THE STORM
Despite his lack of years, Captain Glenn was an able skipper; otherwise
he would not have been in command of the Albatross. He acted promptly
and with decision.
Men dashed forward and aft as Frank and Jack repeated the captain's
commands. Everything was made secure before the storm broke and
Captain Glenn ordered all men not needed on deck below. The helmsman
had lashed himself to the wheel. Everything was as snug as it could be
made aboard the Albatross.
Captain Glenn signaled the engine room for five knots.
"We'll have to slow down," he explained to Jack.
"No need of rushing blindly into the storm. It's coming from the
northeast. We'll hold to our course as well as possible. The
Albatross has weathered many a hard gale. Guess we will come through
this all right."
The words had hardly left his mouth when the gale descended with the
utmost fury. The Albatross keeled to port until her side almost
touched the water. Jack, Frank and the captain saved themselves from
being washed overboard by seizing the rail and clutching it with all
their strength. As the ship righted itself, only to keel far to
starboard the next minute, a deluge of water covered the deck.
Captain Glenn bellowed a hoarse command to Jack and Frank.
"Below and get into your oilskins!" he shouted.
The two lads struggled along the deck holding fast to whatever they
could find. The ship rocked and dipped like a drunken man. Frank and
Jack clambered into their oilskins with difficulty and then made their
way back to the bridge, where Captain Glenn stood drenched to the
skin.
The latter turned the bridge over to Jack while he went below for dry
clothes and his own oilskins.
"Keep her on her course!" he shouted. "We're in no danger."
Jack obeyed. Captain Glenn returned a short time later and again
assumed command.
All that day the gale raged and with the coming of night it showed no
signs of abatement. So far the Albatross had plowed through the
turbulent sea without injury, but it was plain to Jack and Frank that
Captain Glenn was growing uneasy.
"This gale must stop soon or we'll have trouble," he shouted. "A ship
can stand only so much pounding and you can hear the Albatross
straining now."
It was true. Even above the roar of the gale the lads could hear the
creaking of the timbers as the Albatross fought her way through the
raging sea.
A man appeared from below.
"Sprung a leak forward, sir!" he shouted.
"Mr. Chadwick!" commanded Captain Glenn. "Get below and find out from
the carpenter how bad the leak is."
Frank returned fifteen minutes later.
"Not bad, sir," he reported. "Carpenter says he can fix it in two
hours. Could do it in half an hour if it weren't for the storm."
Captain Glenn nodded but made no audible reply.
At midnight the gale was still raging. Captain Glenn, tired out,
announced that he was going below to get "forty winks." Jack took the
bridge.
"Call me if anything happens," were the commander's last words as he
went below.
Along toward four o'clock a man emerged from below and fought his way
toward the bridge.
"Leak in the main compartment aft, sir," he reported to Jack.
Jack ordered Frank below to learn the extent of the damage.
"Pretty bad this time, Jack," said Frank, reporting a few minutes
later. "We're shipping water by the gallon. Carpenter says he can't
do a thing. However, one compartment more or less won't hurt. She'll
still float."
"All right," Jack replied. "I won't awake Captain Glenn until I have
to."
An hour later Captain Glenn, greatly refreshed, reappeared on deck.
Jack reported the damage. Captain Glenn accepted the bad news with a
nod, summoned Williams, the fourth officer, and ordered Jack and Frank
below.
"Get some sleep," he shouted to make himself heard above the roaring of
the wind. "I'll call you if you're needed."
The two lads descended to their quarters. It had been many hours since
they had slept and in spite of the rolling and pitching of the ship
they were asleep the moment they touched their bunks.
And as they slept the gale raged.
On the evening of the second night, with the gale still at its height,
Captain Glenn said, "Six more hours of this and we are done for."
At that time the Albatross was leaking badly in a dozen places. The
engineer was having trouble with his engines. The rolling and pitching
of the ship made it almost impossible to stand.
Suddenly the ship gave a great lurch, keeled over, righted, and then
wallowed in the trough of the sea.
"Great Scott!" ejaculated Frank. "Now what?"
"Rudder broken, sir," said the helmsman quietly.
Frank threw up his hands in a gesture of dismay. "That settles it," he
declared.
"Out with the life boats!" cried Captain Glenn.
"All hands on deck."
The men needed no urging. The life boats were made ready, the men the
while clinging to whatever support offered itself. Suddenly there was
a shrill scream aft, followed by a cry: "Man overboard!"
Captain Glenn shrugged his shoulders.
"Can't be helped," he said. "He's just beating us a little; that's
all."
The commander of the Albatross hesitated to give the command to lower
the boats. He knew that the odds were a hundred to one that the boats
would not live in such a sea. While the Albatross held together they
were safer aboard the vessel.
Came a wave sweeping over the ship mightier than the rest. The
Albatross dipped clear to the sea. For a moment it seemed that she
must go under; but she righted herself with an effort.
"Thought we were gone for that time!" shouted Captain Glenn. "She
won't survive another. Lower away the boats, men."
Half a dozen men had been washed overboard by the last mighty deluge;
the others now sprang to the boats and lowered them. Several were
swamped as they hit the water, and there were not more than half a
dozen that put off from the ship.
In the last boat were Frank, Jack and Captain Glenn and the fourth
officer, Williams.
The little boat hit the water with a splash and all but turned over.
"Shove away from the ship!" cried Captain Glenn to the two sailors who
manned the boat--the others had been lost. The sailors, Timothy and
Allen by names, obeyed and then all took to their oars.
The little boat, one moment riding the crest of the waves, the next
wallowing in the trough of the sea, moved away bravely though every
moment it seemed in imminent danger of capsizing. It took skillful
handling by Captain Glenn--the only man not at the oars--to keep
the craft right side up.
It was so dark there on the sea that it was impossible for the
occupants of the boat to tell whether or not others had escaped the
ship safely.
"This storm can't last much longer, sir!" shouted Jack.
"If it does, we are wasting energy rowing," said Frank quietly.
"We'll row along as long as we can," said Captain Glenn. "We've been
blown so far off our course that there is no telling where we are. It
wouldn't surprise me if we had been blown off the coast of South
America."
"Impossible, sir," ejaculated Jack.
"Maybe so," replied Captain Glenn. "I'm just guessing. Still, it
wouldn't surprise me a bit."
Suddenly the raging wind ceased. The waves still rose to mighty
heights, but the wind was stilled almost to a zephyr and the little
boat rode the swells gently.
"It's over, sir!" shouted Frank.
"So it is," said Captain Glenn, "but it is still dark. Strike a match
someone and learn the hour."
Jack did so.
"Three thirty, sir," he said.
"Morning or afternoon?" demanded Frank, who seemed to have lost track
of the time entirely.
"Morning, of course," said Jack.
"Can't see the reason for that 'of course,'" mumbled Frank.
"It should be light in half an hour," said Captain Glenn. "Then we may
see whether any of the others are near."
They waited silently. The sea grew calmer and calmer; and at last the
light came.
The occupants of the boat stood up and scanned the ocean. There was
nothing that the eye could see save water. There was no sign of the
Albatross nor other of the small boats.
"Poor fellows!" said Jack.
At that moment Frank, his eyes sharper than those of the others, gave
an exclamation. "Land ahead!" he shouted.