then, with quick and noiseless footsteps, passed into the cabin. Two of them stopped beside the locker on which Chase and his unconscious companions lay, and the others jerked open the door of the cabin and sprang out into the standing room. Paying no attention to Eugene, who was struck dumb and motionless with astonishment, they glanced about the deck, and discovering Walter and Perk standing on the forecastle, they rushed at them with uplifted weapons.
“Don’t move, my lad,” said one of the sailors, seizing Perk by the collar, and flourishing a heavy chisel over his head. “If you do, I’ll send you straight to Davy’s locker.”
“Now, just listen to me a minute, and I’ll tell youwhat’s a fact,” replied Perk. “Don’t trouble yourself to send me there or anywhere else. I am not likely to make much resistance as long as you keep that weapon over me.”
Walter was equally cool and collected. Although he was taken completely by surprise by the suddenness of the attack, he had no difficulty in finding an explanation for it. As quick as a flash, some words he had heard a few hours before, came back to him. He remembered that, when he told the captain of the cutter that there were two deserters on board the yacht, the latter had remarked to his lieutenant: “Only two! Then the others must have escaped to the shore.” These were the “others” to whom the captain referred. They had not shown themselves, or even made their presence known during the fight in the galley, and their two companions, whom Walter had delivered up to the revenue commander, had not betrayed them. The young captain wished now, when it was too late, that he had searched the hold while the cutter was alongside.
“Easy! easy!” said Walter, when his stalwart assailant seized him by the throat, and brandished his hatchet before his eyes.
“Who commands this craft?” demanded the sailor.
“I have the honor,” replied Walter, without the least tremor in his voice. “Look here, Mr. Revenue-man,” he added, addressing himself to Perk’s antagonist, “don’t choke that boy. He has no intention of resisting you, and neither have I. We know where you came from, and what you intend to do.”
“Well, you’re a cool hand!” said Walter’s captor, releasing his hold of the young captain’s throat, and lowering his hatchet. “You’re sensible, too. Will you give the vessel up to us without any fuss?”
“I didn’t say so. I’ve a watch below.”
“O, they can’t help you, for they’re captured already. There’s a half a dozen of our fellers down there guarding ’em. Now, look a here, cap’n: there’s no use of wasting words over this thing. We’re deserters from the United States revenue service, as you know, and we’re bound to get to Havana some way or other.”
“Well?” said Walter, when the sailor paused.
“Well, we want this vessel to take us there.”
“I suppose she will have to do it.”
“But there’s one difficulty in the way,” the sailor went on. “We don’t know what course to sail to get there. Do you know anything about navigation?”
“If I didn’t, I don’t think I should be out here in command of a yacht,” said Walter, with a smile. And if he had added that he could take a vessel around the world, he would have told nothing but the truth. He and all the rest of the Club had studied navigation at the Academy, and under Uncle Dick, who drilled them in the use of instruments, and they were quite accomplished navigators for boys of their age.
“Now, this is just the way the thing stands,” continued the sailor. “You’re too far from Bellville to give us up to the cutter, like you did them other fellers, and we ain’t likely to let you turn about and go there either. We’re going to Havana; and if you will take us there without any foolishness, we’ll be the peaceablest fellers you ever saw. We’ll obey orders, help manage the yacht, live off your grub, and behave ourselves like gentlemen; but if you try to get to windward of us in any way, we’ll pitch the last one of you overboard. Mebbe you don’t know it, but we are going to ship aboarda Cuban privateer. We can make more that way than we can in Uncle Sam’s service—prize-money, you know.”
“I know all about it,” replied Walter. “I heard it from your captain.”
“Well, what do you say?”
“I say, that I will agree to your terms, seeing that I can’t help myself. If I could, I might give you a different answer.”
“You’re sensible. I know you don’t want us here, but as we can’t get out and walk to Cuba, I’m thinking you will have to put up with our company till we find that privateer.”
“O, I didn’t agree to any such arrangement,” replied Walter, quickly. “I said I would take you to Havana, and so I will; but I am not going all around Robin Hood’s barn looking for a Cuban privateer, for I should never find her. There’s no such thing in existence. Besides, we’ve got business of our own to attend to.”
“I don’t care about your business,” said the sailor, who did not know whether to smile or get angry at Walter’s plain speech. “You’ll go just where we tell you to go. Don’t rile us, or you’ll find us a desperate lot.”
