OFF FOR TIGERS
"Yes, sir, Pirate Shark is what they call him, Cap'n. Thirty-footer."
"What!" Captain Hollinger stared in amazement, then laughed.
"Thirty-footer? You're tangled up, Jerry. Well, he can wait until I get
back."
Jerry had arrived at the yacht almost as soon as the boys reached her,
and in the course of the explanations about their shooting, Mart and Bob
surprised Jerry into ejaculating the title of the Pirate Shark, which
called for further explanations. Thus, without having broken their
promise, the boys apprised the captain of something of the story of the
Pirate Shark, since Jerry reluctantly explained the name. Captain
Hollinger gave the matter little attention, but not so the mate.
"Look here, Cap'n," cried Swanson, stepping out and facing Jerry
aggressively. "I warned you against this here Shark Smith afore we
started, didn't I? Now, I tell you he ain't here for any good, him and
the rest o' his gang! Shark Smith, they call him--don't you growl at me,
you white-haired old hypocrite!--'cause he's been after that 'ere shark
for ten year an' more. That's what he brung you here for, Cap'n--just
so's he could get at that Pirate Shark!"
Swanson flung out this accusation boldly enough, and Jerry's blue eyes
blazed up at him suddenly; but the look was fleeting, and the next
instant the quartermaster flung back his white hair and gazed with mild
reproach on the mate.
"Deary me!" Jerry said softly, then smiled. "Why, Cap'n, Mr. Swanson's
quite right, he is. I knowed that there Pirate Shark was here, an' I
wanted to kill him myself, so to speak. But I've played square, Cap'n.
When you gets back from your hunt, I'll have gold to show you. Can you
ask more'n that, sir?"
"Not a bit, Jerry," smiled Captain Hollinger. "Come, Mr. Swanson, no
more of this suspicion, if you please. Jerry will have to rank as second
officer, and take the port watch for the rest of the cruise, so I want
no ill feeling among my officers. Now, what about the tigers, Jerry?"
Jerry reported that all was ready, and that the beaters were already
arranged for. There were tigers a day's march away, it seemed, and the
chiefs were delighted that Captain Hollinger was so willing and ready to
rid them of their persecutors. The sooner the hunters started, the
better pleased would the natives be.
Accordingly, the captain decided that he would go ashore with Swanson
that same afternoon and get acquainted, as Jerry reported that two or
three of the natives could speak a little English, and that all were
anxious to put themselves at his disposal. Then for the first time Jerry
found that the boys were not going ashore also, and the knowledge seemed
to stagger him.
"Why--why," he exclaimed blankly, "I thought as how you were going tiger
hunting too, lads. I've been an' made all arrangements wi' them
chiefs--"
"No, they'll have to stay here," returned the captain firmly. "I'll not
take them into that jungle till I've had a look at it, Jerry. That's
final. Hold that prau down there and we'll get our stuff together and go
ashore in her."
Jerry, looking decidedly blank, obeyed. Mart wondered why he was so
anxious to have them go ashore, and conferred with Bob on the subject,
but it seemed that Jerry was only in haste to get at his Pirate Shark,
and the two boys were rather amused at the situation, together with
Swanson's dislike of Jerry.
To them it seemed that the old quartermaster had wanted to get rid of
everyone who would interfere with his own hunting operations, and that
their shot at the shark that morning had irritated him. Mart looked on
it as a huge joke by this time, and Bob was evidently inclined to the
same way of thinking. Jerry was evidently quite confident, however, that
there was gold in the river, as his promise to the captain showed;
indeed, the boys never doubted that he was acting in good faith, more
especially as Jerry had now informed the captain that he intended
killing the Pirate Shark.
The preparations for the trip ashore were made hurriedly, while the prau
waited at the ladder and the natives traded more fruit and fish, with
some fresh meat. Captain Hollinger and Swanson dressed in khaki, with
sun helmets and leggings, and at the last moment one of the Scotch
engineers volunteered to accompany them. So he was given an outfit also,
and the three men furnished themselves with the small-bore Austrian army
rifles, whose cordite bullets possessed terrific power.
