Books: The Motor Boys on the Pacific
C >>
Clarence Young >> The Motor Boys on the Pacific
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 | 10 |
11
"Now's your chance, Jerry!" cried Ned.
Jerry took quick aim, steadying himself as best he could against the
motion of the boat. The rifle cracked, and, at the same instant one of
the dogs gave a howl, a convulsive leap, and, a second later was
floundering in the water.
"There's one of the poor brutes gone," remarked Mr. De Vere. "Now,
once more, Jerry. I hate to kill the dogs, for they are valuable
animals, but it is a question of their lives or ours, and it would not
be safe to let them live."
The remaining dog, startled by the rifle shot, and the disappearance
of its companion stood in mute surprise on the quarter deck. He
offered a good shot, and Jerry fired. The dog howled, and began
whirling about in a circle, snapping its jaws.
"You've only wounded him!" exclaimed Bob.
Before any one else could speak Jerry had fired the repeater again.
This time the bullet went true, and the dog fell to the deck, gave a
few convulsive struggles, and was still.
"That settles him," remarked Mr. De Vere.
"Now, boys, we'll go aboard, and I'll get what belongs to me. Then
we'll see if we can tow the ship in."
The Ripper was once more put alongside the brig, cork buffers were
adjusted to prevent damage being done, and, in a few minutes Jerry had
scrambled up on deck.
"That's a fierce brute," he remarked to Bob who followed him, as they
stood looking at the dead dog. "I'm glad I didn't have to tackle him
at close quarters."
"Let's heave him overboard," suggested Bob, and they did so, though it
took all their strength to drag the body to the rail.
"I guess you'll have to lower the accommodation ladder for me, boys,"
said Mr. De Vere. "I don't believe I can scramble up by way of the
chains, as you did."
"Wait until I get up there and I'll give you a hand," called Ned, who
had been left in the motor boat.
"No, you had better stay here and help fasten the ladder when Bob and
Jerry lower it," answered Mr. De Vere. "I'll need your aid."
After some little difficulty, for part of the tackle had fouled, Bob
and Jerry succeeded in lowering over the ship's side an accommodation
ladder, somewhat like a short flight of steps. It hung above the
Ripper's deck, and when some ropes had been strung for hand rails, Mr.
De Vere was able to ascend, holding on by one hand, and was soon on
the deck of the brig.
"At last!" he exclaimed. "Here we are! I was afraid we'd never find
her, and, if we did, that Blowitz would be ahead of me. But, thanks to
you, boys, I have beaten him. Now I must see if my papers are safe."
"Where will you look for them?" asked Jerry.
"They must be somewhere in the captain's cabin. That is where the gold
will likely be. I suppose we'll have to hunt for it."
"Shall we help you?"
"Yes, if you will. Let's go below. Is the motor boat securely made
fast?"
"I'll guarantee she'll not drift away," declared Ned, as he and his
companions followed Mr. De Vere to the main cabin.
On every side were evidences of a hurried abandonment of the brig.
Some of the sailors had gone off without taking all their clothing,
for garments were scattered here and there. Things were in confusion
below decks, and the captain's cabin showed signs of having been
ransacked.
"There is something queer about this," said Mr. De Vere as he surveyed
the scene. "The ship is not sinking, and I don't believe it has leaked
a drop, though at first I thought so. There was no collision, for
there is no sign of damage. Yet there is every indication that captain
and crew deserted the brig in a hurry. Now what made them do that? Why
did not Blowitz give me some reason for that? What caused the
abandonment of the brig?"
"Perhaps the sailors got superstitious, I've often read that they do,"
suggested Jerry.
"I hardly think so."
"Maybe they were afraid of the mad dogs," said Bob.
"I don't believe the dogs went mad until after the sailors left," was
Mr. De Vere's answer. "No, there is some strange secret connected with
the brig, and I'd like to solve it. But I must first find my papers
and the gold."
