RUNNING A CARGO
On crawling into the cabin Frank found the stove burning fiercely with
the register open full blast. He was sitting near it wrapped in a thick
blanket from which his bare legs and arms protruded when Harry joined
him.
"This should thaw you out," the latter said. "The place would do for
drying fruit in. Got any coffee left?"
Frank gave him some, and when he had drunk it Harry examined some of the
garments which were hanging about the stove.
"They'll be getting fairly dry in half an hour or so and then we'll pull
out for home," he added. "It's breezing up quite smart now and I'd lie
here until morning only aunt would get badly scared. She wouldn't say
anything, but if Jake got to talking it would probably make trouble when
dad comes home."
"How did the canoe get adrift?" Frank inquired sleepily.
"That," said Harry with an excellent imitation of Mr. Barclay's manner,
"is a point I have been investigating. To begin with, the killick had
been hauled up since we pitched it over, and let go again--only on the
last occasion it was made fast so it wouldn't quite fetch the bottom."
He raised his hand in protest as Frank was about to speak. "It's a sure
thing. One strand was chafed where I took a turn with the rope, and that
frayed bit had got moved a fathom or two along. I felt about until I
struck it."
Frank started, for this confirmed a hazy suspicion which had already
been in his mind, but he stooped to pat the dog, who was licking his
uncovered foot.
"Hold on. Your tongue's rough," he said before he looked up at his
companion. "What do you make of the thing?"
"Well," said Harry, "the man who did it wanted it to look as if the
canoe had gone adrift by accident. He was on the island when we came
along and the dog got after him. It's most likely he went off in a boat
or canoe while we were making for the beach after we'd heard the
barking. Seems to me he'd some reason for wanting to keep us here."
"You think he was one of the dope men?" suggested Frank.
"I wouldn't be greatly astonished if we saw the schooner on our way
home," Harry answered with a chuckle.
There was some excuse for his amusement, because Frank looked somewhat
ludicrous as he sat thinking hard with his brows wrinkled down and the
blanket falling away from him.
"I've an idea," he announced at length. "The question, of course, is why
should the man who set the canoe adrift have landed on a desolate place
like this? I expect it's just its desolateness that brought him here.
Now the smugglers probably find it difficult to get hold of the dope in
Canada, and they may have to save it up in small parcels until it's
worth while to send the schooner through. She couldn't come often with
only a case or two, because it wouldn't pay and it would increase the
chances of somebody's seeing her. On the other hand, they may not be
able to get rid of the stuff immediately when she brings a big lot, and
in that case they'd be likely to make a cache of part of it where nobody
would be likely to strike it and their friends could come for it later.
This island ought to be just the place."
Harry made a sign of assent.
"I guess you've hit it first time, but I'll go up and get the mainsail
on her. I can manage it alone with two reefs in, and you can stay where
you are until your clothes are a little drier, unless I call you."
He went out, and Frank heard a clatter of blocks and flutter of canvas.
After that there was a sharp rattling as Harry hauled in the anchor
chain, and then the boat suddenly slanted over with a jerk which flung
Frank backward against the side of her. As he got up he heard the water
splash about her bows. A few minutes later they began to swing sharply
up and down, and the thuds against them made it evident that the sloop
was plunging close-hauled through a short, head sea. By and by the
plunges grew more violent, and struggling into his clothes, which were
partly dry, Frank put out the lamp and crawled out into the well. For a
minute or two he could see nothing as he held on by the weather coaming,
though he felt the buffeting of the wind and the sting of the spray upon
his face. Then by degrees he made out that the sloop was lying down on
one side, with the small black strip of her double-reefed mainsail
slanting sharply above her, and a filmy white cloud flying at her bows.
Suddenly the frothing water began to glitter, and on looking up he saw
that the moon, which had grown brighter, had just emerged from behind a
bank of flying cloud. Then Harry who sat at the helm called to him.
"Look yonder! Just over the bowsprit end," he cried.
Frank, gazing where his companion told him, saw a bright red twinkle low
down above the sea and apparently two or three miles away.
"A fire!" he exclaimed. "On the island by the point, isn't it?"
"A signal," Harry assented. "Guess it's to show the schooner men the
bush gang are ready." He broke into a laugh which reached Frank faintly.
"They're figuring we're safe on the island out of the way. You couldn't
see that fire from the beach we were left upon."
"What are you going to do?"
"Stand right on to where the fire is. We have to make a long leg on this
tack, anyway. When we're close up with the point we'll consider. Get a
little more head sheet in if you can."
It cost Frank an effort, though the sloop was carrying her smallest jib,
and when he had made the rope fast he crouched beside his comrade in the
partial shelter of the coaming with the dog at his feet. It was blowing
moderately fresh, and the sloop was very wet, for the tide was running
with her and she thrashed on at a great pace pitching the water all
over, while the red twinkle ahead grew steadily higher and brighter. It
was the only thing that Frank could see, because the moon had
disappeared again.
In the meanwhile he wondered what his companion meant to do, for he
fancied that Harry had something in his mind. The latter was like his
father in some respects, since he did not, as a rule, explain what his
intentions were until he was reasonably sure that he could carry them
out. One result of this was that while each seldom did less than he said
he would he not infrequently did a good deal more. Folks of this kind,
Frank reflected, inspired one with confidence.