Jerry said that all arrangements were made for their welfare in the
village, and that tents were unnecessary as the natives could build
thatch huts in half an hour while on the trip, so the impedimenta of the
party was light. Canteens and cartridge belts were donned, medicine
cases, mosquito nets, binoculars and blankets stowed away, and the three
men shook hands with the two boys. Jerry said that the natives were even
then making ready a huge barbecue in the village, which was half a mile
up-river, so without pausing for noon mess the hunters departed.
They took both trading goods and money with them, in order to make
payments to the natives, and when they stepped down into the prau and
the Malays shoved off, the boys led the crew in three hearty cheers. Out
flashed the long Malay sweeps, and with final shouts ringing over the
water, the prau swiftly moved off toward the river mouth. Mart and Bob
watched the three stalwart khaki-clad figures standing erect amid the
brown men, and followed the prau with their glasses until it was lost
around the first projection of the river bank Bob little dreamed what
would transpire before he was to see his father's face again!
The officers' mess was sadly depleted that noon, only Jerry, the boys,
and the Scotch engineer remaining. By this time the old quartermaster
had openly announced his intention of getting after the Pirate Shark, so
the boys had no hesitation in broaching the subject and asking his
plans.
"Well," returned Jerry, gazing mildly at the engineer, "first off, we'll
lay the yacht over that there wreck I was tellin' you lads about--you
mind that wreck, lads, eight fathom down? Rock bottom it is, coral rock,
down there among the fish. When we lay over her, all shipshape an'
Bristol fashion, then we'll look about for that there Pirate Shark. He's
down there, lads--down there among the fish, lads, eight fathom down!"
"I'll bet he ain't," interposed Mart. "Prob'ly Bob's bullet through his
fin sent him out of here into the deep water. It would me!"
"Ah, but you ain't no Pirate Shark, lad!" smiled Jerry, shaking his
head. "He's a cute un, he is." With that Jerry turned to the Scotch
engineer, who was no little astonished at the program, of which he had
known nothing. "Now, sir, I'll thank you to get the fires up a bit, as
we'll need steam to move. Best keep 'em banked, as we may finish off
that there shark to-morrow and run up river after gold."
"How long will dad be ashore?" asked Bob, while the dazed engineer
departed to look after his fires.
Jerry chuckled. "Oh, several days, lads, several days! Now, we'll break
out that dynamite an' then we'll lay her over the wreck--eight fathoms
down, and old Jerry the only man as knows. Fish tell no tales,
lads--fish tell no tales! You come to the bridge and watch old Jerry lay
us over that there wreck!"
This invitation the boys promptly accepted. The afternoon was hot, but
Jerry seemed like a new man as he assumed command of the yacht, taking
charge of the steam steering gear himself. As they could not get under
way for some time, he set Birch to work with a few Kanakas breaking out
the dynamite in the forward hold. Jerry was needed to identify the case
in question, however, and soon went down to the deck for that purpose.
Now happened an incident which in some measure served to open the eyes
of both boys. Among the stores broken out from the hold was a barrel of
beef which had gone bad. After Jerry had identified the case containing
the dynamite, he ordered the Kanakas to fling the bad beef overboard,
and started back to the bridge. The Kanakas had not fully understood the
order, and thinking that the case of dynamite was indicated, they
cheerfully picked it up and heaved it over the rail.
Mart let out one wild yell, which was echoed by Yorke and Dailey, but
nothing happened; the dynamite simply went to the bottom, the force of
the shock not being sufficient to explode it. When Jerry comprehended
what had happened, however, he was changed instantly from a mild,
gentle-appearing old man into a raging maniac. He ran forward, his face
terrible to see, and leaping into the crowd of Kanakas began striking
right and left in mad fury.
The white-faced boys saw Yorke catch hold of him, but Jerry sent the
twisted-mouthed man reeling with a blow; not until Dailey and Birch
flung themselves on him was he quieted. Then he once more became
himself, but he had been struck a hard blow; he looked ten years older,
as Mart commented below his breath.
"No wonder," said Bob commiseratingly. "Poor old Jerry--he'd been
counting on that dynamite to blow up the Pirate Shark, Mart. Just the
same, I guess my bullet sent Mr. Shark a-kiting out to the open sea."
