THE DERELICT
"Beat this if you can, fellows," said Tom, as, next morning, lazily
stretched in his steamer chair on the deck of the _Fearless_, his eyes
took in with delight the broad expanse of the ocean, with its heaving,
green billows, capped with feathery foam of dazzling whiteness; the
arching blue of the heavens, across which floated soft, gray clouds,
which, pierced through and through by the brilliant sunshine, seemed as
transparent as a gossamer veil. A sea-gull, rising suddenly from the
crest of a wave, soared high with gracefully waving wings; then suddenly
turning, swooped downward with the speed of an arrow, disappearing for a
moment beneath the wave, rose again, triumphant, with a fish in its
talons, and swept majestically skyward.
Fountains of spray cast up by the swiftly moving ship gleamed and
flashed in the sunshine and fell to the deck in myriad diamonds.
Tom's pleasure was fully shared by his comrades, and surely in contrast
to the storm and stress and darkness of yesterday, the sunshine and
calm and beauty of this matchless day was enough to fill them with
keenest delight. The swift motion of the good ship that had so gallantly
weathered the terrible storm, the sea air which, freighted with salt
spray as it rushed against their faces made the flesh tingle, the
brilliant sunshine,--all combined to make this one of the happiest
mornings of their lives.
From sheer exuberance of joy Dick started singing
"A life on the ocean wave,"
in which the others joined. As the last notes died away they began to
talk of yesterday's storm. Something that Tom said reminded Dick of an
exciting sea story he had read, and, complying with Tom's eager "Tell us
about it," he was soon in the midst of the yarn, the boys listening with
eager delight. Others, seeing their absorbed interest, drifted up until
Dick had quite an audience of interested listeners.
This story was followed by others, and one of the passengers had just
finished describing the very narrow escape of a boatload of sailors who
were being drawn to destruction by the dying struggles of an enormous
whale which they had harpooned, when Bert, who, while he listened,
had been idly watching a sail which had appeared above the horizon,
suddenly sprang to his feet in great excitement and drew everybody's
attention.
"What is it? what is it?" cried Tom, catching the excitement and also
springing to his feet.
"Why," Bert answered, "look at that ship to starboard. I've been
watching her for some time and she acts differently from any ship I ever
saw. At first she seemed to be sailing a little distance and then back
again in a sort of zig-zag course, but just a minute ago she turned
side-on toward us, and now she looks as if she were veering from one
point of the compass to another without any attempt at steering."
Following his gaze, all saw with intense surprise the ship, as Bert had
said, apparently without guidance and drifting aimlessly.
After the first moments of startled silence, exclamations and questions
broke forth on all sides.
"Well, well, what a most extraordinary thing!" "What ship can she be?"
"She looks like a schooner." "Why does she drift in that aimless
fashion?" "What can be the matter with her?"
By this time glasses had been brought. Eager eyes scanned the strange
ship from stem to stern, and one of the gazers exclaimed:
"She certainly doesn't seem to have anyone at her wheel. She is
evidently at the mercy of the sea."
This set everyone to talking at once and the greatest excitement
reigned. Everyone crowded to the side of the ship to get a better view.
The stranger seemed to be about three miles away, but, as the distance
lessened between her and the _Fearless_, the excitement on board
increased, and as, even with the glasses, no sign of living creature
could be seen, the sense of mystery deepened.
When, at last, the captain announced that he would send a boat out to
speak the strange ship, a murmur of satisfaction was heard on every
side. At the call for volunteers there was no lack of response and our
boys were among them.
It was with breathless delight that they heard their names called, and
tumbled with others into the boat.
"Here's luck," Dick exulted as he scrambled to his place. The others
agreed with him. But, if they had expected a pleasure trip, they were
quickly undeceived. Standing on the deck of a great ship like the
_Fearless_ is a very different thing from sitting in a small boat, with
the waves which, from the ship's deck had looked only moderately large,
now piling up into a great, green wall in front of them, looking as if
it must inevitably fall upon and crush them.
That the wave did not conquer them, but that the boat mounted to the top
of it, seemed little short of a miracle; and then, after poising for a
moment at the top, the plunge down the other side of that green wall,
seemed an equally sure way to destruction. They were glad indeed to
remember that the boat was in the hands of experienced and capable
seamen. Altogether, they were not sorry when, by the slowing up of the
speed, they knew that they were nearing their goal and saw the ship that
had so interested them looming up before them.
