THE FLYING MERMAID DISABLED
"We'll save you!" shouted Mr. Henderson, who was on the deck, while Mark
was steering the craft. "Hold on a few minutes longer and we'll be
alongside!"
"They're real! They're real!" some of those aboard the burning ship
could be heard to shout. Evidently more than one of them had taken the
_Mermaid_ for a delusion of their fear-crazed brain.
"They are real persons!" they called again and again. "They are coming
to save us!"
Mr. Henderson ran his ship as near the burning craft as he dared. Then
he called to the crew to leap into the water and swim to him. He, with
Washington, Jack, Bill and Tom, stood ready to haul aboard any who were
too weak to help themselves.
In a few minutes all of those left alive on the sailing vessel--fourteen
in all--had come safely aboard the _Mermaid_. The ship was now
completely enveloped in flames.
"Are there any more left on her?" asked Mr. Henderson of one who
appeared to be a mate of the burning craft.
"Not a soul!" was the answer. "The captain and ten men perished in the
flames. The fire broke out a week ago in the lower hold. We fought it as
well as we could but it got the best of us. Then it suddenly broke
through the decks, almost like an explosion, a little while ago, and the
captain and others were lost, and so were our small boats. We managed to
get aft but were about to give up when you appeared."
"What ship is it and where are you from?"
"The _Good Hope_, laden with logwood, hides, jute and other materials
from South America," the mate answered. "We were bound for New York."
"It is more like the _Last Hope_ instead of the _Good Hope_," observed
Mr. Henderson in a quiet voice, as he saw the flames mount higher and
higher over the ship. A few seconds later the craft seemed rent by an
internal explosion. It appeared to break in two parts, and, amid a
shower of sparks and a cloud of black smoke, the vessel sank under the
water and was seen no more.
The rescued men turned to behold the final end of their ship. They
betrayed no particular emotion, and some of them even laughed, which the
professor thought, at the time, was rather strange. But there was little
opportunity for speculation. The men were in a sad plight. Few of them
had more than the clothes they stood in, though each one wore about his
waist a belt, and all of them seemed to guard the leather circlets
jealously.
The professor and his crew were soon busy supplying remedies for burns,
since several of the men were seared by the flames. Then, as it was
learned they had eaten nothing for many hours, it having been impossible
to use the galley, a meal was prepared and the survivors of the wreck
were well fed.
The hunger of the newcomers having been appeased, they showed much
curiosity over the strange craft that had so opportunely come to their
rescue. Most of the sailors were ignorant men, and the professor had
little fear of them learning anything concerning his secrets. He
explained briefly about the _Mermaid_, but said nothing of whither she
was bound.
The addition of fourteen men to the rather small accommodations of the
_Mermaid_ was a serious matter to consider. The ship was able to hold
them all, and even to sail through the air with them, since Mr.
Henderson had provided an excess of power. But it was going to be a
problem to feed so many, and still save enough provisions for the long
voyage which lay ahead.
However, Mr. Henderson felt his first duty to be toward his fellowmen,
even if his voyage must be delayed, or given up for a time, while he got
more provisions. There would be no sleeping quarters for the sailors,
but when this was explained to them they cheerfully said they would
sleep on deck if necessary. In fact some of them had to, but as the
weather was warm and clear this was no hardship. A few found quarters in
the engine room and other apartments of the _Mermaid_.
Finding, after an examination, that his ship was in good order save for
the broken gas apparatus, Mr. Henderson gave orders to proceed along the
surface of the ocean. The sailors wanted to see how it felt to mount
into the air, but Mr. Henderson, refused to attempt a flight until he
had made complete repairs, and this would take a day or more.
At this there appeared to be some discontent among the survivors, and
they muttered to each other as they stood in a group on deck. But the
professor and his assistants were too busy with their preparations for
fixing the break to notice this.
While the men were gathered in a knot near the after part of the small
deck, the mate separated from them, and, coming close to where Mark was
standing, unscrewing some of the broken parts of the pipe said, in a low
voice.
"Tell the captain to watch out."
"What do you mean?" asked Mark quickly.
"Hush! Not so loud!" the mate exclaimed. "If the men hear me talking to
you, or see me, they may kill me. Tell the captain to look out; that's
all. Be on guard, and watch the engine room carefully."
"But why--?" Mark began, when, turning suddenly, the mate left him. It
was well he did so, for, at that instant, one of the sailors, who had
observed the two conversing, strolled in their direction.
Much alarmed, Mark sought Mr. Henderson and told him what he had heard.
"I suppose the fire may have turned the poor man's head," the scientist
said. "I wonder if he thinks the men I rescued would mutiny and take
possession of my ship? If they did they would not know how to work it,
so what good would it do?"
"Hadn't we better look out?" asked Mark.
"I'm not afraid," replied the professor. "I will be too busy the next
few days, repairing the break, to think of anything else. Besides, what
would they want to harm us for? Didn't we save their lives?"
Seeing the scientist placed no faith in what the mate had said, Mark
went back to his task.
It soon became too dark to work, and it was decided, after supper, to
halt the ship until morning as it would be less risky.
Mark did not sleep well, his dreams being disturbed by visions of
pirates and black flags. But morning came and nothing had developed. The
men seemed to recover their spirits with daybreak, and most of the crew,
after breakfast, greeted Mr. Henderson pleasantly, and asked to be
allowed to help fix the ship.
It took the skilled labor of the professor, Washington and the boys to
mend the break, and, even at that, it was four days in the repairing.
But at last the final bolt was in place, and the _Mermaid_ was able to
resume her trips through the air.
"We will rise the first thing in the morning," said the professor to
Mark and Jack that night. "I am anxious to see how the ship behaves with
a big load aboard."