exploded! She'll go up like matchwood, and with all those women and
children aboard!"
CHAPTER
22
_CAPTAIN BARKER'S COURAGE_
Never did a fire seem to spread so rapidly. In less than three minutes,
as those aboard the _River Queen_ watched in helpless horror, the
_Florence_ became a mass of flames from stem to stern. Terrified
passengers jammed the gangplank as they tried to crowd ashore. Some of
them leaped from the excursion boat's high railings to the dock below.
"Her mooring lines are ablaze!" Captain Barker shouted a moment later.
"And the freight sheds are catching afire," Penny added, observing a
telltale line of flame starting from the flimsy wooden buildings along
the wharf, directly back of the dock where the _Florence_ had moored.
The blazing sheds worried Captain Barker far less than the fact that the
mooring lines had caught fire. If the _Florence_ should be cut loose from
the dock, helpless women and children would be carried out onto the river
in a flaming inferno.
"Why don't the fire boats get here!" Sally murmured nervously. "Oh, this
is going to be a dreadful disaster if something isn't done to save those
helpless people!"
At the bridge leading to the pilot house, Captain Barker stood tensely
watching, his hand on the signal ropes.
"There go the mooring lines!" he shouted. "The current should bring her
this way!"
As the _Florence_ slowly drifted away from the blazing wharf, men and
women began to leap over the railings into the dark waters.
"Man the lifeboats!" Captain Barker ordered his crew tersely. "I'm going
to try to get a tow line on 'er!" He signaled the engine room, and the
_River Queen_ began to back rapidly toward the flaming excursion boat.
Penny and Sally ran to help launch the lifeboats. With the _River Queen_
desperately short handed, they would be needed to handle oars. A fireman,
an engineer, Captain Barker and a helmsman must remain at their posts,
which left only three sailors to pick up passengers.
Leaping into the first boat launched, the girls rowed into the path of
the blazing vessel. In its bright glow against the sky, they could see
panic-stricken passengers running about the decks. An increasing number
were leaping into the water, and many could not swim.
Ignoring the cries of those who had life belts or were swimming strongly,
they rapidly picked up survivors. To pull children aboard was a
comparatively easy task. But many of the women were heavy, and the
combined strength of the girls barely was sufficient to get them into the
boat without upsetting.
Finally the lifeboat was filled beyond capacity, and they turned to land
their cargo aboard the _Queen_. Only then did they see what Captain
Barker intended to do.
His men had succeeded in making a line fast to the _Florence's_ stern. By
this time the excursion boat was a flaming inferno, with only a few
passengers, the captain, and crew remaining aboard.
"Pop's going to tow the _Florence_ downstream away from the freight
sheds!" Sally cried. "Some of those buildings are filled with war
materials awaiting shipment--coal, oil and I don't know what all! If a
fire once gets going there, nothing will stop it!"
Working feverishly, the girls unloaded their passengers and went back for
more. Motorboats had set out from shore, and they too aided in the rescue
work. Some of the survivors were taken to land, and others were put
aboard the _Queen_.
Aided by a sailor they had picked up, the girls worked until they no
longer could see bobbing heads in the swirling waters.
"We've done all we can," Sally gasped, as they helped the last of the
passengers aboard the _Queen_. "The captain and most of his men will stay
on the _Florence_ as long as they are able."
Though exhausted by their work, the girls did what they could for those
aboard. Sally distributed all the blankets she could find, and Penny
helped a sailor revive two women who were unconscious from having
swallowed too much water.
Suddenly there came a loud report like the crack of a pistol.
The tow line to the _Florence_ had parted! Once more the excursion boat,
now a roaring furnace, was adrift in mid-stream.
In an instant it was apparent to Penny what would happen. The
cross-current was strong, and in a minute or two would carry the burning
vessel into the wharves and sheds. When the boat struck, flying sparks
would ignite the dry wood for a considerable distance, and soon the
entire waterfront would be ablaze.
Though outwardly calm, Captain Barker was beset as he appraised the
situation. It would not be possible to get another tow line onto the
_Florence_ for already her decks had become untenable for the crew. The
blazing vessel was drifting rapidly.
"We could ram her," he muttered. "She might be nosed out into the channel
again, and headed away from the freight docks."
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Sally asked anxiously. "We have at least
fifty passengers aboard. In this high wind, the _Queen_ would be almost
certain to catch fire."