"Suppose the captain took them with him?" remarked Ned.
"He did not know about them. That is he did not know of what the
valuables consisted. The gold and papers were put in a safe, and only
Blowitz and myself had the combination. The safe was placed in the
captain's cabin, and he was instructed to deliver it, unopened, to a
certain man. When they deserted the ship in such a hurry I do not
believe they took the safe with them. It must be somewhere on board.
We'll search for it."
The cabin was rather large, and contained a number of lockers and
other places that might serve as a hiding place for the safe. The boys
and Mr. De Vere made a careful hunt. While they were in the midst of
it a sudden noise startled them.
"What was that?" asked Bob.
"The cabin door slid shut," answered Jerry, who had seen what
happened. "I'll open it."
"Here's the safe!" suddenly called Mr. De Vere, as he opened a small
locker, in an out-of-the-way corner. "Help me get it out, boys, and
we'll open it."
The closed door was forgotten, and the three lads, at their employer's
suggestion, fastened a rope about the safe and pulled it out. It
rolled on small wheels.
"Sorry I can't help you much," spoke Mr. De Vere, "but this arm of
mine prevents me."
"Oh, we can manage it all right," declared Jerry, and after a while,
they succeeded in wheeling the safe out into the middle of the cabin.
"There is some other stuff in the locker," announced Bob, as he peered
within. "It looks like those small boxes Mr. Blowitz shipped from
Cresville."
"That's what they are," added Jerry, taking a look. "Now we have a
chance to see what is in them."
"Wait until we get the safe open," advised Mr. De Vere. "Then we'll
see if we can't get at the secret of the ship."
He sat down in front of the strong steel box, and began to turn the
combination. It was quite complicated, and took some time.
"Um-m-m-m-m!" exclaimed Bob, with a lazy stretch. "I'm beginning to
feel sleepy. Guess I'll lie down on this couch and rest."
He did so, and, somewhat to his companions' surprise, was soon
apparently asleep.
"He must be pretty well played out," remarked Ned. "Funny, but I feel
a little drowsy myself. We haven't been getting any too much sleep, of
late, I suppose."
Mr. De Vere was working away at the combination of the safe. Something
seemed to have gone wrong with it, and he twirled the knobs and dials,
first this way and that.
"What a curious ringing sound they make," Jerry was thinking, as he
sat in a chair and looked on. "It's just like bells away off
somewhere. I wonder if it's my ears? I feel as if I had taken quinine
for a cold. There seems to be some sort of a haze in the cabin. I
wonder--"
But Jerry never knew what he wondered, for the same mysterious
influence that had overpowered Bob had made Jerry succumb. His head
fell forward on his breast, and he was unconscious.
Ned began to imagine he was in a boiler factory, of which Mr. De Vere
was the foreman. The latter seemed to be hammering on a big steel
safe, and soon, in Ned's ears there echoed the noise of the blows.
Then the boy's eyes closed, and he joined Bob and Jerry in falling
under the mysterious spell.
Seated on the floor in front of the safe Mr. De Vere wondered what
made his fingers move so slowly. With his one good hand he could
scarcely turn the dials of the combination. His head, too, felt very
heavy, and once there was such a mist before his eyes that he could
not see the figures on the shining disk of the safe.
"This is queer," he murmured. "It is very close in this cabin. I wish
the boys had opened the door. I wish-- I--"
Mr. De Vere fell over backward, unconscious, while, around the silent
forms in the cabin wreathed a thin bluish vapor that came from the
locker where the safe had been, and where there were some small
boxes-- the same mysterious boxes that Blowitz had shipped from
Cresville.
In the tightly-closed cabin the derelict hunters were now at the mercy
of the mysterious influence-- an influence they could not see or guard
against, and from which they were in deadly peril.
