THE OCEAN'S PREY
It was indeed a scene of awful wreckage on which they gazed. The gale
had played havoc with the unfortunate vessel, and what with the aid of
the mighty waves had almost completely demolished it. The bulwarks were
battered and broken, where the masts had crushed them in falling
overboard. Broken and splintered planks strewed the deck, and everything
was bound together by tangled masses of cordage. The bridge had been
torn from its fastenings at one end, and sagged down to the deck. All
the davits were empty, with the exception of two in which boats were
still hanging. The reason for this was plain, as they both had huge
holes stove in their planking, and could not possibly have been repaired
in less than several days.
Altogether it presented a sad spectacle, and bore mute testimony to the
terrific violence of the storm through which they had just passed. There
was no sign of life on board, but nevertheless Captain Everett decided
to send a boat to investigate, on the off chance of picking up some
wounded or sick person who might have been overlooked in the last mad
launching of the boats.
Accordingly, a boat was lowered, and certain members of the crew told
off to man her. "Gee!" exclaimed Tom, who with Dick, Bert, and most of
the other athletes, was an interested spectator of these proceedings,
"I'd give 'bout ten years of my life to be able to go with them. I don't
suppose there's any chance of that, though, hang it!"
"Not a chance in the world," replied Bert, but then he hesitated a
minute, and said, "But wait, hold on a minute. I may be able to get us
on, after all."
"How are you going to do it?" questioned Dick, incredulously, but
already Bert was making a bee-line for the captain.
When he could get Captain Everett's attention he asked to be allowed to
visit the wreck with his two companions. At first he would not even
listen, but Bert begged so hard that he finally consented.
"Very well," he answered, rather dubiously, "I suppose I'll have to let
you go, but just the same I wish you had asked some other favor.
However, I don't suppose any very great harm can come from it, so you
have my permission, Wilson. I am trusting you to be careful and not
endanger the lives of you or your two companions."
"Thanks awfully," said Bert, "and you may rest assured that we will take
every precaution," and Bert turned and raced back to his companions.
"It's all right, fellows!" he yelled. "The captain says we can go, and
everything's settled. Make out I'm not the champion little fixer of this
crowd of rescuing heroes."
"You sure are," admitted Dick. "We've got to hand it to you. But tell us
the magic word. Let us in on the secret, and tell us how you did it."
"Oh, I'll tell you all about it later on," replied Bert. "I haven't time
now, because they're holding the boat for us as it is."
Captain Everett, true to his promise, had given orders to the crew to
take the three comrades with them, and they awaited their arrival with
much impatience. They had not long to wait, however, for in another few
seconds the three had raced across the deck at a pace that did credit to
their training, and tumbled into the boat. Then the sailors gave way
with a will.
The graceful boat fairly flew over the ocean, which by this time had
become much smoother. Occasionally some wave higher than the rest would
dash against the sides and send a silvery shower of spray over them,
and without careful seamanship it would have been no very difficult
matter to swamp the frail craft.
However, they reached the wreck without mishap, and then the question
arose as to the best way to board the hulk. The splintered mast washing
against the side of the ship nearest to their own vessel made it
impossible to land on that side, so they rowed around under the stern of
the wreck. Here her name was printed in prominent black letters: the
_Mary Carpenter_, of New York. Continuing to the other side, they had
small difficulty in picking up a trailing rope and making their little
boat fast. Then, one after the other, they went up the rope hand over
hand until all the crew were on the littered deck with the exception of
one sailor who was left to take care of the boat. The boys had no choice
but to follow suit, but they tackled the feat with many misgivings. It
is not as easy a thing as it may sound to climb hand over hand up a
slippery cable, with a seething ocean below, and the ship to which the
rope is attached jerking and plunging in every direction. Fortunately,
their nerve and good training enabled them to negotiate the perilous
passage without accident, and they were soon standing on the deck of the
wreck.
Mr. Pollard, the officer commanding the expedition, led the way, picking
his way over piled and tumbled wreckage that told its own story of
storm and destruction.
He made directly for the cabin, followed by the others. As they neared
it they could distinguish a muffled barking, and Dick exclaimed, "Well,
what do you know about that, fellows! They've left in such a hurry that
they've left their dog behind. It begins to look as though we might have
a chance to rescue something, anyway."
