“Yes, I heard. I must get a dry change.” I went straight to my room,
Pierce following on my heels.
“Freddy,” I said, as quietly as I could, “you had better get up to
your wireless and send word to any ship within call to relay word to
the nearest authorities that we need help.”
He merely stared at me without moving.
“Go on,” I said. “Send that message at once.”
“Aw, Brains,” he said gently. “Where’s your thinker; you know better’n
that.”
“Do as I tell you. Don’t wait to hear the story; start your wireless
at once.”
“You’re up in the air forty miles,” was his reply. “If you wasn’t
you’d know that Brack’d never leave me here on the yacht without
putting the wireless out of business.”
“What!”
“Yep. When they all turned up missing this morning, you with ’em, and
there hadn’t been anything said about it, I began to feel kind of cold
below the ankles and I sneaked up to slip some juice into the air and
try to put the revenue-cutter, _Bear_, hep to something doing here.
She ought to be down this way just now. Well, nothing doing. The whole
works are gone; Brack’s put the wireless outfit on the bum.”
Somehow I managed to be calm.
“Where’s Wilson?”
Pierce’s face clouded.
“A dirty shame! Wilson’s laid up. Garvin’s gun went off accidentally
when they were coming on board and the bullet went through Wilson’s
leg below the knee.”
“Riordan?”
“He’s left in charge; yep. Chanler’s keeping him in his room to talk
to. The nigger’s here, too. He had a row with Garvin last night and
they left him behind to do scullion work. Simmons is sleeping.”
“Chanler?”
“He’s coming around. Cold sober, but shaky.”
“Dr. Olson?”
“Went back with Brack on the second trip. Brack had him take his case
and a lot of stuff, too.”
“You mean that the captain came after Dr. Olson?”
“Yep. And Miss Baldwin. He made two trips, you know. First he came
back early in the morning for breakfast, and said they’d found the
mine, and you were staying up there to look around. He said we’d all
go up after awhile. Then they went away. At noon they came back again.
Then was when Doc’ Olson and Miss Baldwin went with him. I tried to
horn myself in but he details me to split the watches with Riordan and
tells Riordan to see I stay on board. She—Miss Baldwin—asked if I
couldn’t go along, and he said no. Then she got into the boat, like
she didn’t know whether she wanted to or not, and they pulled away.
And, Brains, I’m afraid—I got a hunch he’s got her going south.”
“Got who? Going where?” I asked, not comprehending his slang.
“Got Miss Baldwin—going south. You know: falling for him.” Then as my
expression continued to betray my lack of comprehension, “Brack can
fool any woman, and he’s got her charmed.”
The pistol which the old miner had given me came to sight at that
moment as I undressed, and Pierce gasped.
“You—packing a gat’!” he exclaimed. “What’s happened? Where have you
been if you haven’t been up there with the crew?”
I continued my dressing without replying. When completed I again
placed the pistol out of sight within my shirt.
“We’ll go and see Wilson,” I said. “Then I’ll only have to tell my
story once.”