CHAPTER XXIX
A COMMAND TO LAY TO
STRANGE things happen on the ocean. Sometimes slight occurrences lead
to great results. When the sailors deserted the brig Rockhaven,
provisioning their boats in a hurry, one water cask was left behind.
The mate had intended stowing it away in the captain's gig, but found
there was no room for it, so he allowed it to remain on deck, where he
set it.
In due time, by the motion of the abandoned brig in the storm, the
water cask was overturned and rolled about at every heave of the
waves, first to port, and then to starboard, Now aft, and again
forward. As luck would have it, not long after those in the cabin fell
under the deadly influence of some queer, stupefying fumes, the water
cask was rolling about close to the trunk roof of the cabin, a roof
that had side windows in it.
With one lurch of the ship the water cask nearly crashed against these
windows, but, by the narrowest margin missed. Then the cask rolled
toward the scuppers. Those in the cabin were more than ever under the
influence of the fumes. They were breathing heavily, the veins in
their necks began to swell, their hearts were laboring hard to
overcome the stupefying influence of the fumes. But it was almost too
late.
Suddenly a long roller lifted the brig well up into the air. Then it
slid down the watery incline. The cask started to roll toward the
cabin windows. Straight for them it came, turning over and over.
With a resounding blow the cask shattered the frame, and sent the
glass in a shower into the cabin below. Through the opening thus
Providentially made, the fresh air rushed. The deadly fumes began to
escape. Once more the cask rolled against the window, breaking another
glass, and more fresh air came in.
Jerry stirred uneasily. It seemed as if some one had a hammer, hitting
him on the head. That was the blood beginning to circulate again. His
veins throbbed with life. Slowly he opened his eyes. He became aware
of a sweet, sickish smell, that mingled with the sharp tang of the
salt air. By a great effort he roused himself. He could not, for a
moment, think where he was, but he had a dim feeling as if some one
had tried to chloroform him. Then, with a sudden shock his senses came
back to him. He became aware of the need of fresh air, and, hardly
knowing what he was doing, he opened the cabin door.
The inrush of a fresh atmosphere completed the work the water cask had
begun. The poisonous fumes were dispersed, and, with their
disappearance, the others regained their senses. Mr. De Vere was the
next to arouse.
"What-- what happened?" he asked.
"I don't know," replied Jerry, "unless Blowitz came aboard and
chloroformed us."
"He couldn't do that-- yet-- the safe is not tampered with-- but this
drowsy feeling--"
Mr. De Vere stopped suddenly. His eyes were fixed on the closet or
locker, whence the safe had been wheeled, and where the little boxes
were. From the locker a thin, bluish smoke arose.
"Quick!" he cried. "I understand it all now! We must get them
overboard or we'll all be killed!"
Ned and Bob had been aroused by this time, and were sitting staring
stupidly around them. They did not realize what had happened.
"I'll throw 'em overboard," volunteered Jerry.
"Don't go near them," cautioned Mr. De Vere. "If you breathe too
deeply of those fumes, you'll be killed. Get a boat hook, poke them
out of the locker, spear them with the sharp point, and thrust them up
through the broken cabin window."
Jerry hurried to the Ripper, which safely rode alongside the brig. He
got a sharp boat hook, and, with the aid of Bob and Ned, the boxes,
with their deadly contents were soon out on deck, whence they were
knocked into the sea. Then a hunt was made in other parts of the brig
and more boxes were found and cast into the ocean.
"What was in them?" asked Ned, when the task was finished. "Was that
what made us fall asleep?"