"Doesn't it, though?" said Tom, and the boys could hardly restrain their
eagerness to break open the door imprisoning the unfortunate animal.
They were not long in reaching it, but found the door blocked,
apparently by some heavy object inside. Several of the sailors set their
brawny shoulders against the door, however, and it burst inward with a
crash. From the opening dashed a big white bulldog, running full tilt
into Tom and fairly knocking him off his feet.
"For the love of Mike!" exclaimed Tom, as he picked himself up, "what
hit me anyway? Was it an elephant, or what?"
As soon as the others could recover from their laughter, they began
making overtures to the dog, who had rushed up into the bows and now
regarded them suspiciously. "Poor old fellow," said Bert, "I guess he
thought the end of the world had come, or something equally bad. He
doesn't seem to like our looks very much now, though, does he?"
"Well, if he does, he conceals his feelings very successfully," said
Dick. "He may become better tempered, though, when he sees that we're
trying to introduce ourselves properly."
Indeed, the dog seemed more frightened than vicious, and presently began
to wag his tail feebly. After much coaxing he came toward them, and Bert
ventured to pat his head. The dog licked his hand affectionately, and
wagged his tail, or what he called his tail, as hard as he knew how.
"Say, fellows," said Bert, seized by a sudden inspiration, "let's take
him back with us and make him our mascot. I have a feeling that he'll
bring us all the luck in the world."
"Great idea," agreed Tom and Dick, and adopted the ship-wrecked one
forthwith. The suggestion of a sailor that he hadn't brought much luck
to the vessel on which he was found fell on deaf ears, and the boys
returned to the search of the ship, followed unquestioningly by their
latest acquisition.
Inside the dark cabin everything was in a confused state fitly matching
that of objects outside. The berths were tumbled, and the bed-coverings
were strewn about the floor. A small iron safe set in flush with the
wall was open, and empty. A few stray coins were scattered here and
there about the floor, and the first comers pounced eagerly on these, to
save as souvenirs. A further search failed to reveal the ship's log or
any of her papers, but of course this was not to be wondered at, as only
in a case of the most dire peril will a commander leave his vessel
without these.
There were three other state-rooms opening out of the main cabin, but
after they had been thoroughly ransacked nothing of any value was found
in them.
"Well, men," said Mr. Pollard, "I guess there's no use in staying here
any longer. Evidently there's no living soul on board, and as far as I
can see there seems to be nothing worth taking away."
Accordingly, after one last glance around the forlorn cabin, they had
turned and were preparing to go on deck, when they were startled by a
shout from above and the man who had been left to take care of the small
boat poked his shaggy head inside the door.
"You'd better make haste, sir," he exclaimed, in an excited voice,
addressing Mr. Pollard, "this old tub's settling fast, sir, and I think
she's about due to go under in something less than a quarter of an
hour."
Accordingly Mr. Pollard gave the order to return to their boat, but the
words had hardly left his mouth when the wreck gave a sickening lunge,
and the face of more than one in the little party went pale.
"Step lively, now, men!" ordered the officer, in a tense voice. He had
no need to repeat his order, for the ship began to list over at a sharp
angle, and the men broke into a run. The sight that met their eyes as
they leaped up the stairs to the deck was terrifying. When they had gone
below, the deck had been perhaps four feet above the water, but now it
was almost level with the waves at its highest part, and where it had
listed over the water was lapping above the boards.
A shout went up from the sailors, and they made a wild dash for the
boat. Into it they tumbled, pell mell, and last of all came the three
boys and Mr. Pollard. They leaped into the boat without selecting their
landing place very carefully, and those nearest the oars snatched them
up and began pulling for dear life. They were not in unison, however,
and the boat fairly crawled away from the side of the doomed vessel.
It seemed like some horrible nightmare, in which deadly peril is
seen approaching, but from which the sleeper is unable to escape.
Fortunately, both Dick and Bert had managed to get hold of an oar on
opposite sides of the boat, and they at least kept their heads and
worked together.
They knew that if the wreck sank before they got one or two hundred feet
from it, the whole boat load would be drawn under by the suction. They
tugged and pulled desperately, and gradually, aided to some extent by
the cooler of the crew, drew away from the dangerous vicinity. In their
excitement they had forgotten the poor dog, but now they were reminded
of his presence by seeing him come to a broken place in the bulwarks and
gaze after them with beseeching barks and whines.
