SOMETHING ABOUT THE PAST
"What's this I hear about fire?"
The question came from a burly, pleasant-faced man, who had just
appeared on deck, close to the boys. It was Mr. Lawrence, the owner of
the steamer.
"Why, Dad, there's a steamer out there, and we think she's on fire,"
answered Phil, quickly. "Here, take a look at her." And he handed over
the marine glasses.
"On fire!" exclaimed Mr. Lawrence, and raised the glasses to his eyes.
"By Jove, boys, I think you're right! Phil, call Captain Bradley, and be
quick about it. You'll find him in the after cabin. I just left him
there."
The son darted off, and while he was gone Mr. Lawrence and the boys took
turns in looking through the glasses at the distant vessel. The smoke
was now increasing, and as it did not come from the funnel of the
steamer, there was no doubt but that the vessel was on fire.
"You sent for me, Mr. Lawrence?" inquired the captain of the steamer,
as he hurried up with Phil at his heels.
"Yes, Captain. There's another steamer out there, and we are pretty sure
she's on fire," answered Mr. Lawrence. "Change your course and put on
speed." And as he spoke the shipowner turned the glasses over to the
captain.
Captain Bradley gave one searching look. "It's true! She's on fire, and
we had better get to her as soon as possible!" he cried, and then
hurried away to give the necessary directions. Soon the bow of the
_Eaglet_, which was the name of the steamer, was headed in the direction
of the craft that seemed to be in trouble.
"If she's really in danger, I hope we get there soon enough to help
those on board," said Dave.
"Captain Bradley will do his best; you can rely on that," answered Mr.
Lawrence, gravely. "But that steamer is farther off than some of you may
imagine. Distances over the water are rather deceptive."
Many of my young readers are doubtless already well acquainted with Dave
Porter. For the benefit of those who are now meeting the youth for the
first time, something of an introduction may not be out of place.
When but a child of tender age, our hero had been found one day walking
along the railroad tracks near the town of Crumville. He could tell
nothing about himself or where he belonged, and was taken to the local
poorhouse, where he remained for a number of years, finally being bound
out to a retired college professor, named Caspar Potts, who was then
running a small farm for his health. The professor did what he could for
the lad, giving him a fairly good education. But Professor Potts was no
farmer and soon got into financial difficulties with a mean
money-lender, named Aaron Poole, and would have lost his farm had it not
been for something out of the ordinary happening.
One of the main industries of Crumville was a large jewelry factory,
owned by Mr. Oliver Wadsworth. Mr. Wadsworth had a beautiful young
daughter, named Jessie, and one day through an explosion of an
automobile gasoline tank, the young miss was in danger of being burned
to death when Dave came to her rescue. This so pleased the Wadsworths
that they came not only to the aid of the boy, but also assisted Caspar
Potts, who was discovered to be one of Mr. Wadsworth's former
instructors at college.
"The lad shall go to boarding-school and get a good education," said
Oliver Wadsworth. And he accordingly sent Dave away from home, as
related in the first book of this series, entitled "Dave Porter at Oak
Hall." At that school our hero made many warm friends, including Phil
Lawrence, the son of a wealthy shipowner; Roger Morr, the offspring of
a United States senator; Shadow Hamilton, who was known far and wide for
his yarn-spinning qualities; and many others.
In those days the great cloud resting over Dave had been the question of
his identity, and when some of his enemies spoke of him as "that
poorhouse nobody," he resolved to find out who he really was. Getting a
strange clue, he set out on a remarkable ocean voyage, as related in
"Dave Porter in the South Seas," and was gratified to fall in with his
uncle, Dunston Porter, a great hunter and traveler. Then the lad came
back to Oak Hall, as related in "Dave Porter's Return to School." He
next went in quest of his father, as told in "Dave Porter in the Far
North."
"Now they can't say that I'm a 'poorhouse nobody,'" he told his chums,
after having met his father. And then, with a light heart, he came back
to boarding-school once again, as related in "Dave Porter and His
Classmates." Here he made more friends than ever, but likewise some
bitter enemies, including one Link Merwell, the son of a ranch-owner of
the West. Merwell did all he could to cause Dave trouble, but in the end
was exposed and had to leave Oak Hall.
"I hope I never fall in with Link Merwell again," Dave said to his
school chums, but this was not to be. Dave had not only found his father
and an uncle, but he had also found a sister, Laura Porter, who was
very dear to him. Laura had a young lady friend, named Belle Endicott,
who lived in the Far West, and through this friend Dave and his chums,
and also Laura, as well as Jessie Wadsworth, received an invitation to
spend some time at the Endicott place. They had a great deal of fun and
not a few adventures, all of which have been set down in "Dave Porter at
Star Ranch." Not far from the Endicott place was the home of Link
Merwell, and that young man, as before, tried to make trouble, but his
efforts were frustrated and he left home under a cloud.
From the ranch Dave and his chums returned again to Oak Hall, as
recorded in "Dave Porter and His Rivals." Then came the Christmas
Holidays, and Dave went back to Crumville, where he and his folks were
now living with the Wadsworth family in their elegant mansion on the
outskirts of the town. Directly after Christmas there was a thrilling
jewelry robbery at Mr. Wadsworth's factory. It was Dave, aided by some
of his chums, who got on the track of the robbers and trailed them to
the South and then to sea, as related in "Dave Porter on Cave Island."
