Chahda Sweeps the Sea
The exchange of rifleshots lasted only a few moments without causing
casualties to either side. Scotty had fired more in warning than to
score a hit. The Spindrifters had taken cover behind the rocks, and the
protection had been enough.
Rick sized up the situation. More vintas were crowding into the cove.
There were so many now they got in each other's way. Before long the
entire cove would be jammed with vintas and the Moros would come
swarming ashore. Unfortunately, the sea was calm, with only low surf on
the eastern shore. Heavy breakers would have been helpful in keeping the
pirates busy, Rick thought.
One thing was clear as glass. They couldn't wait for the pirates to
overrun them. Rick hurried to Zircon's side. "Professor, can you carry
Shannon? We've got to get to the other side of the cove, then across the
rocks to the sea. It's a better position to defend, and we might have a
chance to get to the water when Chahda comes. I've called him. He's on
the way in."
"Rick's right," Scotty chimed in. "Get going and I'll cover you."
Zircon nodded without speaking. He stepped swiftly to Shannon's side and
picked the zoologist up. Then he followed Rick to the end of the cove
and started the climb over the tiny spit of land that separated the cove
from the open sea.
It was rough going. Tony Briotti gave Zircon a hand over the roughest
places, while Rick and Elpidio Torres stood by to assist where needed.
Scotty stayed at the edge of the cove, rifle at the ready.
The pirates hadn't gotten organized yet. The Spindrifters were still in
deep shadow and not clearly visible. Now and then a pirate took a
rifleshot, but that was more from lack of discipline than a target at
which to shoot.
Rick hoped that the Spindrift group could reach the seaward side of the
spit they were now climbing before the pirates swarmed ashore. There was
a good chance of defending the spit, particularly with Scotty's rifle.
Zircon reached the top and went over, and Rick called, "Scotty! Come
on!"
Scotty instantly turned and ran.
A hail of badly aimed rifle slugs spattered off the rock across an area
forty feet wide as the pirates shot at the sound of Rick's voice. None
came near the mark. Then, a few pirates, smarter than the rest, realized
what was going on. As Tony Briotti and the Torres boy were silhouetted
briefly against the sky at the top of the rise, the handful of alert
pirates fired. Most shots missed, but Rick heard the Filipino boy gasp.
Scotty reached Rick's side and said softly, "Let's go, and slide over
the top on your stomach."
Rick didn't need the advice. He had no intention of letting the pirates
catch him in silhouette. He crouched low and moved the few feet to the
top, found a boulder, and slipped quickly around it. Scotty followed a
moment later.
"I'm staying here at the top," Scotty said. "If any pirates try to come
after us, I'll have a clear shot. And when they get wise and come around
to the sea side, I can shoot down on them. How are we going to get out
of this?"
"You tell me," Rick suggested. "I don't know."
The pirates hadn't been long in catching on. A few vintas were already
rounding the cove point heading for the party now huddled behind
boulders on a ledge just above the sea. Rick hurried down to join the
others, leaving Scotty to guard the rear.
Tony Briotti greeted him. "Look."
Rick's eyes followed the archaeologist's pointing finger. Off to the
southeast, on a sea tinted pink from the rising sun, he saw the low
lines of the _Swift Arrow_. Chahda was on his way!
Zircon bellowed, "Watch it!" He echoed his words with the flat slap of a
pistol shot. The first vinta had reached the group and was standing only
a few feet offshore. Others were crowding in behind it. Rick got ready
to shoot again, and saw that the Torres boy, a bloody handkerchief tied
around his upper arm, was throwing rocks with his good hand. Tony
Briotti followed suit, picking up large chunks of lava and slamming them
into the pirate craft.
Rick spotted a rifleman in the nearest vinta and sent a broadhead arrow
at him. The arrow passed between the pirate's arm and side, but pinned
him by his shirt to the vinta mast. Rick quickly nocked another arrow
and waited for a clear shot.
Behind him, Scotty's rifle spoke once, twice, then a third time. Yells
from beyond the spit of land showed that the pirates had tried to come
at them overland. Rick hoped Scotty's single rifle would be enough. At
least his pal was shooting from cover, while the pirates were in the
open.
A vinta tried to approach and Rick sent an arrow into the helmsman's
shoulder. The vinta sheered off and collided with another.
It was only a question of time before the pirates were forced ashore by
their very numbers. Rick knew that his small group wouldn't last long,
not against barongs and krises. He shot again, and took a pirate
rifleman out of the action. Zircon's heavy automatic picked off the
first pirate that tried to climb ashore, and slammed him back onto his
fellows.
Tony Briotti aided the sudden pile-up of pirates with a chunk of lava
the size of a basketball. Sudden screams of pain and rage came from the
mass of struggling Moros.