“I don’t intend to rile you, and neither am I going to be imposed upon any longer than I can help.”
Walter turned on his heel and walked aft, and Perk, taking his cue from the captain’s actions, resumed his duties as lookout, paying no more attention to the two sailors than if they had been some of the rope-yarns attached to the rigging. In a few hurried words, Walter explained the state of affairs to Eugene, whom he found almost bursting with impatience to learn the particulars of the interview on the forecastle, and then looking into the cabin, saw Chase and his companions stretched out on the lockers, wide awake, but afraid to rise for fear of the weapons which the two sailors who were guarding them held over their heads. Walter had been led to believe, by what the sailor said to him, that there were at least eight deserters on board the yacht. Had he known that there were but half that number, he might not have been so ready to accede to their leader’s demands.
“Come up out o’ that, you revenue men, and let those boys go to sleep,” said Walter, in a tone of command.
“Belay your jaw,” was the gruff reply. “Wetake orders from nobody but Tomlinson. Where is he?”
“Here I am,” said the sailor who had held the conversation with Walter. “I’ve the cap’n’s word that we shall be landed in Havana, and no attempts made to humbug us.Myname is Tomlinson,” he added, turning to the commander of the yacht. “If you want anything out of these fellers, just speak to me. When does the watch below come on deck?”
“As soon as they’ve had sleep enough. They didn’t close their eyes last night.”
“All right. I say, mates,” continued Tomlinson, addressing his companions in the cabin, “just tumble on to them lockers and go to sleep. You’ll be in that watch, and me and Bob’ll be in the cap’n’s watch; then there’ll be two of us on deck all the time.”
Walter, without waiting to hear whether the sailor had anything else to say, slammed the door of the cabin, and in no amiable frame of mind went forward and joined Perk; while Tomlinson and his companion, after taking a look at the binnacle, stationed themselves in the waist, where they could see all that was going on.
“Well,” said Walter, “what do you think of this?”
“I think that revenue captain must be very stupid to allow six men to desert under his very nose,” replied Perk. “If I had been in his place, I would have known every man who belonged to that prize crew; and I could have told whether or not they were all present without mustering them. What are you going to do?”
“I intend to get rid of them at the earliest possible moment. We shall not be able to make Havana in this wind, but we’ll hit some port on the Cuban coast, and we’ll try to induce these fellows to leave us there. I didn’t agree to find a privateer for them, and I am not going to do it. That revenue cutter has been the cause of more trouble to us than she is worth.”
And the trouble was not yet ended, if Walter had only known it. The deserters were not to be got rid of as easily as he imagined.
The storm was fully as violent as the young captain expected it would be. It might have been a great deal worse, but if it had been, the story of the Club’s adventures would not have been as long as we intend to make it. Walter had ample opportunityfor the display of his seamanship, and if any faith is to be put in the word of the deserters, the yacht was well handled. These worthies, true to their promise, conducted themselves with the utmost propriety. They watched Walter pretty closely for the first few hours, but finding that he knew what he was doing, and that he had no intention of attempting to secure them, they gave themselves no further concern. They obeyed orders as promptly as if Walter had been their lawful captain, and treated the young yachtsmen with a great show of respect.
One day Tomlinson, in reply to a question from Walter, explained their presence on board the yacht. He and five companions belonged to the prize crew which had taken charge of the Banner after her capture by the cutter. While they were guarding the prisoners in the cabin, they learned from them that the yacht was bound for Lost Island, and that she would begin the voyage again as soon as the difficulty with the revenue captain was settled. Upon hearing this, Tomlinson and his friends, who had long been on the lookout for an opportunity to desert the cutter, concealed themselves in the hold, hoping to escape discovery until the Banner wasonce more outside the harbor of Bellville. They made their first attempt to gain the deck at the wrong time, as it proved, for Perk was on hand to defeat them. They knew that the young sailors had seen but two of their number, and when Walter opened the hatch and ordered them on deck, two of them obeyed, while the others remained behind, awaiting another opportunity to make a strike for their freedom. They never had any intention of taking the vessel out of the hands of her captain. All they wanted was to be on deck where they could see what was going on, and to have the assurance that they should be carried to Havana.