"There's nothing else to do," Captain Barker decided grimly, signaling
the engine room. "The _Florence_ is drifting fast, and before the fire
boats can get here, half the waterfront will be ablaze. Have the
passengers wet down the decks and stand by with buckets!"
Penny and Sally worked feverishly carrying out orders. The deck hose was
attached, and buckets were brought from below and filled with water. All
survivors who were able to help, cooperated to the fullest extent,
helping wet down the decks and assisting women and children to the stern
of the ferryboat.
Captain Barker had given an order for the _Queen_ to move full speed
ahead.
In a moment the two boats made jarring contact. Penny was thrown from her
feet. Scrambling up, she saw that blazing timbers from the _Florence_ had
crashed directly onto the _River Queen's_ deck. Sparks were falling
everywhere. The ferryboat had caught fire in a dozen places.
Seizing a bucket of water, she doused out the flames nearest her. Heat
from the _Florence_ was intense, and many of the men who had volunteered
to help, began to retreat.
Penny and Sally stuck at their post, knowing that the lives of all
depended upon extinguishing the flames quickly. Crew members of the
_Florence_ worked beside them with quiet, determined efficiency.
In the midst of the excitement, the final boatload of picked-up survivors
had to be taken aboard. Captain Jamison, one of the last to leave the
_Florence_, collapsed as he reached the deck. Severely burned, he was
carried below to receive first-aid treatment.
Undaunted, Captain Barker shouted terse orders, goading the men to
greater activity when the flames showed signs of getting beyond control.
After the first contact with the Florence, only occasional sparks ignited
the _Queen's_ decks, but the heat was terrific. Women and children became
hysterical, fearful that the ferryboat would become a flaming torch.
"The worst is over now," Sally sighed as she and Penny refilled water
buckets. "Pop knows what he's doing. He's saved the waterfront."
"But this ferryboat?"
"It still may go up in smoke, but I don't think so," Sally replied
calmly. "Pop is heading so that the wind will carry the flames away from
us. He'll beach the _Florence_ on Horseshoe Shoal and let the wreck burn
to the water's edge."
For the next fifteen minutes, there was no lessening of worry aboard the
_River Queen_. The ferryboat clung grimly to the blazing excursion boat,
losing contact at times, then picking her up again, and pushing on toward
the shoal.
Fire fighting activities aboard the ferryboat became better organized;
the passengers, observing that Captain Barker knew what he was about,
became calm and easily managed. By the time fire boats arrived to spray
the _Florence_ with streams of pressured water, the situation was well in
hand.
Collapsing on the deck from sheer exhaustion, Penny and Sally gazed
toward the warehouses and docks on the opposite shore. Only one fire of
any size was visible there.
"The fire boats will quickly put it out," Sally said confidently. "But I
hate to think what would have happened if the wind and current had driven
the _Florence_ along those wharves."
Penny wiped her cheek and saw that her hand was covered with black soot.
Sally too was a sight. She had ripped the hem from her skirt, her hair
was an untidy mess, everything about her was pungent with smoke.
"Where were we when all this excitement started?" Penny asked presently.
"If my memory serves me correctly, we had sent out a police call for
Claude Harper and his pals to be arrested. It all seems vague in my mind,
as if it occurred a million years ago."
"Why, I had forgotten too!" Sally gasped. "I hope the police went there
and caught those men before they made a get-away."
Scrambling to their feet, the girls moved to the starboard side of the
_Queen_, which permitted a view of the Harper house far upriver. They
were startled and dismayed to see tongues of flame shooting from a
window.
"That place has caught on fire too!" Sally exclaimed, then corrected
herself. "But sparks from the _Florence_ never could have been carried so
far!"
"The house has been set afire on purpose!" Penny cried. "Oh, Sally, don't
you see? It's a trick to destroy all the evidence hidden there! The
Harpers intend to skip town tonight, and they're taking advantage of this
fire to make it appear that destruction of the house is accidental!"
CHAPTER
23
_FIRE!_
Sick at heart, the two girls realized with the Harper house aflame, their
last chance of proving the guilt of the brass thieves might be gone. As
they stood at the railing of the _Queen_, gloomily watching the
spreading, creeping line of fire, a motorboat chugged up.
"Ahoy!" shouted a familiar voice. "Can you take aboard three more
survivors? They're the very last we can find on the river."
