more trouble. He was broke, anyway, and without a berth. He might just
as well try wrecking for a change--why not? Yes, he would go below and
turn in without more ado. He had forgotten the money he had taken from
the game at Journegan's, the money which belonged to the mate of the
_Sea-Horse_. No wonder Bahama Bill had jumped in after him and brought
him aboard. It was easy to see that in spite of all Bill's apparent
carelessness he took no chances as he saw them. The _Sea-Horse_ was
standing out, and there was no chance of spending the night in the
lockup. After all, it was pleasanter out here in the brisk sea air,
even in the company of such men. He went slowly below.
"Turn in the po't bunk, cap," came the mate's big voice down the cuddy.
Smart did so, and he fell asleep while the wrecking-sloop rose and
plunged into the short sea.
VI
"I reckon we're about dar, cap. Dem masts stickin' up yander air de fo'
an' main' o' de brig _Bulldog_. We skinned her clean, took a share ob
de salvage, an' cleared fo' town." Thus spoke Bahama Bill, resting one
hand upon the wheel-spokes to hold the _Sea-Horse_ and sprawling upon
the deck. The sloop was approaching the edge of the Great Bahama Bank,
and the shoaling water told of the coral bottom.
"Well, what are you going to stop here for, then?" asked Smart.
Although he had decided to cast in his lot with Bahama Bill temporarily
he was averse to wandering about on the old _Sea-Horse_ for any length
of time. He was anxious to hunt a berth as navigator upon some ship of
size. Nassau was close at hand, not fifty miles away, and there were
many ships stopping there.
"I'll tell yo', cap--I'll tell yo' jest what I want yo' to do fer me,"
said the big black. He rounded the sloop to, and Sam let go the anchor,
while the Dutchman Heldron hauled down the jib.
The _Sea-Horse_ dropped back with the sweep of the current and wind,
until she lay just over the mainmast of a sunken brig, which stuck out
of the water at a slant, the top coming clear some twenty feet to port
of her. The wreck was lying upon her bilge and heeled over at a sharp
angle, the partners of the mainmast being about ten feet below the
surface.
"I heard yo' tell Stormalong Journegan you'd been down in a
diving-suit, de kind dey use in de No'th--hey? Yo' know about rubber
suits an' pumps?" He looked keenly at Captain Smart while the seaman
told him that he had heard aright. He had been in suits, and helped
others diving in them. He thought he knew something about air-pumps.
The mate went below forward, and shortly came on deck with a complete
rubber diving-suit, helmet, and weighted shoes.
"I don't go in much fer dis kind ob divin'," said he, "but I dun paid
a fellow a hundred dollars fer de whole suit. Show me how to work it,
an' show me how dat pump works. Ef yo' do, we'll go halves--break
even--on what I think is below in dis hear wrack. I knowed yo' must
know something erbout divin'--dat is, erbout rubber divin', which ain't
divin' at all, but dat's what I want ter know."
"I thought you said the wreck was finished with?" Smart commented.
"All de money, all de coin was got out ob her, yas, suh, dat's all
straight, but dishar wrack ain't been under water more'n a few months,
an' I been thinkin' dat maybe some hard work would tell on some cases
of ammunition left in her."
"What did she have?"
"Rifles, money, and provisions for Vensuela--some ob dem
revolutionists had de charter. Dey took up de rifles, and dey took up
de money, but dey left a lot ob ammunition in her, sayin' it ain't no
good. Well, suh, I got a hole in mah shoulder where one ob dem bullets
came troo--yo mind de little fracas at Stormalong's. I dun sold a
feller a dozen boxes ob dem ca'tridges, de onliest .45's in Key West.
Dat's de reason I cum to know somethin' about dem. Ef dey kin mak' a
hole in me, dey kin mak' a hole in mos' enny one, I reckon--hey, what?"
"I see," said Smart. "And that's the reason you wanted me to help you
out? You want me to help dive for the goods. How much is there--and how
were they put up? They won't stay for ever any good under water, you
know."
"Dey were put up in tins too big to handle, goin' naked like I dives.
De cases were mighty big, an' I don't care much erbout smashin' 'em up
wid de 'tarnal things ready to go off. I knows where dey is--way back
in de lazarette 'way back aft, an' I knows dat dere's erbout a millun
ob dem."
Smart had been overhauling the suit and found it to be in fair
condition. Evidently some hard-up diver had sold out to Bahama Bill,
who always went naked as deep as three or four fathoms, and could stay
long enough under to do the ordinary work required of divers upon
vessels on the reef. He could make two or three minutes' work at short
intervals, and being a mighty man, the strain told upon him very little
indeed.