"It was," replied Mr. De Vere. "What was in them I do not know
exactly, but it was some chemical that Blowitz put there to accomplish
his purpose. I see through his scheme now. After the brig was loaded
he sent these boxes aboard. They were distributed in different parts
of the ship, some in the quarters of the crew, some where the mates
slept, and others in the captain's cabin. They were properly adjusted
to give off a vapor at a certain time and he counted either on the
fumes killing the men, or making them unconscious so they would die of
heart failure. Then, very likely, he intended to make a search for the
brig which would have no captain or crew, and claim the vessel. But
his scheme did not work as he intended. The crew and captain were
probably frightened by feeling some mysterious sleepy influence at
work, and they hastily deserted the ship. Probably the commander did
not like to acknowledge the real reason for his seemingly
un-called-for act, and he did not tell Blowitz the cause for the
abandonment. The stuff in the boxes remained on board, ready to render
unconscious any persons who came within reach of the fumes. Maybe it
made the dogs mad.
"The accidental closing of the cabin door deprived us of air. The
fumes filled the cabin, and rendered us all unconscious. I do not yet
understand how we were revived."
"It must have been the water cask," declared Jerry, who had seen it on
deck, and his theory, which was the correct one, was accepted.
"Now I will finish working the combination, and open the safe," said
Mr. De Vere, when they had breathed in deep of the fresh air, and felt
the last influences of the fumes vanish. "We must have been
unconscious an hour or more."
It did not take him long after this to open the strong box. From an
inner compartment he drew forth a bundle of papers, and a small box,
that seemed quite heavy. This he opened.
"The gold is safe, at any rate," he announced. "Now to look at the
papers."
A hasty examination of these showed that they were all there.
"This is good news for me, boys," announced Mr. De Vere. "My fortune
is safe now, and that scoundrel Blowitz can not ruin me as he tried to
do!"
"Hark! What was that?" asked Jerry suddenly.
From somewhere out on the Pacific there sounded a whistle, long drawn
out.
"It's a steamer!" cried Ned. "It has probably sighted the derelict!"
"A steamer," murmured Mr. De Vere. "If it is not--"
He did not finish, but the boys knew what he meant.
Mr. De Vere hastily thrust the papers into an inner pocket of his
coat.
"Distribute the gold among you," he told the boys. "When we get it
aboard the Ripper we can hide it. There is no telling what might
happen. If that steamer--"
"It's the tug Monarch!" cried Jerry, who had hurried up on deck. "It's
coming this way full speed!"
"Then we must leave at once!" decided Mr. De Vere. "I think our boat
can beat theirs. I did hope to be able to tow the brig into harbor,
and save the cargo, but that is out of the question now. I do not want
a fight with Blowitz. Come, boys, we must escape!"
The boys hurriedly divided the gold among them. It made their pockets
bulge out, and was quite heavy. Mr. De Vere had his papers safe.
As the derelict hunters all came out on deck they could see the
Monarch was much nearer. In bold relief stood a figure in the bow.
"It's Blowitz!" exclaimed Mr. De Vere, "and he's shaking his fist at
me. He's angry because I have beaten him at his own game. But come on,
I don't want a clash with him. I am in no shape for another fight.
We'll have to retreat."
It was the work of but a few seconds to get into the motor boat. The
lines were cast off, and, with one turn of the wheel Ned started the
engine, and ran her up to full speed after a few revolutions.
"Now let them have the brig," said Mr. De Vere. "I've gotten the best
out of her."
But Blowitz and his men seemed to have lost interest in the derelict.
Instead of continuing on their course toward it they were now coming
full speed after the Ripper, the tug being steered to cross her bows.
Probably Blowitz took it for granted that De Vere had the papers and
gold.
"They're after us!" cried Jerry.
"Yes, but they've got to catch us!" declared Bob.
An instant later a puff of white smoke spurted out from the side of
the Monarch, something black jumped from wave-crest to wave-crest.
Then came a dull boom.
"What's that?" asked Bob, in alarm.
"A shot across our bows. A command to lay to," said Mr. De Vere.
CHAPTER XXX
THE END OF BLOWITZ-- CONCLUSION
"ARE you going to stop?" asked Ned, of Maurice De Vere.
"Not unless you boys are afraid. I don't believe they can hit us.
That's only a small saluting cannon they have, and it's hard to shoot
straight when there's as much sea on as there is now. Do you want to
stop and surrender?"
