THE ELEPHANT GUN
The boys sank into chairs, stunned. Their wildest dreams had fallen
short of this terrible reality, and when it finally faced them they were
staggered by it. Captain Hollinger and Swanson prisoners ashore; the
yacht in the hands of pirates!
"Mart, it--it's awful!" blurted out Bob, white-faced. "Jerry must have
meant to do this all along! What if dad--"
"Buck up, Holly," said Mart cheeringly, though he felt a terrible dismay
within him. "Your dad ain't in any danger. Jerry went ashore to arrange
with the natives to hold him, or to keep him out after tigers. He's all
right, and Swanson's with him."
"Looks like Swanson wouldn't join 'em," replied Bob dully. "Maybe
they'll kill 'em both, Mart."
"Nonsense!" Mart forced himself to brace up, in order to overcome his
friend's hopeless despair. "Jerry's fixed this whole thing so's to kill
nobody, Bob. That's easy to see. All he's after is the treasure that he
thinks is down there in the wreck. When he gets that, he and the rest
will light out with it, that's all. They're not the old kind of pirates.
They're bad enough, but they've got too much sense to murder anyone."
Under this sensible view of the situation Bob began to take a more
cheerful outlook, for he was more worried about his father than himself.
The broken wireless was now explained, and although Mart thought that he
could repair it, that would be out of the question at present. They
agreed that their best plan would be to accept things quietly, but that
Mart should get the wireless in shape at the first opportunity. He knew
their position, and if he could send out one call for help it would
undoubtedly be answered, as there were plenty of ships in these waters.
There was a tramping of feet on the deck, with loud shouts, and the boys
awoke from their lethargy of despair. It suddenly occurred to Bob that
they might arm the Kanakas and retake the ship, but upon searching for
Captain Hollinger's rifles, they found all vanished. Beyond a doubt,
Jerry and his men had confiscated the weapons and with them could easily
hold the Kanakas in check.
The only weapon remaining was an old elephant gun which Mart found in a
locker. It was a brute of a rifle, more like a cannon in appearance, and
there was no ammunition for it; in fact, Bob explained that his father
only kept it as a curiosity, and it was quite useless. Mart laid it
down, giving up thoughts of resistance.
"Let's see if they'll let us up on deck, Holly."
"Sure. Jerry ain't afraid of us, Mart. He knows we're helpless."
The discouraged Bob led the way up the companion. They reached the deck
with no opposition, and found Jerry and his mates in complete
possession. Up forward, the Kanakas were huddled in an angry but
helpless mass under the rifles of Dailey and Birch, while Borden and
Yorke were just carrying the body of the Scotch engineer into the
forecastle. There was blood on the man's brow and he was heavily ironed,
which proved that he had not gone down without resistance.
The boys stood where they were, watching. Jerry had led one of the
Kanakas to the gangway and was endeavoring to force him to don the
diving outfit. But, although the old quartermaster's face was terrible
in its rage, with his white hair flying free and his blue eyes flashing
fire, the Kanaka stolidly refused, even when Jerry placed his pistol
against the brown chest of the man.
For a moment the boys thought Jerry would murder him, but Birch
intervened with the suggestion that they send down four of the Kanakas
again to see how the wreck lay. To this Jerry assented, as did the
Kanakas themselves, and Dailey sang out that two praus were coming out
of the river toward them.
Jerry at once put Birch in charge of the gangway landing and the four
men who were diving, and without paying any heed to the boys, assembled
his mates for a brief conference, at the ladder.
"No use tryin' to force the Kanakas," declared Yorke. "I know 'em, Shark
Smith, and so do you. They'll never put on that divin' dress, not if we
flogged 'em."
"Yorke's right," spoke up Borden. "Send 'em ashore, Jerry. Send 'em
ashore in the praus, and the engineer with 'em."
"Yes," added Dailey with an oath, and a black look toward the boys. "And
put them two kids ashore, too, Jerry."
"What are you afraid of, mates?" Jerry chuckled and tipped Mart a wink.
