ASHORE.
The rain, which was now falling in torrents, the driving surf, and the
pitching of the steamer, all served to make it difficult to keep one's
footing on the slippery planks, and Jim motioned his companions to
follow him into the pilot-house, for now that the hawser had been
swallowed up by the waves their services were no longer required
outside.
"Stay on deck!" Bob cried, as he saw them moving away, and forced to
shout at the full strength of his lungs in order to make himself heard
above the roar of the tempest. "In case she strikes you must be where
there's a chance of savin' your lives. Get under the lee of the house
for'ard, an' hold on for all you're worth!"
After some considerable difficulty the boys succeeded, by working along
the life-lines, in reaching the bow, where, partially protected by the
pilot-house, it was possible to remain in comparative shelter.
"Do you think the tug will be wrecked, Jim?" Harry asked.
"I reckon she'll drive ashore."
"Then we shall be no better off than if we hadn't found the pirates'
gold, for of course it'll all be lost."
"Not unless she goes to pieces!" Jim replied in a decidedly shaky voice;
and then, as if this subject was an unpleasant one, he changed it by
asking, without any idea the question would be answered:
"What's Bob doin' aft so long? He can't expect to pick up that hawser
ag'in, an' it's more dangerous there than here!"
"He's coming now," Walter replied as he crept to the corner of the
house; and at the same instant that a huge wave rolled inboard, sweeping
the decks with almost irresistible violence, the old sailor and Joe
appeared, literally working their way hand over hand by means of the
life-line.
Arriving under the lee of the pilot-house they halted, and waited in
silence for the shock which should tell that the Sea Bird had been
forced into shoal water.
This unpleasant information was not long delayed. The little steamer
pitched and plunged more violently than before, but without the
sickening motion of being dragged under, which was apparent when the bow
anchor held, and after ten minutes of this wild tossing she lurched
forward suddenly as if the screw had been set in motion.
"Hold on for your lives!" Bob shouted, and a moment later the tug struck
heavily, with such force that but for the timely warning more than one
of the crew would have been hurled forward.
All hands waited with bated breath for the succeeding shocks which
would tell that she was pounding herself to pieces on the sand; but much
to their surprise nothing of the kind was felt.
"The stern anchor is holding her down!" Bob shouted to Joe, and the
words were hardly spoken when the water dashed forward, flooding the
decks even with the rail.
"We'll be drowned here in short order!" Joe cried as he struggled toward
the boys. "Get into the pilot-house, if you can, for the danger is less
there while the decks are being swept!"
Fortunately for all hands the door opened at the top of a short flight
of stairs above the level of the rail, and this the engineer succeeded
in opening by watching his opportunity between the heavy waves. Harry
and Walter gained this shelter before the sea rushed forward again, and
at the next interval of comparative quiet the remainder of the party
joined them.
It was now possible to converse without actually shouting, and Joe was
eager to understand why the tug remained immovable when in the ordinary
course of events she should be beating herself to pieces on the shoal.
"The anchor slipped enough to let her drive ahead a bit," Bob said, in
explanation, "an' then brought up just as she struck. You'll most likely
find the hawser taut as an iron bar; and that, together with the hold
the sand has got on her nose, keeps everything firm."
"And if the anchor should give way once more she'd break up?"
"There's no doubt about that; but I've got an idee the wind hasn't got
as much force as it had half an hour ago. If the timbers will stand that
poundin' astern there's a chance of our gettin' outer this scrape after
all, even though things do look so tough."
It was but natural that all hands should devote their entire attention
to ascertaining if the gale really was abating, since this was their
only hope, and when another half-hour had elapsed the question was
decided. The seas still beat against the stranded steamer with the same
violence, but the rain had nearly ceased, and the wind no longer howled
around the doomed craft with its former fury.
When this became an assured fact, it was, as nearly as Bob could judge,
about midnight; and the weary boys thought with dismay of the many hours
which must elapse before they could gain a place of absolute safety.
"Lie down and go to sleep, if you can," the old sailor said, much as if
he knew of what they were thinking. "I reckon the worst is over, an'
since it's only a question of waitin' you'd best get all the rest
possible."
