THE TIGER AT BAY
One day, about mid-afternoon, Bert was going through his duties in a
more or less mechanical fashion, for the day had been warm, and he had
been on duty since early morning. For several days past, practically no
news of any interest had come in over the invisible aerial pathways, and
as he had said to Dick only a short time before, "everything was deader
than a door nail."
Suddenly, however, the sounder began to click in a most unusual fashion.
The clicks were very erratic, quick, and short, and to Bert's experienced
ear it was apparent that the person sending the message was in a state of
great excitement. He hastily adjusted the clamp that held the receiver to
his ear, and at the first few words of the message his heart leapt with
excitement.
"Tiger broken loose," came the message, in uneven spurts and dashes,
"three of crew dead or dying--am shut up in wireless room--beast is
sniffing at door--help us if you can--" and then followed, latitude and
longitude of the unlucky vessel.
Bert's hand leaped to the sender, and the powerful spark went crashing
out from the wires. "Will come at once--keep up courage," he sent, and
then snatched the apparatus off his head and rushed in mad haste to the
deck. Captain Manning was below deck, and Bert communicated the message
he had just received to the commanding officer at the time.
"Good heavens," ejaculated the first officer, "there's only one thing
for us to do, and that's to go to their aid just as fast as this old tub
will take us."
This was no sooner said than done, and in a few minutes the course of
the vessel was changed, and she was headed in the direction of the
distressed animal ship, for there could be little doubt that such was
the nature of the cargo she had on board. It is not such an uncommon
thing for a wild animal to break loose during a voyage, but generally it
is recaptured with little trouble. Occasionally, however, an especially
ferocious animal will escape, and at the very outset kill or maim the
men especially employed to take care of them. Once let this happen, and
the crew has little chance against such an enemy. Nothing much more
terrible could be imagined than such a situation, and such was the
plight in which the crew of the animal ship found themselves. They had
made several vain attempts to trap the big tiger, but at each attempt
one of their number had been caught and killed by the ferocious beast,
until in a panic they had retreated to the forecastle, taking with them
the first mate, who had been seriously injured by the murderous claws of
the tiger as they were trying to cast a noose around his neck. Left
without management, their ship was at the mercy of wind and wave, with
no living creature on deck save the big cat. He had vainly tried to
break into the men's quarters, and failing in that, had laid siege to
the cabin of the wireless operator. The door of this was fragile,
however, and although the desperate man within had piled every article
of furniture in the room against the door, there could be little doubt
that it was but a matter of time when the maddened tiger would make use
of his vast strength and burst in the frail barrier.
Such was the situation on board when, as a last resource, the devoted
operator sent out the call for help that Bert had heard. The knowledge
that help was at least on the way gave heart to the imprisoned and
almost despairing man, and he waited for the rescuing ship to arrive
with all the fortitude he could muster.
Meanwhile, on Bert's ship, Captain Manning had been summoned to the
bridge, and had immediately ordered full steam ahead. The ship quivered
and groaned as the steam rushed at high pressure into the cylinders,
causing the great propellers to turn as though they had been but toys.
Great clouds of black smoke poured from the funnel, and the ship forged
ahead at a greater speed than her crew had ever supposed her capable of
making.
Fast as was their progress, however, it seemed but a crawl to the
anxious group gathered on the bridge, and Bert went below to send an
encouraging message to the unfortunate operator on the other ship.
Crash! crash! and the powerful current crackled and flashed from the
wires.
"Keep up courage," was the message Bert sent, "keep up courage, and we
will get help to you soon. Are about ten knots from you now."
For a few minutes there was no reply, and, when the receiver finally
clicked, Bert could hardly catch the answer, so faint was it.
"The dynamo has stopped," it read, "and batteries are almost exhausted.
Heard shouting from the crew's quarters a short time ago, and think the
tiger is probably trying to break in there. A--few minutes--more--" but
here the sounder ceased, and Bert, in spite of his frantic efforts, was
unable to get another word, good or bad. Finally, giving the attempt up
as hopeless, he made his way to the bridge, where Captain Manning and
the first officer were absorbed over a chart.
"We can't be very far from them now, sir," the latter was saying. "At
the rate this old boat's going now we ought to sight them pretty soon,
don't you think so, sir?"
"We surely should," replied the captain. "But I wonder if Wilson has
heard any more from them. As long as--ah, here you are, eh, Mr. Wilson?
What's the latest news from the distressed vessel?"