The rubber part of the suit was just about right for a man of Smart's
build. It would not begin to go upon the giant frame of Bahama Bill.
The great mate of the wrecker very well knew it, and he knew also that
he could never get any of his men to go down in it. They knew nothing
about such gear, and the very sight of it filled them with dread. It
was up to Captain Smart to make the effort, if effort there was to be
made.
In the meantime Bahama Bill would go down once or twice to locate the
place in the wreck to work upon. It would require careful work not to
explode the cases in blowing out a hole in the bilge to make an entry;
further, it was impossible to think of going down the hatchway aft, for
the distance was too great.
It was upon this vessel that the mate of the _Sea-Horse_ had had
trouble before, being chased into her by a shark and barely escaping
with his life. He knew her pretty well, and could locate the ammunition
in a couple of dives. After that Smart could take his time in four
fathoms and work the stuff out to hoist aboard, using as little
dynamite as possible.
"How about the pump?" asked Smart, after he had overhauled the suit.
The machine was brought on deck. It was dirty and much out of order,
but after an hour's work he had it so it could be relied upon for the
shallow water. For greater pressure than four fathoms he would not have
cared to test it with himself upon the bottom.
While he was refitting it the mate stripped and stood upon the rail
ready for the plunge. The water was clear and the bottom could plainly
be seen, the varicoloured marine growths making it most beautiful.
Bahama Bill dropped outboard, and went down with a plunge so light that
he hardly disturbed the surface. The others, watching, saw him swim
rapidly down under the bends of the wrecked ship, leaving a thin trail
of bubbles.
He was only down a few moments this dive, and came rising rapidly to
the surface, his ugly face showing through the clear liquid, his eyes
wide open and gazing upward.
"Gimme a piece ob chalk, Sam," he said, as he came into the air again.
A piece was handed him, and he went below again and marked the spot
where the hole would be blown in the vessel's side, and in the meantime
Smart donned the diving-suit.
The Dutchman Heldron had never even seen a suit of this kind before,
and his messmate Sam gazed at it with a sort of superstitious dread.
"Yo' sure ain't goin' under in that outfit, cap?" he protested, as
Smart put on the shoes weighing fully twenty pounds apiece. "Man, them
slippers will sure hold you to the bottom!"
"I guess you dummies will have sense enough to haul me up when I pull
the line and signal," remarked Smart. "Now, give me the helmet and
screw down these bolts." He had the head-piece on by the time Bahama
Bill came on deck and surveyed the proceedings.
"I'll have to trust you to tend the lines," said Smart to the black
giant. "Remember, now, one strong pull and you haul me up--not quickly
unless I give three quick pulls afterward. Two pulls is to slack away,
one on the hose is to give me more air, and two to give me less.
Understand?"
Bahama Bill wiped the water out of his bleary eyes and nodded. He
apparently had some misgivings about the concern, but he was far too
careless of human life to express them. He coupled up the air-hose and
started the pump, and the whistling inside the helmet told of the wind
coming in behind the diver's head.
Smart held the front glass ready, and after being satisfied that the
machine was working, he had Sam screw it on and Captain Smart was cut
off from the wrecker's crew, his face showing dimly through the thick
glass plate. The heavy leaden belt was fastened tightly about his
waist and he stepped over the rail on to the little side ladder, and
so overboard, letting himself slowly down until he swung clear of the
sloop's side. Then he was lowered away and went to the bottom, Bahama
Bill slacking off the life-line and hose until he saw him standing upon
the coral bank some twenty-five feet below the wrecker's deck.
Heldron turned the air-pump and Sam made fast the charge of dynamite,
fixing the wires of a "Farmer's Machine" into the mercury-exploder and
wrapping the whole tightly in canvas made fast with marline, the whole
weighted so that it would sink quickly.
He lowered the charge, and saw Smart's hand go out and receive it. Then
the diver disappeared under the bilge of the wreck, leaving a thin
trail of boiling water just over his head to tell of the escapement of
the air.
VII
Having fixed the charge where the mate had marked the surface of the
wreck, Smart started to walk away. The light was strong in the clear
water, and he gazed about him at the beautiful coral formations. The
heavy growths took on many-coloured hues, and he walked out among them
to admire them as one would the scenery on shore.
An albacore darted past like a flash of silver light. In the shadow of
a huge sponge an enormous grouper took shelter, his eyes sticking out
and gazing unwinkingly at the apparition of the man upon the bottom.
