CAST OFF!
Some two weeks later, or, to be exact, sixteen days, making the date
therefor, the eighth day of July, a round-faced, freckle-cheeked youth
in a pair of khaki trousers, white rubber-soled shoes, a light flannel
shirt that had once been brown and was now the colour of much diluted
coffee and a white duck hat sat on the forward deck of a trim motor-boat
with his feet suspended above the untidy water of a slip. By turning his
head slightly he could have looked across the sunlit surface of
Buttermilk Channel to the green slopes of Governor's Island and, beyond
the gleaming Statue of Liberty. But Perry Bush was far more interested
in the approach that led from the noisy, granite-paved street behind a
distant fence to the pier against which the boat was nestled. As he
watched he sniffed gratefully of the mingled odours that came to him;
the smell of salt water, of pitch and oakum, of paint from a
neighbouring craft receiving her Summer dress, of fresh shavings and
sawdust from the nearby shed whence came also the shriek of the
band-saw and the _tap-tap_ of mallets. Ballinger's Yacht Basin was a
busy place at this time of the year, and the slips were crowded with
sailboats and motor-boats, while many craft still stood, stilted and
canvas-wrapped, in the shade of the long sheds. Perry whistled a gay
tune softly as he basked there in the warm sunlight and awaited the
arrival of the rest of the boat's crew.
Much had happened since that Thursday when they had toasted the
Adventure Club in Steve's and Joe's room in Sumner. Graduation Day had
sent them scurrying homeward. Then had followed much correspondence with
Steve. After an anxious four days, Perry and the rest had each received
a brief but highly satisfactory telegram: "_Cockatoo_ ours for two
months. Meet Ballinger's Basin, Brooklyn, fourth." But work on the
cruiser had delayed the starting date, and they had now been kicking
their heels about New York for four days. Perry and Phil Street had been
taken care of by Steve, and Joe had had Neil, Han and Ossie as his
guests. At Bay Shore, on the south side of Long Island, the _Follow Me_
was awaiting them impatiently. The _Follow Me_ had been ready to put to
sea for a full week.
Although Steve and Joe had provisioned the _Cockatoo_--which, by the
way, was no longer the _Cockatoo_, but the _Adventurer_, having been
renamed during the process of painting--the crew had not been altogether
idle during their wait. Each had thought of something further to add.
Ossie, who, as a special favour, was to be allowed to try his hand at
cooking, had made several trips between a big department store on Fulton
Street and had returned to the basin laden each time with mysterious
packages, many of which rattled or clinked when deposited in the galley.
Perry had purchased an inexpensive talking machine and a dozen records.
Neil had contributed a patent life-preserver that looked like a
waistcoat to be used by an Arctic explorer and was guaranteed to keep
Barnum and Bailey's fat man afloat. Phil had supplied the cabin with
magazines, few of them, to Perry's chagrin, of the sort anyone but a
"highbrow" would care to tackle. Joe, as an after-thought, had stocked
up heavily with Mother Somebody's Cure for Seasickness. George Hanford
had tried to smuggle on board a black and white puppy about a foot long
which he had bought on a street corner for two dollars and a half.
Steve, however, had objected strenuously and Han had been forced to see
the puppy's former owner and sell his purchase back for a dollar, the
value of it having decreased surprisingly in a few hours. Even Steve
had supplemented the boat's contents the day before by stowing two
desperate-looking revolvers and several boxes of cartridges in a locker
in the forward cabin.
Then, too, they had each outfitted more or less elaborately, according
to their pocket-books. Steve and Joe had pointed out that, with seven
aboard, locker room would be at a premium, and had urged the others to
take as little in the way of personal luggage as they could get along
with. But when the out-of-town boys got into the stores the advice was
soon forgotten. Neil had outfitted as if he was about to set forth on a
voyage around the world, and Han was not far behind him. Perry would
have liked, too, to become the proud possessor of some of the things the
former fellows brought aboard, but Perry's finances were low after he
had paid for that talking machine, and so, with the exception of a new
grey sweater, he had made no additions to his wardrobe. This morning he
had volunteered to go to the basin early and superintend the loading of
ice and water, and now, those things aboard, he was wondering, a trifle
resentfully, why the others didn't come. They were to cast off at eleven
and it was now well after ten.