"Pretty bad, sir," said Bert. "The crew seems to have become
panic-stricken, including the engine-room force, and they've allowed the
dynamo to stop. The wireless man didn't have enough current left from
the batteries to finish the message he was sending. He did say, though,
that the tiger was raising a rumpus up forward, and trying to break into
the men's quarters. I can only hope, sir, that we will not arrive too
late."
"I hope so, indeed," responded Captain Manning, gloomily, "but even if
we get there before the beast has gotten at them, we'll have our work
cut out for us. We have no adequate weapons on board, and we can't hope
to cope with a foe like that barehanded."
"That's very true," said the first officer, scratching his head. "I
rather had a feeling that all we had to do was to get there and kill the
tiger, but I must confess I hadn't figured out how. However," he added,
"I've got a brace of pistols in my cabin, and I suppose you have, too,
haven't you, sir?" addressing the captain.
"Oh, of course I have them," said the captain, impatiently, "but they're
not much good in an affair of this kind. What we need is a big game
rifle, and that's something we haven't got. However, I imagine we'll hit
on some plan after we get there. Set your wits to work, Mr. Wilson, and
see if you can't figure out a scheme. You have always struck me as being
pretty ingenious."
"Well, I'll do my best, you may be sure of that, sir," replied Bert,
"but meanwhile, I guess I'd better go below and see if by any chance
they have got their wireless working again."
"Aye, aye," said the captain, "see what you can do, and I'll see that
you are informed when we get near the vessel."
Bert did as he had proposed, but could get no response from his
apparatus, and was just giving over the attempt as hopeless when he got
a message from the captain that they were close up to the unfortunate
ship.
Hastily unfastening the "harness" from his head, Bert rushed on deck,
and gave a quick look about him. Sure enough, they were close aboard a
rusty-looking steamer, that drifted aimlessly about, and at first glance
seemed to have no living soul aboard. The deck was untenanted and showed
no signs of life, and the silence was unbroken save for an occasional
cry from the caged animals in the hold.
Of the tiger said to be loose on board there was no indication, however,
but they soon made out a colored handkerchief waving from one of the
portholes that afforded light and ventilation to the "fo'castle."
Presently they heard someone shouting to them, but were unable to make
out what was said.
Captain Manning ordered a boat lowered, and carefully picked the men
whom he desired to go in it. When he had chosen almost his full crew,
Bert hurried up to him, and said: "I beg your pardon, sir, but I would
like to ask you a favor. Do you think you could allow me and my friend,
Mr. Trent, to go along? I think we could do our share of what's to be
done, and I feel that I ought to be among the party that goes in aid of
a fellow operator."
At first the captain would not hear of any such proposition, but
finally, by dint of much persuasion, Bert won a reluctant consent.
"All right," grumbled the captain. "If you must, you must, I suppose.
But hurry up now. Step lively! All hands ready?"
"Aye, aye, sir," sang out the crew, and after a few parting instructions
from Captain Manning, the first officer, Mr. Collins, shouted the order
to give way.
The crew bent to their oars with a will, and the heavy boat fairly
leaped through the water at their sturdy strokes. In almost less time
than it takes to tell, the boat was under the porthole from which they
had first seen the signals, and Mr. Collins was talking in a low voice
with a white-faced man who peered out of the circular opening.
"He almost had us a little time back," said the latter, "but we managed
to make enough noise to scare him away for the time. We haven't heard
anything of him for quite a while now, but he's hungry, and he'll soon
be back. Heaven help us, then, if you fellows can't do something for
us."
"We'll get him, all right, never fear," said Mr. Collins, reassuringly,
"but how do you stand now? How many did the beast get before you got
away from him?"
"He killed the three animal keepers almost at one swipe," said the man,
who proved to be the second mate. "Then the captain, as was a brave man,
stood up to him with an old gun he used to keep in his cabin, and the
beast crushed his head in before he could get the old thing to work. It
must have missed fire, I guess. Then the brute started creeping toward
us as was on deck, and we made a rush for the fo'castle door. The first
officer happened to be the last one in, and the tiger just caught his
arm with his claws and ripped it open to the bone. We managed to drag
him in and slam the door in the beast's face, though, and then we piled
everything we could lay hand to against the door."
"What did he do then?" inquired Mr. Collins.