"Them lads stay here, mates--hostages, they are. They can't do us no
hurt, and the cap'n won't neither while we hold his son. See? But we'll
send them Kanakas ashore, mates. I'll arrange wi' the Malays to hold the
crowd safe for a couple o' weeks, then we'll be off an' gone to Saigon
in the boats, wi' the treasure."
Mart glanced at Bob, and the boys exchanged a sickly grin. The reason
for old Jerry's clemency now became evident. With Bob in his hands, he
well knew that he was safe from any effort on the part of Captain
Hollinger to retake the vessel, even should the captain and Swanson
escape.
Upon this the mutineers agreed, and save for the four Kanakas who were
now engaged in diving, the others were summoned aft to the landing and
bound securely, one by one. The boys advanced to the rail, and were
watching for the reappearance of the four brown bodies in the water,
when Jerry gave a yell and leaped down to the landing in a perfect
frenzy, shaking his fist and cursing, apparently at nothing.
"Good heavens, Bob!" gasped Mart. "Look at the water!"
Gazing down, the boys felt suddenly sick. For up through the water was
rising a red stain, and even as they looked, they saw the figures of
three men come shooting up in wild fear. The brown bodies leaped for the
landing and dragged themselves up--and as they did so the two boys
distinctly saw a great gray shape, so huge that it appeared monstrous,
sweep past underneath the ship.
"By juniper!" exclaimed Bob weakly. "Did you see that, Mart!"
Mart nodded and turned away, unable to speak. He knew only too well that
one of the Kanakas had been caught by the shark, and the giant size of
the terrible fish was too plainly attested by the panic of the other
Kanakas, who were shivering and gray with fright. That red stain and the
giant shadow in the water were destined to remain in the boys' dream for
many a day.
The chattering natives were somewhat relieved from their panic when the
two praus shot alongside the gangway and Jerry held animated converse
with his friend the headman of the village. Their words were
unintelligible, but from Jerry's satisfied air the boys made out that
his plans must have gone well, and that the captain and mate were by
this time prisoners, or safely hunting tiger somewhere in the jungle.
More fruit was brought aboard, and Jerry presented the headman with one
of Captain Hollinger's cherished rifles, to Bob's wrath. After this, the
bound Kanakas were taken aboard the two praus, the still unconscious but
not badly hurt engineer was carried down, to join his chief on shore
with the captain and mate, and the praus shoved off.
Thus there were left on board the yacht only the boys, Jerry and his
four mates, and Ah Sing, the Chinese steward. Ah Sing had gained a
glimpse of the proceedings and had promptly barricaded himself in his
quarters, where he took to burning joss sticks in wild panic. As he
would make no answer either to Jerry or the boys, Mart and Bob set to
work getting something to eat, for it was getting well on toward noon,
and the occupation would at least keep their minds busy.
Although some of the men flung them occasional black looks, the death of
the Kanaka and that fleeting vision of the giant shark had sobered
everyone tremendously. Not until the men had gathered in the
mess-saloon--for they were making free with the officers' quarters,
though they had touched nothing except the rifles and revolvers--and had
stowed away some of the tinned provisions and hot coffee that the boys
provided, did their spirits seem to rise. Jerry had been remarkably
silent, but he thawed out over the coffee.
"Well, what next?" queried the one-eyed Birch, leaning back in his chair
and lighting one of Captain Hollinger's cigars, as did the rest. "Now
we're rid o' the Kanakas, mates, and the ship's ours, what next, I
asks?"
"Jerry's the cap'n now," grinned Dailey. "How about it, Shark Smith?"
"I'm a-goin' down after that there Pirate Shark," announced Jerry, his
mouth grim and set. He seemed to enjoy the consternation of the others
hugely. "Now look ye here, mates. We've lost that dynamite. The only way
to get at the treasure is to kill that there shark. He's mine, an' I'm
a-goin' to kill him, mates. Bob, lad, you'll lend old Jerry that 'ere
kris, won't you?"