"It's Jack!" Penny cried, recognizing his voice though unable to see his
face in the dark. "After we get the passengers aboard, perhaps he'll take
us upriver to the Harpers!"
The girls ran to help with the new arrivals, but sailors already had
lifted them from the boat and carried them aboard the _Queen_.
"This is my last load," Jack called out. "Nearly everyone was saved.
Coast Guard boats are patrolling now, and if there are other survivors,
they'll be taken ashore."
"Jack!" Penny called down to him.
"That you, Penny?" he demanded in astonishment. "Why didn't you come back
to Shadow Island this afternoon? We've all been worried about you!"
"It's a long story, and there's no time to tell it now! Jack, will you
take us to the Harpers' in your motorboat?"
"Now?"
"Yes, the house is on fire."
Helping the girls into the boat, Jack turned to gaze upstream. "That's
strange!" he exclaimed. "How could sparks from the _Florence_ have
carried so far?"
"The answer is, they didn't," Penny said grimly. "The house was set afire
on purpose. Just get us to the pier as quickly as you can."
Somewhere along the shore a big city clock struck the hour of midnight.
The young people did not notice. As the boat raced over the water,
bouncing as it struck each high wave, they discussed what had happened
just prior to the outbreak of fire aboard the _Florence_.
"I know part of the stolen brass was dumped into the river by Sweeper
Joe," Penny revealed excitedly. "The remainder was locked in the basement
of the Harper house the last I knew. And I'm satisfied the brass lantern
taken from the _Queen_ by Adam Glowershick is among the loot. All the
thieves expect to skip town tonight. Probably they're gone by this time."
Beaching the boat some distance from the burning house, the three young
people ran up the slope. Firemen had not yet reached the scene, and the
few persons who had gathered, were watching the flames but making no
effort to battle them.
"It's a hopeless proposition," Jack commented. "This far from the city,
there's no water pressure. The house will burn to the ground."
"And all the evidence with it," Penny added gloomily. "What miserable
luck!"
No boats were tied up at the dock, nor was there any sign of the Harpers
or their friends in the crowd. Obviously, the entire party had fled.
"Isn't there some place where we can telephone the police?" Penny
suggested impatiently. "If they act quickly, these men still may be
caught. They can't be very far away."
"The nearest house is up the beach about an eighth of a mile," Jack
informed. "Maybe we can telephone from there."
"You two go," Sally said casually. "I want to stay here."
At the moment, Jack and Penny, intent only upon their mission, thought
nothing about the remark. Following the paved road which made walking
easy, they hastened as fast as they could.
"Jack," Penny said, puffing to keep pace with him. "There's something I
want to ask you."
"Shoot!"
"Why have you felt so friendly toward that crook, Glowershick?"
Jack's eyebrows jerked upward and he gave a snort of disgust. "Whatever
gave you that crazy idea?"
"Well, he came to the island, and you borrowed money from me to give
him--"
"So you recognized him that day?"
"Yes," Penny answered quietly. "You tried to hide his identity, so I said
nothing more. I kept thinking you would explain."
"I'm prepared to pay you what I owe, Penny."
"Oh, Jack, it's not the money. Don't you understand--"
"You think I've had a finger in lifting the brass lantern from the
_Queen_," Jack said stiffly.
"Gracious, no! But shouldn't you explain?"
Jack was silent for a moment. Then he said, "Thanks, Penny, for having a
little faith in me. I know I've been an awful sap."
"Suppose you tell me all about it."
"There's nothing to tell. I went to the Harpers a number of
times--attended their dances, and spent a lot of money. I got into debt
to that fellow Glowershick and he pressed me for it."
"There was nothing more to it?"
"Not a thing, except that I didn't want my folks to hear about it. That's
why I pretended I didn't know Glowershick. I was afraid you would tell
them. Don't you believe me?"
"Oh, I do, Jack. I'm so relieved. And the jitterbug girl at Harpers'--"
"Oh, _her_!" Jack said scornfully. "She was a stupid thing, and I don't
see how I stood her silly chatter. Most of the money I borrowed from
Glowershick was spent on her. As I've said, I was a complete chump."
Reaching a house some distance back from the river, they found the owner
at home, and were given permission to telephone the police. Jack was
promised by an inspector that all police cruisers would be ordered to
watch for the escaped brass thieves. Railroad terminals, bus depots and
all roads leading from the city would be guarded.