"Not much!" cried the three motor boys in a breath.
"Then may it be a stern chase and a long chase!" exclaimed Mr. De
Vere. "Crowd her all you can, Ned, and we'll beat him."
Ned needed no urging to make the powerful motor do its best. The
machinery was throbbing and humming, and the Ripper was cutting
through the water "with a bone in her teeth," as the sailors say.
"Swing her around so as to get the tug in back of us," advised Jerry.
"We'll be in less danger then."
Ned shifted the wheel, but, as he was doing so there was another shot
from the Monarch, and, this time, the ball from the cannon came
uncomfortably close.
"Their aim is improving," remarked Mr. De Vere, as he coolly looked at
the pursuing tug through the glasses, "but we are leaving them
behind."
The chase had now become a "stern" one, that is the Monarch was
directly astern of the Ripper, and the varying progresses made by the
boats could not be discerned so well as before. Still it seemed that
the motor boat was maintaining her lead.
It now settled down to a pursuit, for, stern on as she was, the Ripper
offered so small a mark for the tug, that it was almost useless to
fire the cannon.
There were anxious hearts aboard the motor boat, as they watched the
tug pursuing them. They knew there would be a fight if Blowitz and Mr.
De Vere met, and, in the latter's crippled condition, it was not hard
to imagine how it would result.
"How's she running, Ned?" asked Jerry, as he looked at the engine.
"Never better. She's singing like a bird. This is a dandy boat."
"I think we'll beat him," declared Mr. De Vere.
For an hour or more the chase continued, the Monarch seeming to gain
slowly. Mr. De Vere looked anxious, and kept his eyes fixed to the
binoculars, through which he viewed the pursuing vessel. At length,
however, a more cheerful look came into his face.
"Something has happened!" he exclaimed.
"Happened? How?" asked Jerry.
"Why aboard the tug. Blowitz went off the deck in a hurry, and the
steersman has left the pilot house. Maybe something is wrong with the
machinery."
That something of this nature had happened was evident a few minutes
later, for the Monarch had to slow up, and the Ripper was soon so far
in advance that to catch up with her was out of the question.
"I guess the chase is over," announced Mr. De Vere. "I think they've
had an accident. Still Blowitz will not give up. I must expect a legal
battle over this matter when I get ashore. He will try to ruin me, and
claim these papers and the gold. But I will beat him."
The Ripper, urged on by her powerful motor, soon lost sight of the
tug, which, from the last observation Mr. De Vere took, seemed to have
turned about, to go back to the brig.
Two days later, having made quick time, and on a straight course, the
voyagers sighted the harbor of San Felicity a few miles away.
"Now for home!" cried Ned.
"And the bungalow 'The Next Day,' Ponto and a good square meal!" added
Bob.
"And the girls," came from Jerry. "I guess they'll be glad to see us."
"If Blowitz doesn't turn up to make trouble for me," put in Mr. De
Vere, rather dubiously.
The Ripper docked that afternoon, and, Mr. De Vere, promising to call
on the boys and pay them their prize money as soon as he had seen his
lawyer, and deposited the gold and papers in a safe place, bade them
good-bye at the wharf, and hurried off. He was fearful lest he should
be intercepted by some agent of Blowitz, though there was no sign that
the tug had arrived.
The three boys were warmly welcomed by the girls and Mr. Seabury, when
they got to the bungalow.
"I congratulate you," said the elderly gentleman. "You deserve great
credit for what you did."
"Well, we had good luck," admitted Jerry. "But where is the
professor?"
"Out searching for horned toads and web-footed lizards," said Nellie.
"He has enlisted the services of Ponto, and they are continually on
the hunt. I hope he gets what he wants."
"He generally does," said Bob. "If he doesn't he finds something else
nearly as good."
