A LONG CHASE.
There was excitement on board of the Uncas the instant Clif's cry was
heard. The sailors came tumbling up on deck, Lieutenant Raymond among
the first.
He took the glass eagerly from the lad's hand and anxiously studied the
sky in the direction indicated.
"It's too far west to be near Havana!" he exclaimed.
And he stepped into the pilot house to direct the vessel in a new
direction. At the same time the smoke began to pour from the funnel,
showing that those down in the engine-room had heard Clif's hail.
And so in a few moments the Uncas was speeding away in the direction of
the stranger. And after that there was a long weary wait while the two
vessels gradually drew nearer.
All that could be made out then was the long line of smoke which always
indicates a distant steamer. But it took a sharp eye to make even that
out.
"This will be a long chase," said the lieutenant. "If she takes it into
her head to run we'll have a hard time to catch up to her before dark."
Clif glanced significantly at the bow gun.
"If we can only get within range," he thought to himself, "we won't have
to wait to catch up to her."
The lieutenant was standing by the pilot house with the glass in his
hand, and every once in a while he would make an attempt to catch sight
of the stranger's smokestack.
"It may be one of our own warships," he said, "and if it is we don't
want to waste any coal chasing her."
But such was not the case, and it was only half an hour or so before the
lieutenant found it out. The Uncas rose as a high wave swept by; and the
officer, who had the glass to his eye, gave an eager exclamation.
"She's got one funnel," he exclaimed, "and it's black, with a red top;
and so it's not an American warship."
And after that there was nothing now to be done except wait until the
two approached nearer.
It was evident from the gradual change of course the Uncas was obliged
to make that the vessel she was following was headed in a southerly
direction.
"That would take her toward the western end of Cuba," Clif thought to
himself. "Perhaps she's sighted us and is running away."
She must have been a very shy vessel to have taken alarm at so great a
distance; but from the slowness with which she came into view that
seemed to be the case. And Clif paced the deck impatiently.
It was not very much longer before he went off duty again; but he did
not go below. For perhaps an hour he remained on deck watching the
strange vessel.
It seemed an age, but Clif had his reward. The chase loomed gradually
nearer. The black and red smoke pipe came into view, and then, when the
Uncas rose, the top of the black hull as well.
And suddenly the lieutenant handed the glass to Clif.
"You may see now," he said. "She is a merchant steamer, and she flies
the Spanish flag."
Clif nearly dropped the glass at those startling words. The lieutenant
said them as calmly as if he were telling the time of day.
"You don't seem very much excited," the cadet thought.
And yet the lieutenant's statement proved to be true. It was several
minutes before Clif got a favorable view; but he kept his eyes fixed on
the smoke and he finally caught a glimpse of the hull.
And sure enough there was the hated red and yellow ensign waving
defiantly from the stern; it was blown off to one side by the breeze,
and could be plainly seen.
Clif was fairly boiling over with excitement at that discovery.
"We've got our prize!" he chuckled. "I brought the luck after all."
Lieutenant Raymond was not nearly so little moved as he chose to
pretend; he had announced his discovery in that careless way half in a
spirit of fun.
The news got round among the crew, and however the officer may have
felt, there was no indifference there.
The engines of the Uncas began to work even more rapidly, and cartridges
were hastily brought up for the rapid-firing guns. Nobody meant to let
that steamer get away.
She must have suspected her danger by that time, for the smoke grew
blacker. But the crew of the Uncas knew that there were few merchant
ships could beat that tug, and they rubbed their hands gleefully.
There is something very aggravating about a race like that. In a rowing
race you may break your back if you choose, trying to catch the boat in
front; and even in a sailing race you may do something. But when it
comes to steam you can only grit your teeth and walk up and down and
watch and try not to let anybody see how anxious you are.
In that way half an hour passed away, and mile after mile of the
storm-tossed waters.
By that time the hull of the vessel was plainly visible on the horizon;
and the Spanish flag was still waving from her stern.