Smart went toward him and gave him a gentle poke, and in doing so gave
the lines a sudden jerk. Instantly he was lifted off his feet and drawn
upward, for Bahama Bill had felt the pull, and lost no time hauling his
man aboard. Luckily the depth was not great, or the sudden change of
pressure would have hurt.
Smart came to the side gesticulating wildly, and the more he waved his
hands the quicker he was yanked up. In a moment the mate had him on
deck, and was unscrewing the front glass.
"What's de matter, cap?" he asked anxiously, when the diver's face
appeared.
"Nothing; you fellows make me tired!" said Smart. "Go ahead and fire
the charge."
The spark was sent along the wire, and a dull crack sounded from below.
The water rose in a boiling mass astern, and spread out, churning and
bubbling. It was not a large charge, and it had not been necessary to
move the sloop.
Smart started Heldron again at the pump, and screwed on the glass.
Then, taking his tools and a line, he went back to the work below.
The hole blown in the wrecked hull was quite large for the amount of
powder used, but the splintered edges made it necessary to be careful
on entering, on account of the air-hose and line. A swirling of
disturbed water still made the light bad, but Smart, feeling the edges
with his hand, stepped within the darkness, and proceeded to explore
the interior of the lost ship.
He climbed slowly upward, dragging his lines after him, and stumbling
over a mass of timber which obstructed the way. He was in the
after-part of the brig, the part where the dead wood, narrowing toward
the stern-post, made a difficult passage to go through. He went along
carefully, feeling for dangerous projections which might entangle his
air-hose. The ammunition was supposed to be in the lazarette, under
the cabin flooring, and he made his way in this direction.
Owing to the darkness, he was some time locating anything in the way
of cases. Finally, however, he felt the square ends of boxes, and made
haste to break one open. There were cans of tomatoes, or some kind of
food, in the first one, and he felt along farther. Then he came in
contact with a bulkhead. As it was inky dark below in the bilge of the
sunken ship, he had to do all his work by means of the sense of touch
alone. He couldn't see his own hand upon the glass of his helmet.
Something brushed against him and nearly upset him. It gave him an
uncomfortable feeling, and a longing for the sunshine upon the sea
floor of the Bank. He was not of a nervous temperament, and he knew
that some sea denizen had evidently made the brig his home. Perhaps
some spawning grouper or huge jew-fish.
Feeling along the bulkhead, he came upon a lot of small boxes. One
of these he took under his arm and backed slowly out of the hole
and into the clear water of the Bank. He laid the box upon the sea
floor, and broke the covering with his hammer, hitting it lightly, the
resisting power of the surrounding medium making it difficult even to
strike at all. He tore away the fragments of the lid, and saw rows of
cartridge-clips, the whole fixed and packed carefully. Making fast a
line to the case, he signalled to hoist away, and brought his find to
the surface.
The stuff proved to be all right. On breaking open a cartridge, the
powder appeared dry, in spite of the long submergence, showing how
carefully the ammunition had been put up. The dipping of the bullets
into tallow had made the cartridges absolutely airtight, and they were
as good as new.
The usual cost of ammunition was about two cents per cartridge
wholesale. Half a million rounds would make quite a fortune, or
something in the neighbourhood of ten thousand dollars to divide
between himself and the black mate. Yes, it had been worth while, after
all. Wrecking was not such a bad thing, if there was anything worth
wrecking, and he wondered how the salvors of the brig had overlooked
such a valuable asset. Even if he had to divide with the former
owners--which he probably would not--he would have something worth
going below for.
"Git de stuff--we'll ship him to Noo York," said Bill. "Ought to cl'ar
a bit on dis hear deal. Dey's got de Winchester mark on dem, an' dat
goes wid de agents, so do de Union ca'tridge. Git de stuff outen her,
cap, fo' we cayn't stay here long--it's comin' on bad befo' dark, an'
dere'll be too much sea to work ag'in fer a week."
Smart lost no time getting back to the lazarette of the brig. He took
his line with him, and, after fastening it to some of the cases, he
signalled to haul away.
Case after case he removed in this manner, and, after being below
nearly an hour, he began to feel the effects of the pressure. He
concluded to go up and rest for a short time before finishing the job.
He hauled a lot of boxes together and lashed them firmly with a line,
and signalled to haul away. He felt the pull, the tautening of the
rope, and the cases slipped from under his hand. He straightened up and
started to follow.
Then he felt the whole side of the ship suddenly fall toward him. It
seemed like a mass of stuff, chest upon chest, toppling down upon him,
and, before he could make even the slightest movement to get away, the
whole pile of cases rolled over him like a great wave.