Other vintas had pulled into shore farther away and Rick saw pirates
scrambling up the rock unhindered. He got two with arrows, then Scotty
fired from his vantage point and drove them to cover.
Above the Moro battle cries and screams of rage Rick suddenly heard the
horn blast of the _Swift Arrow_. He looked up in time to see Chahda
driving at full speed, parallel with the beach. As the Hindu boy drew
close, the _Swift Arrow's_ saluting cannon suddenly erupted a load of
tacks into the cluster of vintas. The pirates scrambled to cover against
this new menace as the MTB swept by. The terrific bow wave lifted the
vintas high and sent them crashing into one another. Two of them turned
over.
Rick fell back and grabbed his radio unit, quickly plugging in the
earphone. "Chahda! That was great!"
The Hindu boy sounded excited. "I make short turn now, do same thing
again, only closer. You get ready. When I toot horn, you get to water
somehow. Okay?"
"We'll try," Rick answered grimly. He beckoned to Scotty, who came down
to join him, keeping a watchful eye to the rear in case a pirate tried
to come over the rise. The two hurried to Zircon's side. Rick said
swiftly, "We've got to get to the water. Chahda's coming back right now.
We have to be ready when he toots."
Zircon handed Tony the pistol. "Keep their heads down, Tony. I'm going
to take Howard up the shore to that nearest vinta. The rest of you come
after me. Hurry it up! We'll have to swim for it, unless we can grab the
vinta."
The big scientist reached Shannon's side just as Chahda started his
second run. Again the Hindu boy opened with a blast from the saluting
cannon, then crowded close inshore, letting his bow wave drive the
vintas hard against each other and the shore. The crashing vintas sent
their crews down in heaps. The MTB was so close to shore that Rick could
see the string Chahda had rigged to trigger the cannon by remote
control.
The pirates were too busy to worry about the Spindrifters for the
moment. Zircon scooped Shannon up and hurried along the shore, ignoring
the wash from the MTB that lashed over the rocks. Rick and Scotty were
right behind him, weapons ready.
A vinta with only two pirates aboard was scraping back down over the
rock. The rest of its crew were struggling in the water.
"Get them!" Zircon yelled.
Rick caught one with an arrow just as the man rose to a sitting position
on the gunwale. The heavy shaft carried him over the side. Scotty's
rifle sent the other one to the bottom of the vinta in a heap.
The boys moved fast, grabbing the vinta before the retreating waves
carried it away. Zircon jumped in, turning as he did so. He fell, the
zoologist in his arms. The mast took the blow of the scientist's great
weight and broke off short, leaving a tangle of sail, mast, and boom.
"Get in!" Scotty yelled at Tony and Torres. His rifle barked at the
pirates further up the beach, driving them to cover again. Zircon put
Shannon down and heaved the pirate Scotty had wounded onto the shore.
Rick followed Tony and Torres into the boat, then yelled for Scotty to
push off. He grabbed the radio unit again and called, "Chahda! What do
we do now?"
"Get little way from shore and go into water. Catch rope when I come.
All must catch! You watch when I toot horn, and you see."
Rick yelled the instructions to the others, then stuffed the set back
into his pocket, dropped his bow, and took a paddle. Scotty knelt beside
him, a length of board in his hand. "Let's go, boy," he said urgently.
Under the impetus of Scotty's initial shove and the boys' paddles the
vinta moved slowly out until it was a good thirty feet from shore. The
nearest of the pirate craft moved to intercept it, four Moros at the
paddles.
Scotty stopped paddling and started shooting. The pirates dropped
paddles and dove to the bottom of the vinta.
Rick looked about anxiously. Where was Chahda?
Then he saw the MTB making a sweeping turn at the northern tip of the
island. As he watched, Chahda straightened out and the bow wave of the
MTB curled as he picked up speed.
"Better get in the water!" Rick called. "Tony, give me the pistol, and
take Shannon's bow and quiver. Better hang them both on your back.
Scotty and I will stay in the vinta and cover you!"
Tony nodded and exchanged weapons. "I'll help Zircon with Shannon. Come
on, Pete. Over the side and swim out a little way."
The Torres boy responded at once, diving headlong into the water. Tony
followed and took Shannon as Zircon handed the injured man down. Then
Zircon got into the water, too, and led the four away from the vinta.
Rick and Scotty watched the tangle of pirate craft, waiting for the next
pirate boat to get untangled and make a try for them. Chahda's bow wave
had left the pirate fleet in a shambles, some of the vintas turned over,
nearly all with sails and booms in a heap on deck or over the pirates.
One vinta extricated itself and the pirates suddenly located the boys. A
Moro raised his rifle to fire and found it smashed in his hands as
Scotty snapped off a shot. The pirate's stock splintered and the force
of the slug smashed the barrel across his face. He went down.