"Why, he went ragin' back and made a dive for one of the stokers that
was up at the engine-room hatchway gettin' a bit of fresh air, and he
almost nabbed him. The dago dived below, though, and had sense enough to
drop a grating after him. That stopped the cursed brute, and then I
don't know what he did for a while. Just a little while ago, though, as
I was tellin' ye, he came sniffin' and scratchin' around the door, and
if he made a real hard try he'd get in, sure. Then it 'ud be good-night
for us. Not one of us would get out of here alive."
"But now that he's left you for a time, why don't you make an attempt to
trap or kill him?" inquired Mr. Collins, and there was a little contempt
in his tone.
"What, us? Never in a hundred years," replied the man, in a scared
voice. It was evident that the crew was completely unnerved, and Mr.
Collins and his crew realized that if anything was to be done they must
do it unaided.
"Well, here goes," said he. "We might as well get on that deck first
as last. We'll never get anywhere by sitting here and talking."
Accordingly, they clambered up on deck, one by one, led by the first
mate. In a short time they were all safely on deck, and looked around,
their hearts beating wildly, for any sign of the ferocious animal. As
far as any evidences of his presence went, however, the nearest tiger
might have been in Africa. There was a deathlike hush over the ship,
broken at times by the muffled chattering of the monkeys confined in
cages below decks.
All the men were armed with the best weapons they were able to obtain,
consisting chiefly of heavy iron bars requisitioned from the engine-room.
Mr. Curtis, of course, had a pair of heavy revolvers, and both Bert and
Dick had each a serviceable .45-calibre Colt. These were likely to prove
of little avail against such an opponent, however, and more than one of
the crew wished he were safely back on the deck of his own ship.
Not so Bert and Dick, however, and their eyes danced and sparkled from
excitement. "Say," whispered Dick in Bert's ear, "talk about the
adventures of that fellow you and I were reading about a day or two
ago. This promises to outdo anything that _I_ ever heard of."
"It sure does," said Bert, in the same suppressed voice. "I wonder where
that beast can be hiding himself. This suspense is getting on my
nerves."
All the rescuing party felt the same way, but the tiger obstinately
refused to put in an appearance. The men started on an exploring
expedition, beginning at the bow and working toward the stern. At every
step they took, the probability of their presently stumbling on the
animal became more imminent, and their nerves were keyed to the breaking
point.
In this manner they traversed almost two-thirds of the deck, and were
about to round the end of the long row of staterooms when suddenly,
without a moment's warning, the tiger stood before them, not thirty feet
away.
At first he seemed to be surprised, but as the men watched him,
fascinated, they could see his cruel yellow eyes gradually change to
black, and hear a low rumble issue from his throat. For a few seconds
not one of them seemed able to move a hand, but then Mr. Curtis yelled,
"Now's your time, boys. Empty your revolvers into him, Wilson and
Crawford," and suiting the action to the word, he opened fire on the
great cat.
Bert and Dick did likewise, but in their excitement most of their shots
went wild, and only wounded the now thoroughly infuriated animal.
With a roar that fairly shook the ship the tiger leapt toward the hardy
group. "Back! Back!" shouted Mr. Collins, and they retreated hastily.
The tiger just fell short of them, but quickly gathered himself for
another spring, and two of the more faint-hearted seamen started to run
toward the bow. Indeed, it was a situation to daunt the heart of the
bravest man, but Bert and the others who retained their self-control
knew that it was now too late to retreat, and their only course,
desperate as it seemed, was to stand their ground and subdue the raging
beast if possible.
The tiger's rage was truly a terrible thing to see. As he stood facing
them, foam dripped from his jaws, and great rumblings issued from his
throat. His tail lashed back and forth viciously, and he began creeping
along the deck toward them.
But now Bert and Dick and the first mate had had a chance, in frantic
haste, to load their revolvers, and they gripped the butts of their
weapons in a convulsive grasp. And they had need of all they could
muster.
Soon the tiger judged he was near enough for a spring, and stopping,
gathered his great muscles under him in tense knots. Then he sprang
through the air like a bolt from a cross-bow, and this time they had no
chance to retreat.
As the raging beast landed among them, the men scattered to left and
right, and struck out with the heavy iron bars they had brought with
them. They dodged this way and that, evading the tiger's ripping claws
and snapping teeth as best they could, and landing a blow whenever the
opportunity offered. They were not to escape unscathed from such an
encounter, however, and again and again shouts of pain arose from those
unable to avoid the raving beast. Bert and Dick waited until the tiger's
attention was concentrated on three of the men who were making a
concerted attack on him, and then, at almost point blank range, emptied
their revolvers into the beast's head. At almost the same moment the
first mate followed suit, and the tiger stopped in his struggles, and
stood stupidly wagging his head from side to side, while bloody foam
slavered and dripped from his jaws. Then he gradually slumped down
on the reddened deck, and finally lay still, with once or twice a
convulsive shiver running over him.
