CHAPTER XXVA COLLISION AT SEA
Onthe second day on shipboard Professor Strong produced a map of the Leeward Islands, and told the boys something more concerning the island they were to visit.
“As you will see by the map,” he said, “Martinique is irregular in shape. Roughly speaking it is forty miles long by from ten to fifteen miles wide. The area is less than four hundred square miles, and a good portion of this is rocky and unfit for cultivation.”
“I see Mont Pelee, in the north,” said Mark, studying the map.
“The principal cities are Fort de France, the capital, located on the bay of the same name, and St. Pierre and Lamentin. These three cities are, as you see, located on the western coast of the island. On the eastern coast is François, a town which has quite a respectable shipping. The total population of the island is about two hundred thousand, mostly negroes, half-castes, and French.”
“What do they raise there?” came from Sam.
“Sugar mostly, although there is also some tobacco and also a few cattle. On an island so narrow, the streams, of course, cannot be of much importance. The place was discovered by Columbus in 1502 and was first settled by the French, and it is a French colony to-day. I have been at both Fort de France and St. Pierre and found them progressive in their way. Each contains from twenty-five to thirty thousand inhabitants and boasts of a number of fine parks and public buildings. Just outside of St. Pierre is a suburb in which the wealthy French population have some beautiful residences. The drive to this district is delightful.”
“And how far is Mont Pelee from the city?” asked Sam.
“The volcano is five miles north of St. Pierre. The country is very hilly, but there are several routes by which the crater of the volcano can be reached with ease. There are a few small rivers to cross but these are all bridged. Just north of St. Pierre is a large sugar refinery. The city itself lies right along the waterfront, with high hills directly behind it.”
After this the talk became general and the professortold them of his former visits to Martinique, and also to the islands of Guadeloupe, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenada, others of the group. He told them there might be little or no hunting in store for them, but a good deal of mountain climbing, and volcano exploring if they desired it. And they said they did, all but Hockley, who, as usual hung back for something else, he could not tell what.
For two days the weather remained fine and the time passed swiftly enough, but on the morning of the third day the sky clouded up and by noon it was raining in torrents. Then the wind came up and the little steamer had all she could do to keep to her course.
The first effect of the storm was to drive everybody to the cabin. Windows and doors were bolted and ports secured, and the passengers kept their feet with difficulty as they moved around. Eating at the table was almost impossible, and the professor had a dish of peas upset in his lap, while Hockley nearly choked himself with a cup of coffee which went up his nose and into his eyes. Mark was also unfortunate. He was trying to eat a bit of steak but it slipped from his plate to his knee and then the wholelength of the dining room floor. A waiter stepped on it and went headlong, bringing down an armful of dishes with a mighty crash.
“Say! but this is a storm and no mistake!” gasped Mark, after the laughing had subsided. “And such a nice piece of beefsteak, too.”
“We’re lucky if we don’t all go to the bottom!” sighed Hockley. And then he made a rush from the room to his stateroom. He had been taken seasick and was perfectly miserable from that time until the storm cleared away.
Toward evening the rain let up a bit, and as it was very close and stuffy in the cabin, the boys begged Professor Strong to let them go on deck. He finally consented, but warned them to take good care and not fall overboard.
“This is a treacherous sea,” he said. “The waves sometimes run very high when least expected. Hold on tight, no matter where you happen to be standing.”
“All right, we’ll be careful,” said Sam.
They went on deck and secured a position close by the wheelhouse, where a number of life-lines had been stretched. Captain Danvier was present and also warned them to be on guard.
“Ze waves run verra high,” he said. “You must hold on hard,oui, verra hard.”
An hour went by, and the storm seemed on the point of subsiding altogether. Feeling they could now walk around a little, the boys moved from one end of the steamer to the other with caution. The deck was still slippery and it was now dark.
Important events sometimes happen with alarming swiftness and such proved to be the case in the present instance. It had looked as if the storm was about at an end, but without warning there came another blow, which sent the spray flying in all directions. The lookouts were drenched and for the moment could see nothing. Then as the spray cleared away for an instant, one of them gave a mad yell in French:
“A ship! A ship dead ahead!”
The cry had hardly pierced the air when there came a tremendous shock which shook theVendeefrom stem to stern and caused the steamer to list well over to port. Sam and Darry, who had started back for the cabin, to change their wet jackets, were pitched headlong and bumped into each other close to a post.
“Oh!” groaned Sam.
“Are you hurt, Beans?” questioned Darry, catching his chum by the shoulder.
“A little. What was that struck us?”
“I don’t know.”
Another cry now came out of the darkness. But it was in French and they could not understand it. Then some sailors rushed past them with a large square of canvas and some ropes.
“We have been struck and they are going to cover the hole with sailcloth,” explained another passenger, who could speak both French and English. “What we struck nobody knows excepting that it was some kind of vessel.”
With difficulty the two boys gained their feet and ran for the cabin. At the doorway both halted and each gazed at the other in consternation.
“Mark and Frank!” burst out Darry. “Where are they?”
“I’m sure I don’t know,” responded Sam, in equal dismay. He raised his voice: “Frank! Mark! Are you safe?” he called out.
No answer came back, and now Professor Strong rushed up, fully as alarmed as anybody.
“Are you all right?” he questioned. “Where are Mark and Frank?”
“We don’t know, sir,” answered Sam.
“They were on deck with you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Pray heaven they haven’t gone overboard,” gasped Amos Strong, and greatly agitated, he ran out into the darkness of the deck. Then they heard him call back: “Remain in the cabin until I return.”