The boys followed this suggestion by curling themselves up on the
cushioned locker; and, strange as it may seem, they fell asleep in a
very short time despite the howling wind and raging waters. Weariness of
body was greater than fear, and even in the midst of deadly dangers they
crossed the borders of dreamland.
Bob and Joe kept watch, and as the hours wore on the couriers of the
coming dawn dispersed the storm-clouds until the heavens were smiling
blue once more, and the waves no longer uplifted their crests in anger.
"There's as big a danger passed as ever sailormen stood face to face
with!" Bob said, giving vent to a long-drawn sigh of relief. "The little
craft is hard and fast aground, of course; but six hours ago it didn't
seem as if anything could save her from goin' to pieces, an' this same
crowd here have got a mighty big reason for bein' thankful!"
The decks were yet awash, and would probably continue so for several
hours, or until the waters of the tiny harbor had subsided into their
former quietude; but it was possible to make one's way fore and aft
without danger, as Joe proved when the day had dawned.
All the doors and hatches were securely closed when the gale first
sprung up; therefore everything below was in much the same condition as
before the storm. There had not water enough entered the seams or
crevices to injure the stores, and the hull was comparatively free, as
Bob learned on trying the hand-pump.
"I don't reckon we can count on leavin' this key in the Sea Bird," he
said as he dropped the lead over the bow. "She has stuck her nose mighty
deep in the sand, an' though that cable is strainin' hard astern,
there's little chance it will work her off."
"And according to your ideas, those who stole the Bonita are ashore
somewhere; so as long as we're obliged to stay here it's safe to say
there's a chance of trouble from them?"
"That's about the size of it, my hearty; but they may take a notion to
put to sea, for it's likely their boat was cared for after comin'
ashore. Howsomever, we won't look trouble in the face before it comes.
Let's rouse up the boys an' get breakfast under way, for I'm growin'
sharkish."
It is needless to make any attempt at depicting the joy of those in the
pilot-house, when they opened their eyes, to see the bright sun smiling
and the raging winds subsiding into the gentlest zephyrs that were ever
wafted over a coral reef. This decided change was so pleasing that,
despite all the trouble which surrounded them, they were very cheerful.
Jim bustled about in the galley as if cooking was the one delight of his
life, and while Bob and Joe raised once more the awning to shelter them
from the burning rays of the sun, Harry and Walter did their best toward
spreading the breakfast-table in such a manner that it would at least
look inviting.
The only immediate trouble which might be apprehended was from those who
had probably taken refuge on the key, and with this they were confronted
much sooner than the most timid expected.
Harry had just come on deck to announce that breakfast was ready, when a
shout from the shore caused all hands to glance in that direction,
where could be seen the red-nosed man and his companions emerging from
the thicket.
"Halloo!" he shouted in a friendly tone, and without replying Bob held
up his hand in token that the hail had been heard.
"The brig has gone to pieces, an' we're here with no chance of leavin'
the key," the man continued, much as if giving valuable information.
"Where's the boat? You came ashore in one, I reckon."
"Yes: but she went adrift during the gale."
"If you couldn't take better care of her there's no reason why you
shouldn't stay there till the schooner from Nassau puts in here again!"
Joe shouted angrily. "We're aground, and likely to remain so; but that's
no reason why there should be any communication between us!"
"Will you send us some grub ashore?" the red-nosed man asked after a
short pause, during which he stood as if trying to control his anger.
"Not so much as a biscuit if you were hungry; but that can't be, for it
isn't likely you put off from the brig without provisions."
"All right!" the man cried with a threatening gesture. "You can do as
you please an' we've got the same privilege, so it's a question as to
who has the best end of the trade!"
"They thought we might be fools enough to take some grub ashore, when,
all three of 'em were ready to seize the boat," Bob said, as the men
disappeared in the thicket. "It's a case of standin' by with our
weather-eyes liftin', for if their yawl has gone adrift they'll try hard
to steal ours. I'll go on watch while the rest of you get breakfast, for
the water around the bow ain't so deep but that they can wade out here;"
and the old sailor seated himself on the starboard rail as Joe and the
boys went into the forward cabin.