"Watch the riverfront too," Jack urged. "The men may have gone by boat to
Tate's Beach, intending to catch a train from there."
Satisfied they had done everything possible, Penny and Jack hastened back
to the Harpers'. The sky was tinted pink and flames now shot from the
roof of the house. A large crowd had gathered, and there was excited talk
and gesturing.
"Something's wrong!" Penny observed anxiously.
Pushing through the crowd, they sought vainly to find Sally.
A woman was talking excitedly, pointed toward the flaming building.
"I tell you, I saw a girl run in there only a few minutes ago!" she
insisted. "And she didn't come out! She must be in there now!"
The words shocked Penny and Jack as the same thought came to them. Could
it be that reckless Sally had ventured into the basement of the house,
hoping to recover the brass lantern or other evidence which would
incriminate the thieves?
"She acted funny when we left her here," Penny whispered in horror. "Oh,
Jack! If she's inside the building--"
Pushing through the crowd, she grasped the arm of the woman who was
talking. "Who was the girl? What was she wearing?" she demanded tensely.
"A blue sweater," the woman recalled. "Her hair was flying wild and her
face was streaked with dirt as if she'd already been in the fire. I
thought maybe she lived here."
"It was Sally," Penny murmured, her heart sinking to her shoe tops. "Why
hasn't someone brought her out?"
"No human being could get into that house now," declared a man who stood
close by. "The firemen aren't here yet. Anyway, we ain't sure there's
anyone inside."
"I saw the girl run in, I tell you!" the woman insisted.
To debate over such a vital matter infuriated Penny and Jack. Sally was
nowhere in the crowd and they were convinced she had entered the blazing
building. Flames were blowing from some of the lower windows and smoke
was dense. It was obvious that no man present was willing to risk his
life to ascertain if the girl were inside.
"She must have tried to reach the basement!" Penny cried. "Oh, Jack,
we've got to bring her out!"
Nodding grimly, Jack stripped off his coat. Throwing it over his head as
a shield, he darted into the burning building. Penny, close at his heels,
had no protection.
Inside the house, smoke was so black they could not see three feet ahead.
Choking, gasping for breath, they groped their way through the living
room to the kitchen. Penny jerked open the door leading into the cellar.
Flames roared into her face. The entire basement was an inferno of heat.
No human being could descend the stairs and return. If Sally were below,
she was beyond help.
Closing the door, Penny staggered backwards. Her head was spinning and
she could not get her breath.
"It's no use!" Jack shouted in her ear. "We've got to get out of here!
The walls or floor may collapse."
Clutching Penny's arm, he pulled her along. In the black smoke swirling
about them, they missed the kitchen door.
Frantically, they crept along a scorching hot wall, seeking to find an
exit.
Then Penny stumbled over an object on the floor and fell. As she tried to
get up, her hand touched something soft and yielding. A body lay sprawled
in a heap beside her on the floor.
"It's Sally!" she cried. "Oh, Jack, help me get her up!"
CHAPTER
24
_DREDGING THE RIVER_
Sally moaned softly but did not stir as Penny tried to pull her to a
sitting position. The heat now was almost unbearably intense, with flying
brands dropping everywhere. But near the floor, the air was better, and
Penny drew it in by deep gulps.
Jack's groping hand encountered the sink. Soaking his coat with water
from one of the taps, he gave it to Penny to protect her head and
shoulders.
"Help me get Sally onto my back in a Fireman's carry," he gasped. "We can
make it."
The confidence in Jack's voice gave Penny new courage and strength. As he
knelt down on the floor, she dragged Sally onto his back. Holding the
inert body high on his shoulders, he staggered across the kitchen.
Penny guided him to the door. Flames had eaten into the living room, and
a small portion of the floor had fallen through. To reach the exit was
impossible.
"A window!" Jack directed.
Penny could see none, so dense was the smoke, but she remembered how the
room had been laid out, and pulled Jack to an outer wall. Her exploring
hand encountered a window sill, but she could not get the sash up.
In desperation, she kicked out the glass. A rush of cool, sweet air
struck her face. Filling her lungs, she turned to help Jack with his
burden. Before she could grasp him, he sagged slowly to the floor.