Dick looked at Bert, but the latter shook his head. "No, we can't take a
chance and go back for him, Dick," he said, "it would be staking all our
lives against that of a dog. We'll have to leave him, that's all."
"Gee, but I hate to do that," exclaimed Tom, "maybe we can get him to
follow us," and he started whistling to the dog.
The animal seemed uncertain what to do, but after giving one despairing
glance around at the dismantled deck, he appeared to make up his mind,
and plunged boldly overboard. Those in the boat would have liked to wait
for him, but they dare not. They were not yet at a safe distance, and
the wreck was going down fast now. She was listed considerably to port,
and they could see the waves washing further and further up the sloping
deck.
Slowly, slowly, the unfortunate schooner settled, causing little ripples
and eddies in the water surrounding it, which by this time was almost
calm. Now almost half the deck was under water, and then the stern
gradually rose in the air, while the bows pointed downward into the
green depths. Slowly, deliberately, she slid under the waves, and one
more proud ship was added to the ocean's heavy toll.
A deep sigh went up from those in the little boat, partly of thankfulness
at their own escape, and partly of sorrow over the fate of the wrecked
schooner.
The poor bull dog had disappeared, and the boys gave him up for lost.
Suddenly Tom cried, "Look, fellows, look! He must have been dragged
under by the suction, but I just saw him come up!"
Sure enough, over the spot where the ship had gone down they could see a
little white speck bobbing up and down.
"Give way, men!" ordered Mr. Pollard, "we might as well pick the plucky
little scamp up. It's easy to see _he's_ no quitter."
The men were nothing loth, and were soon alongside the game little
swimmer. Tom leaned over the side, and grasping him by the scruff of
his neck, pulled him safely inboard. The dog feebly licked his hand, but
then lay in a little dejected heap in the bottom of the boat, panting
heavily.
"Well, old sport, fate has certainly been handing you a rather rough
deal lately, hasn't she?" asked Bert, addressing the dog, and was
answered by a faint wag of the stubby tail.
"We'll have to give him a name, I suppose," said Dick, "what shall we
call him fellows? Suggest something."
This was a serious matter, for of course a mascot has got to have an
appropriate name. 'Sport,' 'Nero,' 'Prince,' and many others were
proposed, but were finally rejected in favor of Bingo, which had a
college flavor and seemed to suit him very well.
By the time this question had been settled they had reached the
_Northland_, and were soon on board. Last of all Bingo was hoisted over
the side, and introduced to the assembled athletes as the team mascot.
He was received with the greatest enthusiasm, and immediately proceeded
to make friends with everybody.
"I always thought we'd clean things up at the Olympics," remarked Drake,
"but now I feel more certain of it than ever. The only thing we lacked
is now supplied. I must confess, now that the trial is past, that having
no mascot has kept me awake many a night and seriously affected my
appetite," he said, with a grin.
"Gee, if anything has been affecting your appetite, Drake," said one of
the others, "I'd like to see you when you were in first class shape and
could really eat. I think this bally old hooker would be out of grub in
less than a week."
"Oh, yes, that's right, pick on me, just because I'm small and weak,"
grinned Drake, who was something like six feet two inches tall, and
weighed a hundred and ninety-five pounds, "why don't you go and get some
poor victim of your own size once in a while."
"Gee, it must be awful to be feeble and puny the way you are, Drake,"
laughed Bert, "you certainly do arouse my pity. What you need is a tonic
to build you up."
"Yes," chimed in Tom, "poor Drake's fading fast. All he could do to-day
was to throw the discus a measly little hundred and thirty feet and a
fraction. That sure is an indication of falling powers."
"Yes, I've noticed how he's weakening," remarked Axtell. "Why, he hasn't
got anything at all on that discus except a mile a minute speed and a
world of strength. Otherwise he's certainly all in."
Drake stood all this chaffing with a good natured grin, for he was in
such good condition that he could afford to have people joke about it.
He had been doing better and better all the time, and nobody on board
had the slightest doubt that he would break all records at the coming
Olympic.