At last, when the fire was large and bright, a head loomed up above it
with the wavering glow falling upon its rocky face. On one side of the
crag there was a strip of darkness, which Frank supposed was water, and
a little nearer him a long shadowy patch, which he knew to be an island.
He turned to Harry, who was just then glancing up at the sky.
"We'll run right into the light if you stand on much longer," he pointed
out.
He had hardly spoken when the red blaze sank down amidst an upward rush
of sparks, and as it died away Harry laughed.
"That means one of two things," he said. "Either they've given the
schooner up, or she has her anchor down inside and they've no more use
for a light that might set folks wondering, though I don't know that
anybody would be likely to see it."
"Anyway, you'll go ashore if you stand on," persisted Frank.
"It's not my intention that we should stand on," said Harry, glancing up
again at the cloud-barred sky. "We can just weather the island as she's
lying, and when that's done I could put up my helm and run through the
sound behind it. I'll do it if the moon keeps in. If the schooner's
inside yonder we ought to see her."
Frank was rather staggered by the boldness of the idea. The strait
seemed narrow and he fancied that it would be further contracted by
shallows now that the tide was getting low, while it appeared very
probable that if they saw the schooner her crew would see them. If she
were landing cargo there would be boats about, and he did not think it
would be pleasant to fall in with them, after the pains somebody had
taken in setting the canoe adrift. Still, though he was very dubious
about its wisdom, the prospect of the adventure appealed to him and
Harry seemed to take his consent for granted.
"We'll carry a fair wind through," the latter announced. "If it's
necessary we could lower the peak down and that would leave very little
canvas to be seen. You had better shorten the canoe up while I luff.
She's half full and towing heavily."
The mainsail thrashed and the speed slackened when he put down his helm,
and Frank, hauling with all his might, dragged the canoe up a little
closer astern and made her fast with a shorter rope, after which Harry
got way on the boat again. It seemed to Frank to be blowing harder, and
she swayed down farther, plunging furiously through the short seas with
a white belt of surf which had shadowy rocks behind it to lee of her.
The moon was still hidden, but it was evident that they were very close
to the end of the island. By and by the white line to lee suddenly
vanished and they stretched out into the dark water, with a high, black
mass not far ahead.
"We've got to jibe her," said Harry. "Get the peak down."
The deck was horribly slanted and slippery, but Frank made his way
forward along it while the seas which seemed steeper there drenched him
with showers of cold brine. He found the halliard and let it go, and
scrambling aft as the head of the sail swung down, helped his companion,
who was struggling with a rope, while he jammed the tiller over with his
shoulder.
"Handy!" cried Harry. "You must check the boom as it comes over."
The craft was coming round with her stern to the wind, and as she did so
the canoe came up on the top of a sea and struck her with a crash. Frank
had, however, no thought to spare for her. He was dragging at the
mainsheet as the big boom tilted up into the darkness above his head,
while the sloop rolled heavily. Then the upper part of the bagging sail
swung over with a bang and he whipped the rope around something as the
heavy spar followed it. The sloop rolled at the same time until half her
deck was in the sea, the sheet was torn furiously through his hands, and
the canoe hit her with another heavy thud as she swayed up again. Then
it drove astern, and Frank had space to gather his breath and look about
him as they swept on into smoother water.
Harry was edging in toward the low black ridge of the island, and there
was a higher mass on the opposite side crested with what appeared to be
rows of pines, with a dark gap between them. They could now hear the
surf on the weather side of the island, which told them that they were
already behind it. Four or five minutes later the channel twisted, and
as they swept around a black rock two or three lights blinked out ahead,
with a low red blaze behind them, apparently on the opposite beach.
"There she is; ready to clear at the shortest notice," said Harry,
stretching out a pointing hand. "They've kept the boom-foresail and most
of the mainsail on her, though I guess the anchor's down. We'll get the
centerboard up."
They were drawing nearer the lights rapidly, but it was two or three
minutes before Frank, who heaved the board up into its case, could make
out a black mass of fluttering canvas against the sky. Then Harry spoke
again:
"There's a shingle bank runs out not far ahead and there can't be much
water over it now the tide's nearly run out. I'm afraid I'll have to
pass on the other hand of the schooner."
Frank could understand why he did not want to do this, since the channel
was narrow and they must pass between the lights of the vessel and the
fire upon the beach. It seemed to him that it would be singularly
awkward if they met a boat coming from or going to the latter, which,
however, was precisely what befell them.
Harry ran the sloop off as far as he dared, and Frank was watching the
schooner's black hull rise higher when he made out a dim shape that
moved between her and the beach.
"A boat, sure!" cried Harry. "Get the mainsheet in. We'll have to take
our chances of the shoal."