"Probably," he muttered, edging back so that he could have the support
of the big, round smoke-stack, "Neil's buying another necktie! It would
serve them right if I started the thing up and went off without them."
As, however, Perry knew absolutely nothing about a gasoline engine,
there was little likelihood of his carrying that threat into action. In
any case, there would have been no excuse, for less than a minute later
he descried the tardy ones skirting the shed and coming along the wharf.
They looked, Perry thought with satisfaction, very hot and disgruntled
as, each carrying his belongings in a parcel so that there would be no
bags to stow away, they approached the boat. Although Perry was no
mechanician, he quite understood the operation of an electric horn, and
now, swinging nimbly down to the bridge deck, he set the palm of his
hand against a big black button. The result was all that he desired. An
amazing, ear-splitting shriek broke the ordinary clamour of the scene.
Perry smiled ecstatically and peered out and up from under the awning.
But the half-dozen countenances that looked down at him expressed only
disgust, and Joe's voice came to him even above the blast of the horn.
"Don't be a silly fool, Perry!" shouted Joe peevishly. "Let that alone
and catch these bundles!"
Perry obeyed and one by one the fellows scrambled from wharf to boat.
And, having reached the bridge deck, they subsided exhaustedly onto the
two cushioned seats or the gunwale. Perry viewed their inflamed,
perspiring faces in smiling surprise. "What did you do?" he asked. "Run
all the way?"
"Joe got us on the wrong car," panted Neil, "and we went halfway to
Coney Island, I guess."
"It wasn't my fault any more than it was yours," growled Joe. "You had
eyes, hadn't you?"
"We had eyes," replied Ossie from behind his handkerchief, as he wiped
his streaming face, "but we aren't supposed to know where these silly
cars go to."
"I didn't have any trouble," murmured Perry.
"Well, we did," said Han resentfully. "We waited ten minutes on a
broiling-hot corner and then, when we did get another car, it got
blocked behind ten thousand drays and we had to foot it about eleven
miles! Got any ice-water aboard?"
"We've got ice and we've got water," replied Perry. "If you mix 'em in
the proper proportions--"
"Oh, dry up and blow away," muttered Han, dragging himself painfully
down the companion on his way to the galley. Phil Street smiled.
"Seems to me we're starting our adventure rather inauspiciously," he
said. "If we have a grouch before we leave the dock what's going to
happen later?"
"Maybe it's a good thing to have it now and get over it," laughed Steve.
"It was hot, though! And it isn't much cooler here. Let's get under way,
fellows, and find a breeze. It will take us the better part of four
hours to get to Bay Shore, anyway, and I telephoned Wink yesterday that
we'd be there by three. Every fellow into sea-togs as quick as he can
make it. Joe and Phil and I bunk aft, the rest of you in the main cabin.
Get your things put away neatly, fellows. Anyone caught being disorderly
will be keel-hauled. Have a look at this thermometer, Joe. It's almost
eighty-nine! Let's get out of here in a hurry!"
For the next ten minutes the fellows busied themselves as Steve had
directed. All, that is, save Perry. As Perry was already dressed for sea
he used his leisure to sit in the hatchway of the after cabin and
converse entertainingly with the occupants until, on the score that he
was keeping the air out, he was driven up to the cockpit. There he
perched himself in one of the four comfortable wicker chairs, placed his
feet on the leather-cushioned seat across the stern and languorously
observed a less fortunate person scrape the deck of a sloop on the far
side of the slip.
Suppose that, while the _Adventurer's_ crew prepares for service, we
have a look over the boat. The _Adventurer_, late the _Cockatoo_, was a
forty-foot V-bottom, military type cruiser, with a nine-foot beam and a
draught of two feet and six inches. Below the water-line she was painted
a dark green. Above it she was freshly, immaculately white as to hull,
while decks and smoke-stack were buff. The exterior bulkheads were of
panelled mahogany, and a narrow strip of mahogany edged the deck. There
was a refreshing lack of gold in sight, and, viewed from alongside, the
_Adventurer_ had a very business-like appearance. As she was of the
raised-deck cabin type, with full head-room everywhere, she stood well
above the water, and the low, sweeping lines that suggest speed were
lacking. But the _Adventurer_ had speed, nevertheless, for under the
bridge deck was a six-cylinder 6x6 Van Lyte engine that could send her
along at twenty miles an hour when necessary. On the stern was the
legend "ADVENTURER: NEW YORK," and the name appeared again on each of
the mahogany boards that housed the sidelights. The cockpit, which was
self-bailing, was roomy enough to accommodate seven persons comfortably.