Clif had been gazing every once in a while at the lieutenant with an
inquiring look upon his face, but the officer had only shaken his head.
"Not yet," he said. "Wait a little."
And Clif would then take another stroll across the deck.
But at last his inquiring look brought another answer.
"Go ahead," said the lieutenant.
And the cadet made a leap at the gun.
It was already loaded, and he sighted it himself. He was no longer
nervous and hurried; it was at least a minute before he rose.
And then at his signal the sailor pulled the firing trigger.
There was a flash and a loud report, and every one looked anxiously to
see the effect.
Lieutenant Raymond, who had the glass, was the only one who could tell;
for the sea was so wild that the slight splash could not be noticed.
The shot of course fell short, for the vessel was still out of range;
but it hit right in line, and the officer nodded approvingly.
"Now we'll wait," he said. "She may give up."
But she didn't; so far as those on the Uncas could tell the shot had no
effect whatever. The vessel kept straight on in her course.
"She's counting on the darkness coming," said the lieutenant.
But that was not the only reason why the Spaniard did not give up; those
upon the Uncas discovered another shortly afterward.
"The Cuban coast," exclaimed the officer.
Yes, the long, faint line of the shore was at last visible just on the
horizon's edge. It lay to the southward, directly ahead.
"What good will that do her?" asked Clif.
"If she finds she can't get away," answered the other, "she may make a
run for one of the ports or try to get under the shelter of the
batteries."
For a while after that nothing more was said, and the tug plowed its way
through the tossing water. When the lieutenant spoke again it was to
point to the gun.
"Try it again," he said.
And Clif did try it. The two ships were then not over three or four
miles apart, and when the cadet fired again he heard the lieutenant give
a pleased exclamation.
"They're within range!"
And then Clif got to work with all his might.
Had he had a calm sea he could have raked that vessel without missing a
shot. He had only to experiment and get the aim just right and then
leave the gun to stay in that one position while he blazed away.
But the Uncas in climbing over the waves was now up and now down, so
that sometimes the shots fell short and sometimes they went high.
But every once in a while he had the satisfaction of hearing that he had
landed one.
After that the chase was a lively one, for the Uncas kept blazing away
merrily. The people on board that fleeing vessel must have had a very
large time of it that afternoon.
It was just what Clif Faraday liked; he was beginning to be quite an
expert in target practice, and he was willing to experiment with that
ship just as long as the ammunition held out.
But his opportunity did not last very long, for the land in front was
neared very rapidly, and after that there was less fun and more work.
The stranger headed round gradually to the west. She evidently had no
idea of being driven toward Havana.
The Uncas swerved more sharply, in order to head her off. Lieutenant
Raymond was in the pilot house, and Clif soon saw by the way he managed
things that he was an expert in all the tricks of dodging.
And those who were handling the merchant ship saw it, too; they would
have been soon headed off. So they turned in another direction quite
sharply, making straight in toward shore again.
Under ordinary circumstances with the short range that he had by that
time, Clif could have riddled the vessel in short order; but aiming in
that sea was so far a matter of luck that comparatively little damage
could be done.
No one knew what the enemy's last move could mean.
"But we can go in any water that's deep enough for them," thought Clif,
grimly, as he blazed away.
And so thought the lieutenant, too, for he was soon racing in. For
perhaps ten minutes pursuer and pursued kept straight on, the firing
never ceasing for a moment.
"Perhaps she may run on shore on purpose," said the lieutenant, coming
out of the pilot house for a moment.
"On purpose?" echoed Clif.
"Yes; so that we can't get the cargo."
"But she'll be beaten to pieces on the rocks," Clif objected.
"They may chance it anyhow; you see they aren't more than a mile or two
from the shore now, and they're running in still."
"If that's the trick they try," Clif thought to himself, "we can stay
out and pepper her to our heart's content--and help the waves to wreck
her."
But the Spaniard had a far better plan than that, as her pursuers
learned some time later.