He was thrown upon his back, and a heavy weight rested upon the lower
part of his body. He tried to move, and found himself jammed fast.
Feeling nervously for his life-line and hose, he saw they were clear.
He would not suffocate for awhile, anyway. He pulled lustily upon his
life-line, and felt the strain of Bill's strength upon it, but it
failed to move him. He was afraid the line would cut into his suit with
the enormous strain.
He pulled the signal to slack away, but the men above were evidently
excited, and they pulled all the harder. Then came a sudden slacking.
He reached up and drew in the end of the life-line. It had parted near
his helmet.
In the blackness of the sunken wreck Smart felt his nerve going. It was
a bad place to have trouble. There was no other suit, no other machine
or outfit for a man to go to his assistance. He might live for an hour
longer, or perhaps even two, but the end seemed certain unless he could
free himself from the mass of cargo which had so suddenly piled down
upon him.
It had been one of those accidents which are likely to happen to any
one working in the darkness of a ship's hold where the cargo is not
known, or not located by previous knowledge of the ship's loading.
He had evidently unshipped some of the ammunition-cases, and brought
a mass of boxes of both provisions and cartridges upon him like an
avalanche. His right arm was free, but his left was crushed under some
mighty weight, and hurt him painfully. The air still whistled into his
head-piece, showing that Heldron was working the pump steadily.
Bahama Bill was a cool hand, a man used to desperate emergencies, and
Smart felt that the giant mate of the _Sea-Horse_ would do what he
could to set him free. He knew the black diver to be a mighty swimmer.
He had cause to remember that fact, but it was far away from the
surface where he now lay, and it looked as if he would have to pass in,
to die the terrible death of the lost diver.
His imagination held him thinking, in spite of the pain and weight upon
him. He could breathe easily, and the numbing effect of the pressure
made his sufferings less than otherwise. He tried again and again to
shift some of the cases, straining until the stars flashed into the
darkness before him. It was useless. He could not budge anything.
The minutes seemed hours, and he began at last to feel the drowsy
effect of the air too long driven into his lungs. He saw the beach, the
white coral sand--then he was again at Key West.
VIII
Upon the deck of the _Sea-Horse_ the men gazed blankly at each other
when Bahama Bill hauled up the life-line, parted far below. Heldron
stopped pumping, and Sam gave an exclamation.
"Keep dat pump workin'; keep it goin', I tell yo'," snapped the black
mate, turning upon his man.
Heldron instantly turned away again, rapidly, sending the air below.
"Name ob de Lord--now whatcher make wid dat?" said Bill, looking at Sam.
"Gone fer sure," said Sam. "I wouldn't go down in them lead shoes for
no money. I done knowed something like this would happen."
"I t'ink I don't need to give no more air, den," said Heldron.
"You turn dat pump, yo' blamed Dutchman, or I'll turn yo' hide
wrong-side out, yo' hear me," snarled the mate. "Gimme a heavy line,
Sam; gimme something I can't break--jump, yo' Conch!"
"Goin' after him?" asked Sam, hauling the end of the mainsheet clear to
the rail. "I don't think you kin get him. Better leave him down; them
shoes is enough to hold him. I'd hate to lose the cap'n, but he's gone
for sure!"
The huge form of the mate balanced for an instant upon the rail. He
cleared enough line to take to the bottom, and had Sam stand with
coils of it ready to pay out. Then down he went with the end of it,
swimming strongly for the hole in the bilge of the brig. The opening
showed before him, but he hesitated not a moment. He swam straight
into the black hole, butting his head against the carlines under the
half-deck, but keeping straight as he could for the diver by following
the air-hose with his hand.
It was a long swim to the place where Smart lay. A full minute had
been taken up before the mate felt the contact of the metal helmet. He
passed the heavy line under it, but found his wind giving way under the
strain. Quickly following the air-hose out, he struggled for the clear
water, and came to the surface with a blow like a grampus. He had been
down two minutes and a half.
Sam seized his hand and helped him aboard, where he lay upon the deck,
bleeding, a slight trickle from the corner of his ugly mouth and from
his nose.
"You can't make it, Bill," Sam declared. "Let the poor devil go. You
done the best you could."
"I stop now wid de air, hey? Wat you says, Mr. Bill?"
Heldron's query aroused Bahama Bill. "If you slack up on dat pump, yo'
dies a wuss death 'n Cap'n Smart," he said wearily, and in an even
tone. It was evident that the strain had been hard on him, but he was
game.
In a minute he sat up.