A broad leather-cushioned seat ran across the stern and there were four
wicker chairs besides. Life preservers were ingeniously strapped under
the chair seats and two others hung at each side of the after cabin
door.
The after cabin, or owner's stateroom, held two extension seats which at
night were converted into wide and comfortable berths. At the forward
end a lavatory occupied one side and a clothes locker the other. Other
lockers occupied the space between the seats and the three ports. This
compartment, like the main cabin, was enamelled in cream-white with
mahogany trim. Three steps led to the bridge deck, a roomy place which
housed engine, steering wheel and all controls. The engine, although
under deck, was readily accessible by means of sectional hatches. On the
steering column were wheel, self-starter switch, spark, throttle and
clutch, making it easily possible for one person to operate the boat if
necessary. Two seats were built against the after bulkhead, chart boxes
flanked the forward hatchway and the binnacle was above the steering
column. Forward, the compartment was glassed in, but on other sides
khaki curtains were depended on in bad weather. When not in use the
curtains rolled up to the edge of the awning, which was set on a
pipe-frame.
From the bridge deck three steps led down to the main cabin. Here in the
daytime were two longitudinal couches with high upholstered backs. At
night the backs swung out and up to form berths, so that the compartment
supplied sleeping accomodations for four persons. There were roomy
lockers under the seats and at meal times an extension table made a
miraculous appearance and seated eight. Forward of the main cabin was
the galley, gleaming with white enamel and brass. It was fitted with a
large ice-chest, many lockers, a sink with running water, a two-burner
alcohol stove with oven and a multitude of plate-racks. It was the
lightest place in the boat, for, besides a light-port on each side, it
had as well a hatch overhead. The hatch, although water-tight, was made
to open for the admission of ice and supplies. Still forward, in the
nose of the boat, was a large water tank and, beyond that, the rope
locker. The gasoline tanks, of which there were four, held two hundred
and fifty gallons. The boat was lighted by electricity in all parts by
means of a generator and storage battery. An eight-foot tender rested on
chocks atop the main cabin. The boat carried no signal mast, but
flag-poles at bow and stern and abaft the bridge deck frame held the
Union Jack, the yacht ensign and the club burgee. All in all, the
_Adventurer_ was a smart and finely appointed craft, and a capable one,
too. Steve's father had had her built only a little more than a year ago
and she had seen but scant service. In the inelegant but expressive
phraseology of Perry, "she was a rip-snorting corker of a boat." The
consensus of opinion was to the effect that Mr. Chapman was "a peach to
let them have it," and there was an unuttered impression that that
kind-hearted gentleman was taking awful chances!
For, after all, except that Steve had had a brief week or so on the boat
the preceding Summer and that Joe had taken two days of instruction in
gasoline engine operation, not a member of the crew knew much of the
work ahead. Still, George Hanford had operated a twelve-foot motor
dingey at one time, Phil Street had sailed a knockabout and all had an
average amount of common-sense, and it seemed that, with luck, they
might somehow manage to escape death by drowning! Mr. Chapman surely
must have had a good deal of faith in Steve and his companions or he
would never have consented to their operating the cruiser without the
aid of a seasoned navigator. As for the boys themselves, they
anticipated many difficulties and some hazards, but, with the confidence
of youth, they expected to "muddle through," and, as Neil said, what
they didn't know now they soon would.
At exactly seven minutes past eleven by the ship's clock the
_Adventurer_ gave a prolonged screech and, moorings cast off, edged her
way out of the basin and dipped her nose in the laughing waters of the
bay, embarked at last on a voyage that was destined to fully vindicate
her new name.