On the morning of the fifth day after leaving Bellville Cuba was in plain sight, and at noon the Banner, after passing several small islands, entered a little harbor about a hundred miles to the eastward of Havana. The Club were in a strange place and among a strange people, but the sight of the little town nestled among the hills was a pleasant one to their eyes. They were heartily tired of being tossed about on the Gulf, and longed to feel the solid ground under their feet once more. Their provisions were entirely exhausted, and where the next meal was coming from they had not the slightestidea. This, however, did not trouble them so much as the presence of the deserters. They had quite enough of their company. It was Walter’s intention to remain in the harbor until the wind and sea abated, and in the meantime to use every argument he could think of to induce the men to go ashore. The young captain was utterly discouraged. He had seen nothing of the schooner since the first day out, and he was not likely to see her again, for he had been blown a long way out of his course, and by the time he could reach Havana, Fred Craven would be shipped off to Mexico, and the schooner would have discharged her contraband cargo and be half way on her return voyage to Bellville.
“Captain, there’s an officer wants to come aboard,” said Tomlinson, breaking in upon his reverie.
Walter looked toward the shore and saw a boat putting off from the nearest wharf, and a man dressed in uniform standing in the stern waving his handkerchief. “Who is he?” asked the young captain.
“One of them revenue fellers, I guess. These chaps are very particular.”
“I am glad to hear it, for if we can find thatschooner we may be able to induce them to examine her.”
The yacht was thrown up into the wind, and in a few minutes the officer came on board—a fierce-looking Spaniard, with a mustache which covered all the lower part of his face, and an air as pompous as that of the revenue captain. He touched his hat to Walter, and addressed some words to him which the latter could not understand.
“I hope there’s nothing wrong,” said the commander, anxiously. “I may have violated some of the rules of the port, for I am like a cat in a strange garret here. Tomlinson, can you speak his lingo?”
“No, sir. Talk French to the lubber, if you can.”
Walter could and did. The visitor replied in the same language, and his business was quickly settled. He was a revenue officer, as Tomlinson had surmised, and wanted to look at the yacht’s papers, which were quickly produced; although of what use they could be to a man who did not understand English, Walter could not determine. The officer looked at them a moment, with an air of profound wisdom, and then returning them with the remark that they were all right, touched his hat and spranginto his boat. As soon as he was clear of the side the yacht filled away again, Walter taking his stand upon the rail and looking out for a convenient place to moor his vessel; but there were but two small wharves in the harbor, and every berth seemed to be occupied. As he ran his eye along the brigs, barks and schooners, wondering if there were an American among them, his gaze suddenly became fastened upon a little craft which looked familiar to him. He was certain he had seen that black hull and those tall, raking masts before. He looked again, and in a voice which trembled in spite of all his efforts to control it, requested Eugene to hand him his glass.
“What’s the matter?” asked the crew in concert, crowding up to the rail. “What do you see?”
“He sees the Stella, and so do I!” exclaimed Bab, in great excitement.
“Yes, it is the Stella,” said Walter, so overjoyed at this streak of good fortune that he could scarcely speak. “Now, we’ll see if these Cuban revenue officers are as worthless as some of our own. But I say, Perk,” he added, his excitement suddenly increasing, “take this glass and tell me who thosethree persons are who are walking up the hill, just beyond the schooner.”
Perk leveled the glass, but had not held it to his eye long before his hand began to tremble, and his face assumed an expression much like that it had worn during his contest with the deserters, and while he was confronting Bayard Bell and his crowd. Without saying a word he handed the glass to Eugene, and settling his hat firmly on his head pushed back his coat sleeves. He acted as if he wanted to fight.
“They are Mr. Bell, the captain of the Stella, and—who is that walking between them? Fred Craven, as I live!” Eugene almost shouted.
“Now, listen to me a minute, and I’ll tell you what’s a fact,” said Perk, bringing his clenched fist down into the palm of his hand. “That’s just who they are.”
“Fred sees us, too,” continued Eugene. “He is looking back at us.”
“I didn’t think I could be mistaken,” said Walter. “Perk, keep your eye on them and see where they go. Stand by, fellows. When we reach the wharf make everything fast as soon as possible; and Eugene, you and Bab see if you canfind that revenue officer. If you do, tell him the whole story, and take him on board the schooner. Perk and I will follow Fred, and Chase and Wilson will watch the yacht.”
In ten minutes more, the Banner’s bow touched a brig lying alongside the wharf, and too impatient to wait until she was made fast, Walter and Perk hurried to the shore and ran up the hill in pursuit of Fred Craven. How great would have been their astonishment, had they known that they were running into a trap that had been prepared for them.