He helped Frank with one hand, but the task was almost beyond their
strength, and while they dragged at the rope the half-seen boat and the
schooner seemed to be flying toward them. Then as they made the rope
fast and the sloop headed in toward the island a pale gleam from a light
on the vessel fell upon her. It seemed impossible to Frank that they
should not be seen, but nobody hailed them, and while he listened,
expecting every moment to hear a shout, a clatter of blocks broke
through the splash of approaching oars. Even behind the island, the
water was rather broken and the men seemed to be pulling hard.
A moment later the light faded off the sloop, though Frank could see the
schooner comparatively plainly. Her tall, shadowy canvas was fluttering
athwart the light, and beneath it a cluster of indistinct figures rose
and fell as they heaved up something with a tackle. He could hear their
voices clearly, and he was glad to remember that the dusky ridge of the
island rose behind the sloop, though he wished his companion would run
closer in with it. He had seen all he wanted and only desired to get
away as soon as possible.
It became evident by and by that Harry had run in closer than was
advisable, for there was a crash and the sloop suddenly stopped. Almost
immediately afterward she lay over with her boom and most of her deck on
one side in the water, while the tide, twisting her bows around,
threatened to pour into her over the depressed coaming. As she had come
up nearly head to wind, her mainsail thrashed furiously, jerking the
boom up out of the sea every now and then and letting it splash in
again, while the flapping jib seemed likely to snap off the head of her
rattling mast. Loose ropes appeared to be flying everywhere and Frank
clung stupidly to the coaming, uncertain what to do. They were aground
unfortunately close to the schooner, and, he feared, within sight of the
men on board her. Harry's voice, however, roused him to make an effort.
"Jump forward with the big oar! We must get her off," he said. "The
tide's still falling."
Frank trod upon and fell over the dog, who fortunately was unable to see
anything over the coaming. He scarcely heard it yelping as he scrambled
along the steeply slanted deck dragging the heavy oar. They got it over
and thrust upon it in desperate haste in an attempt to cant her bow off,
but as the tide swung her farther around her side came up against the
oar, threatening to break it or pitch the boys over the rail, and for a
while they strained every muscle in vain. Then she suddenly swung back
in the midst of a furious swirl, and Frank fell down on something that
seemed unpleasantly hard. Harry, flinging the oar upon the deck, dropped
close by, feeling for a rope.
"Get up and get hold!" he cried breathlessly. "We must box her round
with the jib. You can lie down afterward."
Frank scrambled up and pulled in a frenzy, and the boat swung farther
around. Then the mainsail ceased fluttering, and jumping aft they fell
into the well, where Frank fancied that he trod upon the dog again.
Harry immediately seized the tiller, thrusting it to weather, and the
sloop commenced to move slowly through the water, though there was a
harsh grinding beneath her. By and by she suddenly shot forward again.
"She's off!" exclaimed Harry. "Give her sheet!"
Frank let the mainsheet run and afterward leaned breathlessly upon the
coaming with a thrill of relief as they drove out into the deeper water;
but it appeared that his companion was not satisfied yet.
"She should run over to the opposite side without bringing the boom
across," he said. "There seems to be a big rock yonder and we could
heave her to in the gloom of it. If I remember, it's good water."
"What for?" asked Frank, who was anxious to get out of the channel.
"Well," said Harry, "we've seen the schooner, a boat, and a fire upon
the beach, but, after all, that's not a great deal to go upon. We want
to make sure what she's putting ashore."
The boom lifted ominously as he ran her off and Frank fancied that
somebody would certainly hear the crash if he jibed it over. She
stretched across, however, and, rounding her up close beneath a dark
rock, they hauled the jib to windward and waited. Though they were in
deep shadow, a stream of flickering radiance fell upon the water not far
away and lighted up a narrow strip of beach. A few minutes passed and
then Harry touched his companion, who saw several men cross the shingle
with loads upon their shoulders. Their figures showed black against the
light, and Frank fancied that they were carrying square wooden cases.
After them came several more figures, but these carried nothing and were
dressed differently. They looked like Chinamen and they had evidently
just got out of an unseen boat.
"Now," said Harry, "I guess that will do. If you'll trim the jib over
I'll get way on her."
Frank was glad to do it. He felt that he had seen quite enough and it
would be wiser to get away before any misadventure befell them. They ran
out of the channel and were thrashing close-hauled into a rather steep
head sea when Harry spoke again.
"There were four cases in the last lot, and another boat went ashore,"
he observed. "It looks as if they would swamp the market. Dope's dear,
and a little of it goes a mighty long way."
"Perhaps there was something else in some of the cases," suggested
Frank.
"It's possible, though from the little I know of the tariff I haven't an
idea of what it could be. Anyway, that's a proposition we can leave to
Barclay. They were certainly Chinamen and passengers who landed."
"How do you know they were passengers?" Frank inquired.
Harry laughed. "If they'd been anything else they'd have had to carry
those boxes. As a general thing, an American doesn't work while a
Chinaman watches him."
Nothing more was said, and half an hour later when pale moonlight once
more streamed down upon the water the schooner swept out of the gloom
astern of them. After that they went about and clung to the shadow along
the land until they lost sight of her shortly before they ran into the
cove.
It was very late when they reached the ranch, but they merely informed
Miss Oliver that they had had some trouble through the canoe going
adrift and had been compelled to beat back against a strong head wind.