Her name, _The Aurora_, flashed at them in great golden letters from her
prow. She was a fair-sized schooner in first-class condition outwardly,
and calling for a crew of eighteen or twenty beside the captain and
officers; but, where were they now? Sure enough, there was no one at the
wheel nor anywhere about the decks. Were they below? If so, what was the
desperate need or urgent business that could hold officers and crew
below decks while their ship, unguarded, her rudder banging noisily back
and forth, lay, uncontrolled, upon the waves?
Well, they from the _Fearless_ were here to answer these questions if
they could, and preparations were made to go on board. As they drew
closer they realized that it was going to be a very difficult task to
gain her deck. With the wheel unmanned she broached to and fro with
every current and wave motion, and, constantly veering from point to
point, made it seemingly impossible to mount her decks. A little
assistance from on board would have helped them greatly, but, though
they hailed her again and again, she made no response.
After repeated unsuccessful efforts one of the sailors, more agile than
the others, succeeded in springing into and grasping the rudder chains,
and hauling himself on deck. Catching up a rope that lay near him, he
cast it to his shipmates and, by easing and adjusting the boat as much
as possible to the erratic heaving and plunging of the ship, made it
possible for the others to climb on board. Very soon all, except two
sailors who, much to their disgust, were left in charge of the boat,
were standing together on the steamer's deck.
With bated breath they stood for many minutes, looking about them in
wide-eyed amazement, but, as if by common instinct, not an audible sound
was heard, nor even a whispered word. A silence so intense as to make
itself felt, a sense of overwhelming loneliness and solitude held them
motionless. It was as if they stood in the presence of the dead. Here
was the body, this big schooner, but the soul had fled. The rush of
feet, the quick word of command, the hearty "Aye, aye, sir," in
response, the noise of gear and tackle, of ropes slapping on the deck,
the songs of the sailors as they go lustily about their work,--all the
sounds that make up the life of a ship were stilled, and no sound but
the splashing of the waves against her sides broke the awesome silence.
At last, under the direction of Mr. Collins, four men from the
_Fearless_ began to search the deck for some solution of the mystery,
and not one among them was conscious of the fact that he moved about on
his toes in the presence of this awe-inspiring silence.
Their search of the deck revealed nothing. Everything seemed undisturbed.
The life-boats and even the little dinghy were in their places. All was
perfectly ship-shape, but over everything was the silence of desertion.
While the deck was being searched by the four men, the others, including
Bert and Dick and Tom, went below, for, here in the cabin, they hoped
to find some solution of the mystery. But again they found the same
chilling silence, the same absolute desertion.
In the state-rooms the bunks were made up and all was in order. An
uncompleted letter lay on the captain's table and an open book lay
face-downward on the bed. In the cabin the only sign of haste or
disturbance was found. The table was set for breakfast with the food
upon it only partly eaten. Chairs were pushed back from it and one was
overturned. A handkerchief lay on the floor as if hastily dropped, but
there was no further sign of panic or of any struggle.
Someone suggested that the storm had driven them away in panic. Mr.
Collins soon proved to them the fallacy of that supposition by calling
attention to an unfinished garment which lay on a sewing machine in one
of the state-rooms. A thimble and spool of cotton lay beside it. In a
storm these things would inevitably have been thrown to the floor. He
showed them further that the breakfast things on the table were in their
places and not overturned as they must have been in the storm. Then,
too, the coffee in the urn was barely cold, and the fire in the galley
stove was still burning. This proved conclusively that up to almost the
last moment before the desertion of the ship, all was normal and
peaceful on board. "And," he continued, "if there were nothing else the
last entry in the ship's log would show that she was not deserted until
after the storm."
While everyone listened with keenest interest, he read them the account
entered there of the storm, the gallant behavior of the _Aurora_, and
the safety of all on board. The entry was made with the kind of ink that
writes blue but afterwards turns black, and the officer called their
attention to the fact that the ink was not yet black.
"Why," said he, "they must at this moment be only a very few miles from
the ship. Did anyone ever hear of anything like this?" wondered Dick.
"Such a little while ago, and absolutely nothing to show why they went.
I'd give a whole lot to know."
"Well, anyway, it is evident," said Bert as they examined the galley,
"that it was not hunger or thirst that drove them away," and he pointed
to the shelves of the pantry, well stocked with meats and vegetables and
fruits, and lifted the cover from the water tank and showed it full of
sweet water.
With the feeling of wonder and amazement growing upon them, they
examined every corner of the ship from deck to hold, but found no sign
of living creature, nor any clue to the profound mystery. Cold shivers
began to run up and down their spines.