He was really a marvel of strength, but some of the sailors on board,
while they admitted that "the big guy could sure throw that plate
around" still believed that at least one of their number had the 'goods'
on him. They pinned their faith on a big, red haired Irishman of their
number, who had won fame in many a rough and tumble battle, and swore
that no 'college guy' who ever lived could throw him. The athletes had
equal faith in Drake, however, and knew that he had at one time taken
considerable interest in scientific wrestling. This fact, combined with
his phenomenal strength, made them certain he could throw the big
sailor.
For some time there had been considerable controversy between the
athletes and the crew, all in a good natured strain, however. The
sailors were anxious to pit their champion against Drake, but the latter
had felt that such a contest would interfere with his training, and so
had held off.
That morning, however, the big Irish sailor had made a vaunting remark
that had "gotten Drake's goat," and made the big fellow resolve to bring
matters to an issue once and for all.
He confided his resolve to Bert and a few chosen pals, and they were
glad to hear it, for the crew had all along adopted a skeptical attitude
toward the athletes, and referred to them more than once as the "college
kids."
Accordingly they decided to challenge the big sailor that very night,
and Dick was intrusted with the task. They decided to meet the man
(Donahue by name), on his own terms, so that afterward the sailors could
have no possible grounds of complaint.
In pursuance of this plan Dick went forward to the sailors' quarters
immediately after supper, and found Donahue and some of his friends
lying in their berths smoking black clay pipes and swapping yarns, as
was their custom off watch, when they felt strong enough to stand the
strain.
"And phwat's the matter now, young felly?" inquired Donahue, when he
saw Dick coming down the ladder. "Sit down awhile and make yersilf
comfortable. I was jist goin' to tell my mates o' the time Oi was
wrecked on a cannibal island an' married the chief's daughter, an----"
But here Dick interrupted him. "I'm afraid I won't have time to listen
just now," he said. "I've come from my friend Drake (the discus thrower,
you know), and he wants me to say that he thinks he can throw the best
wrestler you've got here, bar none."
"Oh, he does, does he?" growled Donahue, "all right, me bye, you just go
back and tell him that Oi'm ready for him any minute of the day, or
night too fer that matter. How does he want to run the match? Under a
lot o' fancy rules, Oi suppose."
"Not on your tintype," replied Dick, warmly, "this is to be catch as
catch can, and the best man wins. You haven't any objection to that,
have you?"
"Divil a bit," said the sailor, "thim terms suits me all right. What do
ye say mates? When shall we run off the match?"
"What would be the matter with to-morrow evening right after supper?"
inquired Dick, "you might as well take your licking then as any other
time, Donahue, and get the agony over with."
"Lickin', is ut?" said the big Irishman, grimly. "Lickin' it may be, but
it won't be me as gets it, you can lay to that. Bring on your man after
supper to-morrow evenin' at about this time, and Oi'll stretch me
muscles a little before goin' to sleep. Me heart's full o' pity for your
man, though. It seems a shame to do ut," and he grinned and gave a
tremendous and elaborate yawn.
"All right, we'll be here," replied Dick, "only if you've got any
sympathy to spare, I'd advise saving it for your own private use.
You'll need plenty of it."
"Well, that's as may be," replied Donahue, and after settling a few more
details Dick left.
Returning to his companions, he acquainted them with the result of his
mission, and Drake expressed himself as perfectly satisfied with the
conditions.
"I don't anticipate much trouble," he said. "I guess there's no doubt
but what that harp is pretty strong, but its simply a matter of muscle
against brain, and muscle doesn't usually make out very well in that
case."
"Yes, but you've got to be mighty careful," warned Dick. "That sailor is
one of the strongest men I ever saw, and is capable of giving you a good
deal of trouble. I'll be much surprised if he doesn't give you a mighty
hard tussle."
"Oh, I don't doubt that for a minute," replied Drake, "still I think I
have the goods on him. We won't have to wait very long to find out,
that's sure."
After a little further discussion in the same vein the boys dispersed
for the night.
Of course, Reddy had gathered a pretty good idea of what was going
forward, and at first he had decided to interfere, but later changed his
mind. "I guess it won't hurt the boy," he reflected, "he's tough as a
piece of armor plate, and it may do him good to give his muscles a good
work out. There's nothing like a little excitement once in a while to
tone a man up and put him in the pink of condition."
Accordingly Reddy "winked his other eye," as the saying goes, and let
the boys go on with their preparations unmolested.