Thrusting her head through the broken window, Penny shouted for help.
Willing hands lifted her to safety, and two men climbed through the
window to bring out Jack and Sally. Both were carried some distance from
the blazing building to an automobile where they were revived.
However, Sally was in need of medical attention. Hair and eyebrows had
been singed half away, and more serious, her hands and arms were severely
burned. Jack and Penny rode with her to the hospital when the ambulance
finally came.
Not until hours later, after Captain Barker had been summoned, did Sally
know anyone. Heavily bandaged, with her father, Jack, and Penny at her
bedside, she opened her eyes and gave them a half-hearted grin.
"The _Florence_?" she whispered.
"Safely beached on a shoal," Captain Barker assured her tenderly.
"There's nothing to worry about. All the passengers have been taken to
hospitals or to their homes. A preliminary check has shown only one man
lost, an engineer who was trapped at his post when the explosion occurred
aboard the _Florence_."
"Pop, you were marvelous," Sally whispered. "You saved the waterfront."
"And nearly lost a daughter. Sally, why did you try to get into that
burning building?"
Sally drew a deep, tired sigh.
"Never mind," said Penny kindly. "We know why you went in--it was to find
the brass lantern."
Sally nodded. "When I got to the basement, flames were shooting up
everywhere," she recalled with a shudder. "I realized then that I
couldn't possibly find the lantern or anything else. I tried to get back,
but smoke was everywhere. That was the last I remembered."
"It was Jack who saved you," Penny said, but he cut in to insist that the
credit belonged to her rather than to him.
In the midst of a good-natured argument over the subject, a nurse came to
say that Penny and Jack both were wanted on the telephone.
"The police department calling," she explained.
They were down the hall in a flash to take the call. Captain Brown of the
city police force informed them they were wanted immediately at police
headquarters to identify Sweeper Joe, the Harpers, and Clark Clayton who
had been arrested at the railroad station. Adam Glowershick also had been
taken into custody.
At headquarters fifteen minutes later, the young people found Mr.
Gandiss, Penny's father, and Heiney Growski already there. Questioned by
police, the young people revealed everything they knew about the case.
"We can hold these men for a while," Chief Bailey promised Mr. Gandiss,
"but to make charges stick, we'll have to have more evidence."
Penny had told of the cache of brass in the Harper basement, and also of
seeing Sweeper Joe and Clark Clayton dump much of the loot in the river.
She was assured that the ruins of the house would be searched in the
morning and that a dredge would be assigned to try to locate the brass
which had been thrown overboard into the deepest part of the channel.
Heiney Growski produced records he had kept, showing a list of Gandiss
factory employes known to be implicated in the plot.
"Most of the persons involved are new employes who smuggled small pieces
of brass out of the factory and turned them over to Sweeper Joe for pin
money," he revealed. "The leaders are Joe, Clayton, and Glowershick. With
them behind bars, the ring will dissolve."
"There's one thing I want to know," Penny declared feelingly. "Who
planted the brass in Sally's locker while she was working at the
factory?"
No one could answer the question at the moment, but the following day,
after police had repeatedly questioned the prisoners, the entire story
became known. Sweeper Joe, the real instigator of the plot, had slipped
into the locker room himself, and had placed the incriminating piece of
evidence in Sally's locker, using a master key. He had disliked her
because several times she had resented his attempts to become friendly.
Although police had obtained signed confessions, tangible evidence also
was needed, for as Chief Bailey pointed out to Mr. Gandiss, the men might
repudiate their statements when they appeared in court. Accordingly,
police squads were sent to the Harpers' to search the ashes for evidence,
and also to the river to supervise dredging operations.
Throughout the day, between trips to the hospital to see Sally, Jack and
Penny watched the dredge boat make its trips back and forth over the area
where the loot had been dropped.
"I hope I wasn't mistaken in the location," Penny remarked anxiously as
the vessel made repeated excursions without success. "After all, the
night was dark, and I had no way of taking accurate bearings."
Across the river and barely visible, the blackened, smoking skeleton of
the _Florence_ lay stranded on a sandbar. Throughout the night, a
fireboat had steadily pumped water into the burning vessel, but even so,
fires had not been entirely extinguished.
Morning papers had carried the encouraging information that there was
only one known casualty as a result of the disaster. That many lives had
not been lost was credited entirely to the courageous action of Captain
Barker.