The old man's lack of fear, or rather his stubborn determination to kill
the Pirate Shark, was amazing. There was something about the
gentle-faced old quartermaster, in spite of his plotting and his
villainy, which attracted the boys--perhaps it was merely because he
professed to like them. That he really cared nothing about them, except
as hostages, they knew very well; he was caring for them in order to
save his own skin.
However, Jerry soon proved that his brains were working as fast and as
surely as ever. He listened to the protestations and arguments of the
others unmoved, and at last brought down his fist with decision, until
the dishes rattled in their skids.
"Mates, and you, lads, look ye here. That shark, I says, has had one
good meal to-day, ain't that so? Well, he's a wise un, he is. He'll know
that no more divers'll come down after he's gobbled one, so he won't
hang around waitin'. He'll mebbe go off to take a stroll, like.
"All I want, mates, is to get inside that there wreck, with that kris in
my hand. Then if he comes at me, why, he can't get at me, d'ye see! So
long as a man's got his back to a wall, wi' solid bottom under him, a
shark can't get him. It's when he's goin' down or comin' up that the
shark can come along an' tip him over an' cut his lines and end him,
mates."
This argument was plausible, and impressed all with its good sense.
However, that did not remove the danger. It was highly probable that the
shark was still hanging under the shadow of the _Seamew_ waiting for
more divers, and Jerry's courage did not alter matters in that respect.
The Kanakas had reported that the bottom was coral rock, and that the
wreck seemed to be lying on its side, with gaping openings through the
deck where the masts had been. During the discussion that followed
Jerry's expressed plan, it was decided that if the ship was indeed an
old galleon, she might have lodged on the rocks and split apart under
the action of the currents, which would account for the openings in her
decks. She was so overgrown with marine life, the Kanakas had said, that
little could be made out during their short visits below the surface.
"No use talking, mates," declared Jerry obstinately, "I'm a-goin' down,
and the sooner the better. Mates, you 'tend the pumps and keep watch for
any sign o' that there black fin. If you see it, haul up. Bob, lad, lend
me that 'ere kris, will you?"
As Jerry was plainly set upon the undertaking, there was nothing for it
but to assent, which the other men did with bad grace. All tramped out
on deck at once, and while Bob departed for the kris, Mart followed to
the landing. As he did so, he noted that while the men still wore
revolver belts, they had left their rifles at the head of the ladder.
Jerry noticed it also, and paused.
"Yorke," he ordered abruptly, "you stand by wi' one o' them guns, in
case I come up wi' the Pirate Shark after me. If you get a shot at him,
take it and haul away."
Yorke nodded and remained on deck beside Mart, while the others went
down the ladder to the landing with Jerry. Here the two diving suits had
been laid out that morning, together with the wooden box containing the
pumps. The hose and lifelines had already been connected, and all was
prepared for a descent.
As Jerry began getting into the neck of the huge rubber dress, he
cautioned the others against pulling him up too fast, for even in eight
fathoms there is danger from the sudden lessening of air-pressure should
the diver be hauled up rapidly. At this juncture Bob reappeared with his
kris, which was handed down to the men below.
The two boys stood watching, a dozen feet from Yorke, who leaned
carelessly on his rifle. Jerry struggled into the dress by slow degrees,
for the sun was burning hot, then got the cuffs clipped tightly about
his wrists while Dailey and Birch fastened on the heavy corselet. The
sixteen-pound boots came next, and very comical indeed the old
quartermaster looked, with his white hair blowing in the wind and his
blue eyes as eager and lively as those of Bob himself.
Then Borden helped him into the huge copper helmet and screwed it on
fast, while Dailey and Birch went to the pumps and began to turn the two
handles. Jerry had not yet closed the front window of the helmet, and
now his voice came for the last time.
"Well, good-bye, mates and lads! Here's for the treasure o' the Pirate
Shark!"
With that he closed his helmet and seized the kris, waved a hand at the
pumping men, and calmly stepped off the landing while Borden paid out
the air hose and lifelines. For an instant the two boys stared down at
the flashing shape in the water, then Bob felt a tug at his arm and met
the excited eyes of his chum.
"Go get that old elephant gun," ordered Mart in a whisper. "Quick! Step
soft!"