Some days later Mr. De Vere called at the bungalow. He had finished up
his business affairs, and brought the boys the prize money, as their
reward for the parts they had played in the finding of the derelict.
"But this is too much," protested Jerry, when Mr. De Vere had given
him and his comrades nearly half as much again as was originally
promised.
"Not a bit of it," was the reply. "I can well afford it. Those papers
were more valuable than you supposed, and I find I will be able to
collect insurance on the cargo of the abandoned brig. I have heard
from the captain of it, and he tells me, just as I supposed, that he
and the crew left her because of the peculiar fumes, so that my theory
was right, after all. They tried to take the dogs, which belonged to
the first mate, but could not."
"Did you hear anything more of Blowitz?" asked Ned.
"Yes," replied Mr. De Vere, rather solemnly. "Blowitz was killed
shortly after the tug gave up the chase."
"How?"
"The boiler blew up when the tug was trying to tow the derelict in,
and he and several of the crew were burned to death. The survivors
floated on the wreckage until they were picked up. So I have nothing
more to fear from Blowitz. But I called to know if you boys, and the
young ladies, Mr. Seabury and Professor Snodgrass, would not be my
guests at a little dinner I am to give at the hotel. I want to show
you that I appreciate what you did for me."
"I think you have already done so," said Jerry.
"Perhaps I have, but I would like you to come to my dinner. Will you?"
The boys promised. So did the girls and Mr. Seabury, whose health was
much improved by the California climate. The professor, with a far
away look in his eyes, said he would be there if he could.
"What's to prevent you?" asked Bob.
"Well, I haven't found that horned toad yet, and I'm still searching."
The dinner came off three nights later. It was a grand affair, served
in the best of style of which the San Felicity hotel chef was capable.
The girls and the boys were there, dressed in their best, and Ponto
was taken along as a sort of chaperon, which gave him great delight.
He did not once fall asleep.
"But where is Professor Snodgrass?" asked Mr. De Vere, when it was
nearly time to sit down. "Isn't he coming?"
"He promised to be here," announced Mr. Seabury. "Probably he is on
his way now."
At that moment a commotion was heard outside the private dining-room
which Mr. De Vere had engaged. A voice was saying:
"I tell you I will go in! I'm invited! My clothes? What about my
clothes? All mud? Of course they're all mud. I couldn't help it!"
Then the door flew open and a curious sight was presented. There stood
the professor, his coat split up the back, his trousers torn, and his
hat smashed. Splashes of mud were all over him.
"What is the matter?" cried Mr. Seabury, in alarm.
"Nothing," replied the professor calmly. "I have caught two horned
toads, that's all. I saw them as I was on the way here, and I had to
go into a mud puddle to get them. I fell down, but I got the toads,"
and he held up a small cage, in which were the ugly creatures.
"Ugh!" exclaimed Nellie.
"Good for you, Professor!" cried Jerry. "You got the toads and we got
our prize money!"
"Yes, but I would rather have these toads than all your prize money,"
replied the professor. "They are beauties," he added, fondly.
The dinner was a joyous affair, and it is a question who was the
happiest, the professor, over the capture of the horned toads, the
boys over the successful outcome of their cruise on the Pacific, or
Mr. De Vere, who had recovered his fortune. At any rate they all had a
good time.
"Well," remarked Bob, when the supper was over, and they were on their
way back to the bungalow, "I suppose we'll soon have to think of
getting back east, and beginning school. They must have the pipes and
boiler fixed by now."
"Don't think of it," begged Ned. "It's too awful. I'd like to go on
another long cruise in the Ripper."
"Well, I don't know that we can do that," said Jerry, "but I certainly
hope we have more adventures soon." How his wish was gratified will be
told in another volume of this series, to be entitled, "The Motor Boys
in the Clouds; Or, A Trip for Fame and Fortune." In that book we shall
meet many of our old friends again, and learn something more of a
venture in which the motor boys were already interested.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 | 10 |
11