"What on earth or sea," said the irrepressible Tom, voicing the inmost
thought of every mind, "could have driven a company of men to abandon a
ship in such perfect condition as this schooner is?" and again all stood
silent in a last effort to solve the problem.
"Well," said Mr. Collins, "we have made a most thorough search and
nothing can be gained by remaining here longer." So, only waiting to
procure the ship's log that he had laid upon the table, he led the way
to the deck. With a last look about them, in the vain hope of finding
some living creature, they clambered into the boat and rowed back to
the _Fearless_.
On the way over, everyone was too oppressed for further conversation,
but as they neared the _Fearless_ their faces brightened; and as they
stood once more upon her decks, with the eager people crowding about
them, it seemed good, after the desolation they had witnessed, to be on
board a live ship once more.
"This is surely a most wonderful and mysterious thing," said the
captain, after listening to their report. "What could have driven them
to such a desperate measure as abandoning a ship in sound condition and
so well provisioned? Was it mutiny?"
"No, sir," and the mate shook his head. "I thought of that and we
searched the ship for any signs of a struggle or bloodshed; but there
was no evidence of fighting nor a drop of blood anywhere."
"Was there, perhaps, a leak?" again suggested the captain.
"Not that we could find," Dick answered. "The ship seemed as tight and
safe as could be. We are sure there is no leak."
"What do you think about it?" asked Captain Manning, turning to a very
grave and thoughtful gentleman standing near. This was Captain Grant who
the day before had so nobly stood by his ill-fated ship and to whose
rescue and that of his unfortunate passengers the _Fearless_ had
come with not a minute to spare. Captain Manning had found him very
congenial, and in the few hours since he had come on board the two
gentlemen had become firm friends. At Captain Manning's question he
turned to him cordially and answered with a smile:
"Well, as far as the crew are concerned, it might have been superstition,
fear of ghosts perhaps. This unreasoning fear has driven more than one
crew bodily from their ship."
"If that was the cause," ventured Bert, "is it not possible that their
panic may leave them, and that they may return?"
"It is possible," agreed Captain Manning, smiling, "and we will cruise
about as soon as I can make preparation. We may be able to overtake them
or perhaps meet them returning."
"Was her cargo a valuable one?" asked one of Captain Grant's passengers.
"Yes, quite," was the response, "but not so valuable as it would have
been if she had been homeward instead of outward bound. The log shows
her to be of Canadian construction and bound from Vancouver to China
with a cargo of dried fish, skins, and lumber. If she had been returning
she would have been freighted, as you know, with rich silks and tea and
rice, of more value than the cargo she carried from British Columbia."
"Shall you attempt to return her to her owners?" asked Mr. Collins. "A
schooner like the _Aurora_ would mean a large salvage."
"It certainly would," replied the captain, "and, if we had found her
earlier in the voyage, I should have towed her back. But now I cannot
afford the time, and I hardly know what to do. She ought not to be left
drifting; she is right in the track of steamships, and so is a menace.
Wilson," he said, turning to Bert, "try to raise a United States vessel
and give her the location of the derelict."
It took two hours before Bert succeeded, but at last he reached the
cruiser _Cormorant_ and received thanks for the information and
assurance that the matter would be attended to at once.
By this time all was ready and the _Fearless_ began to cruise in
ever-widening circles around the _Aurora_. With and without glasses all
scanned the sea in every direction for signs of a boat. Once the call of
the lookout drew all eyes to a dark object which, at that distance,
looked as if it might be a yawl, and every heart beat faster with the
hope that at last the mystery of the _Aurora_ might be solved. But,
alas, it was found to be only a piece of broken mast, discarded from
some ship.
For several hours they cruised about, filled with eager hope which
gradually faded as the hours went by. At last, Captain Manning gave the
order, and the _Fearless_ again came about to her course.
Everyone turned disappointedly from the rail as the quest was abandoned,
and it seemed to the four young fellows that the _Fearless_ swung slowly
and reluctantly, as if she disliked to leave her sister ship to such an
uncertain fate.
The good ship gathered speed, and as they stood at the rail, Ralph
thoughtfully said, "I wonder if the mystery of that deserted ship will
ever be made clear."
"Well," said Bert, "when we return we can ascertain if she lived to
reach port."
"Yes," grumbled Tom. "But unless some of the crew had returned before
the government ship reached her the mystery would be as profound as
ever. And," he added, sinking disgustedly into his steamer chair, and
stretching himself out lazily, "I do hate mysteries."