Then one of the pirates on shore made a try. He stood upright, rifle
poised. Rick fired with the heavy automatic. He missed. The pirate
looked at the silvery spatter of lead on a rock two inches from his
right knee and dove for cover.
Chahda flashed by, and the bow wave lifted Rick and Scotty high into the
air. They grabbed at the vinta with their free hands and had to grip
tightly to keep from being thrown as it rolled wildly. Rick snapped the
safety on and lowered the hammer to half cock, then tucked the pistol
securely in his belt. For a moment he hung on with both hands, then
called to Scotty.
"Let's hit the drink!"
Scotty was trying to sling his rifle on his back while holding on with
one hand. He gave it up and went over the side. Once in the sea, he rose
to the surface and got the rifle sling into position. Rick waited until
the vinta was on the downward slope of the backwash from the shore, then
went in headfirst. The cool water engulfed him and he twisted upward and
broke the surface.
Scotty was waiting. The two of them swam outward, to where the other
four were treading water, waiting for Chahda.
Rick heard the MTB's horn let go with a long blast, and he rose high out
of the water to look. For a moment he thought Chahda was out of control,
because the big boat was spinning in a tight circle. That could only be
done by putting one engine in full reverse and the other in full
forward!
Then the boy saw what Chahda had done. The centrifugal force of the
whirling MTB sent a fifty-gallon drum dancing across the water to the
full length of a long rope. As the barrel swung wide, Chahda
straightened out and put on speed.
"Come on!" Rick yelled at Scotty. He stretched out in the water for a
fast sprint. Leave it to Chahda! Had he tried to swing the barrel out
while traveling in a straight line, it would merely have fallen astern.
Circling the MTB at a fast speed was the only way to get the rope out
far enough from the boat to give them all a chance of grabbing it.
Rick looked up and saw that both he and Scotty were just inside the path
that the barrel was traveling. It was falling astern now that Chahda was
on a straight course, but it would still be far enough away from the
side to catch them all.
He stopped and looked at his friends, and saw that Zircon had locked his
legs around Shannon's chest and was ready. Tony and Torres were facing
the oncoming MTB, ready to grab.
"Stand by," he called to Scotty.
"Don't miss it," Scotty called back.
Chahda flashed by.
Rick had a quick glimpse of Zircon being hauled along like an oversized
surfboard, then the rope was on him. He grabbed with both hands and
braced himself for the shock. The jerk on his arms was tremendous, but
he held tight and flailed his legs to get his head above water. After
one gasping breath he managed to turn himself against the force of the
water and lay flat on his stomach. By arching his back, he brought his
face above water, and in a moment he was planing along like a water ski.
Next to him on the rope Scotty had done the same.
[Illustration: _Rick braced himself for the shock_]
Rick counted anxiously, then heaved a relieved sigh. All present! But
unless Chahda slowed down soon, Shannon would be in serious trouble.
Apparently the Hindu boy was keeping a close watch on his catch. He
dropped his speed until he was barely making headway, giving Zircon a
chance to pull Shannon up to the rope where the injured man could help
himself.
Then Chahda hauled in on the rope until Zircon was directly alongside.
The Hindu boy had thrown over the ship's boarding ladder. Zircon grabbed
it and held.
Rick and Scotty left the rope and swam rapidly toward the boat. Both had
realized that Zircon would need help. So had Tony, who was already
helping Shannon to the ladder.
Chahda lowered a line with a bowline in the end, and Zircon slipped the
loop over Shannon's shoulders and made sure it was secure under his
arms. Then the big scientist hurried up the ladder and called down,
"Hold him away from the side! Rick, get on the ladder. Scotty, come help
me. Tony, keep his feet clear."
In a moment all hands were in position. Rick wrapped one leg around a
wooden rung and slipped one arm behind the ropes. Then, as Scotty and
Zircon hauled, he held Shannon out from the boat so the injured leg
could not strike the side or a rung.
As soon as Shannon's shoulders were at the railing, Tony went by Rick
and helped pull the scientist aboard. Rick waited to give Torres a hand,
noting as the Filipino boy climbed up that the rough bandage on his
wounded arm was stained with fresh blood. The boy gave him a wide grin
as he climbed to safety.
A rifle slug interrupted Rick's answering grin. It slapped into the hull
only a few feet away. With his free hand he found his knife and severed
the rope that held the barrel, then he called, "Go, Chahda! Get out of
here!"
The roar of the twin engines was his answer. By the time he had climbed
over the side and hauled in the ladder, the MTB was reaching top speed
as Chahda put the pirate island astern.
Rick glanced back. The pirate vintas were still clustered around the
shore near the cove. Far above them, the black rock of the volcano was
pink with the rays of the newly risen sun.
For long moments Rick stared at Shan, then he turned with a grin to
shake hands with his friends.