When our hero and his chums went back to Oak Hall they imagined that
their adventures were at an end. But soon came in news of a strange man
who was terrorizing the neighborhood. Some very unusual things
happened, including an attempt to blow up a neighboring hotel. Some of
the students were thought guilty, and fearing arrest, they fled in
terror, as told of in "Dave Porter and the Runaways." Dave was not one
of those who ran away, but he did go after the others, and made them
come back to face the music, and also helped to clear up what had been a
great mystery. Then all the boys graduated from Oak Hall, Dave receiving
high honors.
It is needless to say that our hero at that time was one of the happiest
boys in the world. His folks and Jessie Wadsworth came to the
graduation, which was celebrated with big bonfires, music by a band, and
refreshments in the gymnasium.
Dave had promised Roger Morr that he would pay the Senator's son a
visit. He did so, along with Phil and some others, and on that occasion
heard about a gold mine which had been willed to Mrs. Morr, and which
had been completely swallowed up by a landslide. Numerous searches had
been made for this lost mine, but up to that time without result.
"Let us go in search of the lost mine," Dave had said. And how he and
Roger and some of the others made the trip to the West and went on a
hunt for the mine has been told in detail in the volume entitled "Dave
Porter in the Gold Fields."
While the lads were on this quest, they again fell in with Link Merwell,
who with Job Haskers, a former teacher at Oak Hall, was also trying to
locate the lost mine. The two parties had many adventures, and when at
last the missing mine was relocated, there came another landslide which
nearly cost Dave and his friends their lives. When they finally reached
a place of safety they were joined by a man from the other party who had
suffered severely, and who told them that Link Merwell and Job Haskers,
as well as a third person of the party, had been swept away to their
death. Later on Dave and his friends had looked for the missing persons,
but had been unable to locate them.
The finding of the Landslide Mine, as it was called, had been of great
financial benefit to the Morr family, and they had been so pleased that
they had given Dave and some of the others a share in the holding. In
the meanwhile our hero and his chums, along with their friends, had
finished their outing in the West by a grand tour through Yellowstone
Park, on which they were accompanied by Dave's sister, Jessie and Belle,
and some others.
"Now you fellows have got to come on a little trip with me," Phil had
said, after coming East, and had explained that a small steamer
belonging to his father was then tied up at Philadelphia, getting ready
for a trip to Portland, Maine, and back.
"That will be fine," Dave had answered; and a little later a party had
been made up, including Phil, Dave, Roger, and Shadow, and also Ben
Basswood, who, as my old readers know, was one of Dave's old friends
from Crumville. With the boys went Mr. Lawrence. When embarking on this
trip, none of those on board had dreamed of the strenuous time now so
close at hand.
"I wonder how long it will take us to reach that vessel?" observed
Roger, after Mr. Lawrence had followed the captain.
"A quarter of an hour at least," replied Dave. "It will depend somewhat
on how much steam the firemen can get up. I don't believe we are running
at full speed now."
"This steamer used to be a pretty good boat," said Phil, "but she is
getting old now, and I heard dad say something about laying her up for
repairs next Fall."
"Wonder if we'll get a chance to do any rescue work," observed Ben.
"I guess we'll do all we can," returned Shadow.
"Look! Look!" cried Dave, pointing with his hand. "The smoke is getting
thicker than ever!"
"Maybe the poor people on that steamer will have to jump overboard
before we can reach them," said Phil. "A fire like that must be pretty
hot."
Soon the youths knew by the pounding of the engine that the _Eaglet_ was
running at increased speed. The course had been changed, and now the
craft was headed directly for the burning boat.
"She's a rather small affair, that's certain," remarked Roger.
"Looks to me as if she might be a pleasure boat," remarked Phil, who,
taking after his father, knew considerable about sea-going matters.
"She's a private steam yacht, to my way of thinking." And later on this
proved to be the case.
As the _Eaglet_ drew closer to the burning vessel, the boys saw that
there was great excitement on board the steam yacht. Sailors and others
were rushing to and fro over the deck, and two streams of water from
hoses were being directed to one part of the vessel, down a hatchway.
The smoke was as thick as ever, and sometimes, as the wind shifted, the
steam yacht was hidden entirely from view.
Fortunately the sea was comparatively calm, there being only a slight
breeze from the northeast. As the _Eaglet_ drew closer, the boys heard
Captain Bradley giving directions to some of the sailors to get ready to
launch two of the small boats.
"Dad, why can't we take another small boat and go out?" asked Phil of
his father. "We know how to row. We did lots of it on the river up at
Oak Hall."
"Very well," answered Mr. Lawrence. "But I want all of you to keep out
of danger."
Soon they were within hailing distance of the steam yacht. They could
now see the persons on deck plainly, and made out fully a score of men,
and three or four women, and also one or two children. The smoke was as
thick as ever, but so far no flames were visible.
"Save us, oh, save us!" screamed some one aboard the burning vessel. "We
are burning up!"
The words had scarcely been uttered when there came from the interior of
the steam yacht a dull explosion. Then, of a sudden, something that
looked like a bunch of rockets flew up into the air. With a loud hissing
and with sparks flying in all directions, the bunch of rockets described
a graceful curve and then headed directly for the deck of the _Eaglet_!