Quickly reloading their revolvers, Bert, Dick, and the first mate
delivered another volley at the prostrate beast, so as to take no
chances.
Every muscle in the animal's beautiful body relaxed, his great head
rolled limply over on to the deck, and it was evident that he was dead.
A cheer arose from the men, but their attention was quickly turned to
themselves, and with good reason. Not one of them had escaped a more or
less painful wound from the great beast's tearing claws, one or two of
which threatened to become serious. Both Bert and Dick had deep, painful
scratches about the arms and shoulders, but they felt glad enough to
escape with only these souvenirs of the desperate encounter.
"Well, men," said Mr. Collins, after they had bound up their wounds
temporarily, and were limping back toward their boat, "I think we can
thank our lucky stars that we got off as easily as we did. When that
fellow jumped for us the second time, I for one never expected to come
out of the mix-up alive."
"I, either," said Bert. "I like excitement about as well as anybody, I
guess, but this job of fighting tigers with nothing but a revolver is a
little too rich for me. The next time I try it I'll want to pack a
cannon along."
"Righto!" said Dick, with a laugh that was a trifle shaky. "But what are
we going to do now? I suppose the first thing is to let those low-lives
out of the forecastle and tell 'em we've fixed their tiger for them."
"We might as well," acquiesced Mr. Collins, and they lost no time in
following out Dick's suggestion. Before they reached the forecastle
they were joined by the two men who had run at the tiger's second
onslaught, and you may be sure they looked thoroughly ashamed of
themselves. The men who had stood fast realized that reproaches would do
no good, however, and they were so exhilarated over their victory, now
that they began to realize just what they had accomplished, that they
were not inclined to indulge in recriminations. They could come later.
They were about to resume their march to the crew's quarters when Dick
happened to notice that Bert was missing. The men all started out in
search of him, but their anxiety was soon relieved by seeing Bert
return accompanied by a man whom he presently introduced to them as
the wireless operator. The latter was profuse in his expressions of
gratitude, but Bert refused point blank to listen to him.
"It's no more than you would have done for us, if you had had the
chance," he said, "therefore, thanks are entirely out of order."
"Not a bit of it," persisted the other, warmly. "It was a mighty fine
thing for you fellows to do, and, believe me, I, for one, will never
forget it."
By now they were in front of the fo'castle, and shouted out to the men
within that they could come out with safety. There was a great noise of
objects within being pulled away from the door, and then the crew of the
animal ship emerged in a rather sheepish manner, for they realized that
they had not played a very heroic part. However, they had had very
little in the way of weapons, and perhaps their conduct might be
palliated by this fact.
Two of them immediately set to work skinning the tiger, and meantime the
wounded first mate of the animal ship expressed his thanks and that
of the crew to Mr. Collins. Then the limping, smarting little band
clambered over the side and into their waiting boat. The row back to the
ship seemed to consume an age, but you may be sure that the two sailors
who had escaped the conflict were now forced to do most of the hard
work, and they did not even attempt to object, no doubt realizing the
hopelessness of such a course.
They reached their ship at last, however, and were greeted with praise
from the passengers on account of their bravery, and sympathy over their
many and painful wounds.
After Mr. Collins had made his report to the captain, the latter shook
his head gravely. "Perhaps I did wrong in letting you undertake such a
task," he said, "but I don't know what else we could have done. Heaven
knows how long it would have taken any other vessel to get here, and
after they arrived they might not have had any greater facilities for
meeting such a situation than we had. But I'm very glad we got out of
the predicament without actual loss of life."
"We were very fortunate, indeed," agreed Mr. Collins, and here they
dropped the subject, for among men who habitually followed a dangerous
calling even such an adventure as this does not seem such a very unusual
occurrence.
Bert was not so seriously wounded as to make it impossible to resume his
duties, however, and after a few days his wounds gave him no further
trouble. Needless to say, the remembrance of the desperate adventure
never entirely left his mind to the end of his life, and for weeks
afterward he would wake from a troubled sleep seeing again in his
imagination the infuriated tiger as it had looked when leaping at the
devoted group.