"I get him dis hear time," he growled, shaking himself and standing
upon the rail again.
His giant black body twitched, the huge muscles under the ebony skin
worked, flowing, contracting, and slacking up, making a wavelike
motion, but showing the mighty power which lay in his frame. He was
getting worked up to a nervous pitch, and the trembling was not from
weakness. It was the gathering power in his thews which was beginning
to work.
He flung far out, and dropped straight downward with a pitch-pole
plunge, going furiously down like some monstrous sea-demon. Only a
flash of his black body showed before he had turned the bend, and was
following the air-hose into the hole.
This time he saved many seconds. He reached the form of Smart, and
caught the end of the mainsheet about him, quickly slipping a hitch.
Then he hauled himself out into the sunshine again, and came rising
like a fish to the surface. In a moment he was back aboard the
_Sea-Horse_, and then he spoke.
"Git on to dat line, yo', Sam ... git hold quick ... I got him ... give
him de air, yo' Dutchman. ... An' now fer a heave what is a heave."
With a mighty effort the two men threw their whole weight upon the
line. It held. Nothing gave for a moment. Bahama Bill, bracing his
naked feet upon the rail, bent his mighty loins, and took a deep
breath.
"Heave-ho!" he bellowed, and set his muscles to the strain.
Sam lifted with all his force. Almost instantly the two of them plunged
backward, and fell over each other on deck. The line became slack, but
before they could get to their feet, Heldron had left the pump and was
hauling in hand-over-hand, and in a moment the form of Smart showed
below the surface.
The black mate sprang to his feet and gave the Dutchman a cuff which
sent him over the side, and, seizing the line, he hauled the limp form
of the diver on deck quicker than it takes to tell it. In a moment he
had the glass off the helmet, and was staring into the white face of
the insensible seaman.
"Get somethin' to drink--quick," he said.
Sam rushed for a dipper of water, and, upon bringing it, was knocked
over the head with it for his pains.
"Yo' bring me somethin'--quick--yo' understand," roared the mate. "I
knows yo' got some forrads--now, then, jump!"
Sam quickly brought a bottle of gin, half-full. Smart had some of the
fiery liquid poured between his lips. Then Heldron, who had scrambled
back aboard, cursing and spluttering, came aft, and helped them to get
off the suit.
It was half an hour afterward before the captain came around enough to
tell what had happened. His left arm was badly mashed, but not broken.
The heavy suit had not been cut through, and to this fact he owed his
life. His legs were stiff and sore from the heavy weight which had lain
upon them, but he was otherwise uninjured.
"I reckon yo'll be able to go down ag'in in a little while," said the
mate. "We got most of the stuff, I reckon, but we might as well take
all dat's dere."
"How many cases have we?" asked Smart.
"'Bout fifty--nearly a million rounds, an' all good."
"Well, that's all we'll get to-day," said Smart, "unless you want to
take a try at it."
"Toe bad, toe bad," muttered Bahama Bill. "I'se sho sorry you's sech
a puny little man, cap, but de wedder is gittin' bad, ennyways, an' I
reckon we might as well make a slant fer Nassau."
"That'll about suit me, all right," said Smart.
XI
The Iconoclast
The wrecking-sloop _Sea-Horse_ came smashing the seas headlong past
Fowey Rocks, heading for the channel over the reef into Bay Biscayne.
She had left Nassau the day before, and had made a record run across
the Gulf Stream, carrying sail through a heavy head sea, which flew
in a storm of white water over her bows and weather-rail all day,
making the deck almost uninhabitable. Bahama Bill, otherwise known
as Bill Haskins, wrecker and sponger, mate and half-owner, held the
wheel-spokes, and sat back upon the edge of the wheel-gear, bracing one
foot to leeward. Sam, a Conch, and Heldron, a Dutchman, both sailors
and able seamen, lounged in the lee of the cabin-scuttle and smoked,
their oilskins streaming water, but loosened on account of the warmth
of the air. Captain Smart, late of the Dunn schooner wrecked just
below Carysfort Reef, on a cruise to Boca Grande Pass for tarpon, sat
in the doorway of the companionway and watched the giant mate of the
_Sea-Horse_ hold the flying sloop on her course with one powerful hand,
while with the other he shielded his pipe from the spray.
Smart was thinking over the strange events which happened to bring him
in contact with the wreckers: the loss of his schooner caused by the
leak made by Bahama Bill; the loss of his position as officer on the
liner he had left to take command of the yacht, and the strange fight
in the saloon at Key West, which ended in his going with the giant
black to keep out of trouble.