Jerry climbed back to the bridge, vouchsafing no comment, but still
trembling and muttering to himself. Calling down the tube, he found that
the engineer had enough steam up to give the _Seamew_ steerage way, and
without further delay he ordered the anchor tripped and rang for half
speed ahead.
Slowly the yacht gathered way and swung about, pointing up past the
island toward the channel beyond. Beyond this, again, the lagoon
continued for a quarter-mile farther, in a rounded bay where little
rock-points showed their jagged teeth. As they advanced, the water
became deeper, shoaled again, then grew deeper beyond the channel; at
last Jerry rang for reversed engines, the cable roared out, and the
engines ceased.
"Now, lads," he said, "we're over that there wreck. Let's have a look."
They followed him eagerly enough to the deck, where already the crew
were looking over the bulwarks. The water was wonderfully clear, but as
it was forty feet deep here, they could make out nothing of the bottom.
Just under their ladder and gangway, however, the quartermaster pointed
out a deeper shadow of green, which he declared showed the position of
the wreck.
"We'll send down a Kanaka in the morning," he said. "And if that there
ain't the old wreck, lads, then Jerry Smith is a Dutchman!"
"But what about the shark?" objected Bob stoutly. "You aren't going to
send down any men there, Jerry, with that shark hanging around. Not if I
know it!"
"Well, them Kanakas lost my dynamite, didn't they?" snarled Jerry
suddenly, his face sweeping into quick anger.
"That's no matter," rejoined Mart. "You needn't think we'll stand for
any men going down--"
"Look ye here, lads," and Jerry faced them solemnly. "Them Kanakas ain't
like us white men, d'ye see? First, they ain't afraid o' sharks. They
take knives down an' kill sharks for fun, like your father kills tigers.
Then they swim like fish themselves, lads. If the sea hadn't spoiled
that there dynamite, they'd 'a' brought it up as quick as it went down."
"Maybe you're right," answered Bob, "but there's something about this
whole business that I don't like, Jerry. That's flat. You deceived dad
by not telling him about this Pirate Shark till we'd got here, and you
haven't told him about the wreck yet. All I can say is, you'd better
play square, Jerry. When it comes to sending down any o' those Kanakas
to investigate your private troubles, and risking their lives, I'm not
going to stand for it."
Jerry smiled softly, and gazed out at the sparkling waters of the
lagoon.
"Lads, I'm in command o' this here ship," he said quietly. "You've got
nothin' to say aboard her, by rule o' the sea. But old Jerry ain't that
kind, lads--no, he likes ye both too much for that. Look here, Master
Bob, we'll not send down any men but them as volunteers to go, eh? If
they want to go, all right; if they don't, why, all right too! Ain't
that fair, now? Ain't it?"
Bob glanced at Mart, who made answer.
"Yes, that's fair enough, Jerry. I'll tell the Kanakas myself about that
Pirate Shark, and if they choose to go down after that, it's their
affair. I don't think he's around here, myself; but in case that bullet
didn't send him out to sea with a hole in his fin, and if he really is
the Pirate Shark, we'll have to wait till the captain gets back, unless
the men are perfectly willing to take the risk. You can order Dailey or
Yorke to go down if you like."
At this last suggestion Jerry merely darted them a sharp look, and
chuckled.
"All right, lads, all right! We'll see in the mornin', lads. Eight
fathom down she is, and fish tell no tales."
That night the boys discussed the situation with growing belief that
Jerry was not quite so silly as he appeared. The sight of that immense
black fin had established the fact that there was at least an enormous
shark here; whether the wreck was also a fact or not was quite another
thing.
There might be a wreck there, indeed, and there was no good reason to
doubt it. Jerry's tale about its being an ancient galleon, however, was
much too improbable to be accepted. However, the diving gear was
overhauled that evening, and the boys looked forward eagerly to what was
to happen next day.
"I s'pose dad's watching a native dance or something about now,"
remarked Bob as the boys made ready to turn in. "Well, we'll be after
tigers ourselves in a few days, Mart."
"Mebbe," rejoined Mart. "Wish, we hadn't eaten those oysters this
morning! I haven't felt right since. Well, so long, Holly! See you
to-morrow."
And if Mart felt any premonitions, he ascribed them to the oyster.