A dozen cries now resounded on every side, and bells were jangling almost as wildly. TheVendeehad been struck on the starboard side, just aft of the bow, and the captain was ordering some of the cargo to be shifted to the stern, that the bow might come up as far as possible out of the water. In the meantime the ship’s carpenter had got out the sailcloth and he and his men were lowering it over the hole, to keep out the rush of water. Below, the pump had been connected with the engine and this was already battling bravely to free the hold of the briny element that threatened to send the gallant steamer to the bottom.
In the midst of the excitement Hockley appeared. He saw that this was no “fake” sinking, and his face was pale with terror as he clung first to Sam and then to Darry.
“It’s awful!” he wailed. “What shall we do?Where are the life preservers? Where is the professor? Why don’t he order out a boat to save us? How far do you suppose we are from land? Oh, I know I can’t swim in such a sea!” And he shook like a leaf.
“We are not going down yet, Jake,” answered Sam. “The professor is looking for Mark and Frank. I’m afraid they’ve been washed overboard.”
“There is a signal of distress!” interrupted Darry, pointing out through the darkness. A rocket had flared through the air, and now another followed. Then a strong Bengal light lit up the scene.
“I’m going out to look for Frank and Mark,” said Darry, recklessly, and left the cabin. Sam came close behind him. Hockley did not wish to go, but to remain alone seemed even worse and he also followed, but more slowly.
TheVendeehad been backed and was now coming up alongside of the ship with which it had been in collision. The strong Bengal light showed her to be a three masted schooner, piled high with lumber. A good part of the lumber on the forward deck had been unshipped by the collision and was floating in the angry sea.
“Do you see anything of Mark and Frank?”asked Sam, hoarsely, as he and Darry slipped up beside the professor.
“Not a sign,” was the sad answer. “If they were washed overboard I fear they were drowned.”
“Oh, don’t say that!” gasped Darry. “Drowned! It’s horrible!”
“Can’t they put out a small boat?” asked Sam.
“No small boat would live in such a sea as this, and besides with so much loose lumber floating around it would be doubly dangerous to try going out.”
“But what are we going to do?” demanded Hockley. “I—I don’t want to drown just yet.”
“I don’t imagine this steamer is going down, Jacob. We received a heavy blow, it is true, but she is built in a number of compartments. My whole anxiety, is for Mark and Frank. If they went overboard they must be lost.”
“Well, it was their business to take care of themselves,” grumbled the tall youth, unfeelingly.
“And it is your business to look out for yourself,” retorted Darry. “But don’t let us quarrel; this thing is far too serious,” he added.
The Bengal light had now burnt itself out and no more were lit for the reason that the storm wasagain coming up and the crew of each vessel had to bestow their entire attention to the question of saving the craft from going down. This was comparatively an easy matter on board of theVendeeand soon under officers were sent around to assure the passengers that there was no immediate cause for alarm, that the hole had been patched up temporarily, and that it would be thoroughly repaired as soon as the wind abated.
Captain Danvier was extremely sorry to hear that two of the boys were missing and at once did what he could toward finding them. But in such a storm, which was again increasing, his first duty was to his ship, and he said, as had Professor Strong, that to risk a small boat in such a sea would be foolhardy.
“We must wait until daylight,” he said, in French. “I can do nothing now.”
Slowly the night wore away. Nobody slept, and at the first streak of dawn all went on deck. The storm had passed, but the sky was still dark. The captain had thought best to lay to, thinking the lumber schooner might need assistance. The other craft was not far away and soon they came within hailing distance of each other. The lumber boatflew the Dutch flag and proved to be bound from Saba to Curaçao.
“I have lost a large quantity of lumber!” roared the Dutch skipper, wrathfully. “I shall hold you responsible in law for it!”
“Have you seen anything of two boys?” questioned Captain Danvier. “We have lost them.”
“No, I have seen no boys. Have you seen a man? We lost one of our sailors in that smash.”
“No, we have seen nobody,” answered the French captain.
“It was your fault we had that smash,” the Dutch skipper continued. “Remember, I shall hold you for it in law, the first chance I get!”
“Do as you please about that,” returned Captain Danvier, coolly. “You are as much to blame as myself. But if you see anything of those boys treat them well and you’ll lose nothing by it.”
“I’ll treat them well enough,” growled the Dutch skipper.
As the Dutchman could speak neither French nor English the conversation had to be carried on in his native tongue and it was hard for Captain Danvier to make himself understood. Only a few words more passed, and then the two vessels separated,and the lumber schooner proceeded on her way, with every sail set.
“It ees certainly verra sad,” said the French captain, to the professor and the boys. “I vill do what I can for ze boys—but what is zare to do, tell me zat?”
“I wish you would remain in this vicinity for a day or so,” answered Professor Strong. “They may be floating around, and if so I hope to pick them up.”
The captain agreed readily, and not one day but two were spent in the vicinity. In the meantime the hole in the bow was repaired, so that danger from that source became a thing of the past.
The loss of Mark and Frank made Sam, Darry and Professor Strong feel much downcast and even Hockley went around looking very sober.
“I never dreamed that such a dreadful thing would happen,” said Darry, and there were tears in his eyes. “I declare, if they don’t turn up I’m going right back home.”
“And I am with you,” answered Sam. “To go sight-seeing without them would make me sick.”
“And think of their fathers being at St. Pierreready to welcome them,” went on Darry. “That makes it ten times worse.”
And Sam agreed that it did. The loss of their chums cast a gloom over them impossible to dispel.