Clif studied the coast in front of them, as well as he could see without
a glass; there was simply a long line of sandy shore without a bay or an
inlet of any kind. And there were no towns or batteries visible.
"I don't see what she can be hoping for there," he muttered.
But he had no time to speculate in the matter, for it was his business
to keep firing. By that time the range was short and he was beginning to
do damage.
It took an expert to fire at the instant when the tossing ship was
level, but Clif had time to practice, and he soon got the knack of it.
And then it must have been exceedingly unpleasant living on that ship.
One after another the heavy six-pound shots crashed through her stern;
and even at that distance it began to exhibit a ragged appearance.
The cadet expected at any moment to reach the engines or the rudder of
the fleeing ship, and so render her helpless. But probably her cargo
served to protect the former, and the rudder was very hard to hit.
"She must have something important in view to stand all this," Clif
thought to himself. "But I can't see what it is."
The chase at that time was a very exciting one. The Spanish merchantman
was dashing in shore at the top of his speed. And a mile or two beyond
it was the Uncas tearing up the water, plunging along at her fastest
pace and banging away half a dozen times a minute with her bow gun.
Lieutenant Raymond's eyes were dancing then; he had taken the wheel
himself and was hard at work. And as for Clif, he was so busily engaged
that he seemed to see nothing except the high stern of that runaway.
"But she's a fool," he growled to himself. "She'll be so torn to pieces
she won't be worth capturing. I wish I could kill the captain."
But the captain of that vessel knew his business, as those on the Uncas
found later on. He was a Spaniard, and simply gifted with Spanish
cunning.
He had no idea of running his ship aground; but he knew that coast
perfectly, and he used his knowledge.
When he neared the land the tug was still some distance astern. As that
did not suit the Spaniard's purposes, he very calmly slowed up.
And that in spite of the fact that the tug was so close that the
rapid-firing gun was hitting him every other shot!
That the vessel had slowed up, Lieutenant Raymond of course could not
tell. But he wouldn't have cared anyhow, for he had made up his mind to
go in there no matter what was there, torpedoes or the very Old Nick
himself.
And he went; for perhaps five minutes more the Uncas dashed in at full
speed, and the merchantman still never swerved.
"They're within a quarter of a mile of the shore!" gasped Clif.
He turned to his third box of cartridges with a grim smile on his face.
For he knew that something must happen soon.
It did, too--very soon.
It began when the merchantman suddenly swung round to starboard.
"Aha!" chuckled the cadet. "They're as close in as they dare. And now I
suppose they'll run down shore awhile."
Lieutenant Raymond was much puzzled to think why the vessel had risked
going so close in that storm; but he wasted no time in speculating, but
drove the wheel around with all his might.
The Uncas swerved and sped over to shut the merchantman off; at that
same instant the reason of the whole thing was seen.
The Uncas was not a mile from shore, and as she turned her broadside to
the land a masked battery in the sand let drive with a dozen guns at
once.
The whole thing was so sudden that for a moment it quite frightened the
Americans. Clif even stopped firing long enough to stare.
But the sudden alarm did not last very long; it left the men on the
Uncas laughing. For they had quite forgotten the character of the
Spanish gunners' aim.
A shot tore through the tug's funnel, another chipped a piece from her
bow, half a dozen shells whistled over her. And that was all.
Clif turned calmly to his gun again.
"If that's the best they can do," he thought, "they're welcome."
But that was not the best.
It wasn't that the batteries were aimed better next time. They were
aimed far worse in their eager haste. They did not even touch the Uncas.
But an instant later something happened that showed that the captain of
the Spanish merchantman had one more string to his bow.
He not only knew the location of the batteries, but he knew the location
of the sand bars. While his own vessel sped on in safety, on board the
Uncas there suddenly came a grinding thud, and an instant later the tug
stopped short, so short it almost sent Clif flying over the top of the
gun he was working.
And at the same time a shout was heard from Lieutenant Raymond, one that
made the sailors' hearts leap up into their throats: "We're aground!
We're aground!"
And in front of a Spanish battery!