A HEAVY TROPICAL STORM
"Those girls will ask some awkward questions, I reckon," said Jack
Lesher, as the two prepared to leave the wreck.
"We had better not say too much," answered Baxter.
They were soon over the side and in the rowboat, which contained
the bundle of clothing and a number of other articles. Then an idea
struck the mate.
"Wait; I am going back," he said, and disappeared on the deck one more.
Dan Baxter imagined that Lesher had gone for more liquor. But he was
mistaken. When the mate reappeared, he carried a box containing half
a dozen pistols, two guns, and a quantity of ammunition.
"I am going to hide this in the woods on the other side of this
island," he said. "The firearms may come in handy before long."
"A good idea," replied Baxter, and helped him place the case in a
desirable spot, under some rocks, where the rain could not touch it.
"We are going to have a storm before long," said the mate, as they
started to row back to the camp. "And if it is a heavy one we'll have
to wait till it clears off before we rejoin the rest of our crowd."
The sky was growing dark, and by the time the beach in front of the
house was gained the rain was falling.
"Where are Dick and, old Jerry?" asked Dora in quick alarm. She had
noted long before that only Baxter and the mate were in the rowboat.
"They stayed behind on the wreck," answered Lesher. "Come, help get
the bundles out of the wet," he added to his companion.
"Why did they stay?" asked Nellie.
"Don't ask me," growled Lesher.
He and Baxter took the bundle to the house and dumped it on the floor
of the living room. Then they brought in the other things from the
boat. By this time it was raining in torrents, and from a distance
came the rumble of thunder and occasionally the faint flash of lightning.
Not wishing to remain out in the storm, the three girls came into
the house.--"Dora was very much disturbed, and Nellie and Grace were
also anxious.
"It is queer that Dick and old Jerry remained behind," whispered Dora
to her cousins. "They were so anxious to protect us before."
"I cannot understand it, Dora," returned Nellie.
"There has been foul play somewhere," came from Grace.
"Oh, do you think--" Dora could not finish.
"See here!" burst in the voice of Jack Lesher. "We want some dinner.
Don't be all day getting it for us."
The liquor he had imbibed was beginning to tell upon him.. He looked
ugly, and the girls trembled before him.
"Dinner will be ready in a quarter of an hour," said Grace, who had
been doing the cooking.
"All right." Lesher turned to the bully: "Baxter, join me in a glass
of rum for luck."
"Thanks, I will," answered Dan Baxter, who did not particularly want
the liquor, but did not dream of offending the mate.
Lesher produced a bottle he had brought away from the wreck, prepared
two glasses of rum, and drank with great relish. Then he threw himself
into a chair at the rude dining-table.
"I am the master here, and I want everybody to know it!" he exclaimed,
banging his fist savagely.
"There is dinner," said Grace, and brought it in. "You can help
yourself." And she went into the next room to join Nellie and Dora.
"Aint going to wait on us, eh?" grumbled Lesher, with a hiccough.
"All right, my fine ladies. But I am master, don't you forget that!"
He began to eat leisurely, while Dan Baxter began to bolt his food.
In the meantime the sky grew darker and the flashes of lightning more
vivid. The girls were greatly frightened, and huddled together, while
tears stood on Grace's cheeks.
"Oh, if only somebody was with us," sighed Nellie.
By the time Lesher and Baxter had finished eating the storm was on
them in all of its violence. The wind shrieked and tore through the
jungle behind them, and often they could hear some tall tree go down
with a crash.
"This will tear our flag of distress to shreds," said Nellie. "And
just when we need it so much, too!"
"I am thinking of the future as well as the present," said Dora.
"What a rough time there will be if Lesher brings those other sailors
here. Some of them were heavy drinkers like himself, and only two or
three were Americans."
The storm had whipped the waters of the bay into a fury, and the rain
was so thick that to see even the island on which the wreck rested
was impossible.
"Dick can't come now," said Dora. "A boat on the bay would surely go
down."
Having finished the meal, Lesher and Baxter sat down in the living
room to smoke and to talk over the situation. The mate continued to
drink, and half an hour later he fell asleep, sitting on the bench,
and with his head on the table.
"The beast!" said Dora, as she peeped out at him. "Well, there is
one satisfaction," she continued: "he cannot harm us while he is
asleep."
"You girls better have your own dinner," called out Baxter. "I aint
going to eat you up."
"We will get our dinner when we please," said Nellie, as she came
out. "We are not afraid of you, Dan Baxter."
No more was said for a long time. The girls ate what little they
wished and washed up the dishes. The rain still continued to fall in
torrents, but the thunder and' lightning drifted away to the eastward.
Dora was the most anxious of the trio, and at every opportunity she
tried to look through the driving rain toward the wreck.
"I'd give almost anything to know if Dick is safe," she murmured.
"Don't be discouraged, Dora," said Grace. "Perhaps he will return as
soon as the storm is over."
The girls were huddled close to a window, looking out into the rain,
when Dan Baxter threw aside the pipe he had been smoking and approached
them.
"See here, girls," he said, "why can't we be friends? What is the
use of being enemies in such a place as this?"
"Dan Baxter, we want you to keep your distance," said Nellie coldly.
"And if you do not, it will be the worse for you when the others come
back," put in Grace.
"Humph! I reckon you think it is fine to ride such a high horse,"
sneered the bully. "What are you going to do when we bring the rest
of the sailors over here? We'll be eleven to seven then."
"Never mind what we'll do," said Dora. "I would rather have the
company of some of those sailors than your company."
"That is where you make a mistake. The sailors are all rough fellows,
some of them worse than Jack Lesher. Now, if you are willing to count
me as a friend, I'll stand by you when the crowd comes over."
"We don't want your friendship, Dan Baxter, so there!" cried Nellie.
"We know your past, and we know that you cannot be trusted."
"Don't think I am as good as the Rovers, eh?"
"We all know that you are not," answered Grace.
"What have you done to Dick Rover?" questioned Dora. "He ought to be
here long before this."
"Oh, I guess the storm is holding him back," said Baxter, shifting
uneasily as she gazed earnestly into his eyes.
"If anything has happened to Dick, I shall hold you responsible,"
said Dora.
At that moment the fury of the storm cut off further talking. A sudden
rush of wind had come up, whistling through the jungle and bringing
down a palm close to the house with a crash. The fall of the tree
made Baxter jump in alarm.
"The house is coming down!" he cried, and ran outside.
The wind made the waves in the bay rise higher and higher until they
lashed furiously in all directions. Then came another downpour of
rain, which caused the bully to seek shelter again.
"Hark!" said Nellie suddenly, and raised her hand for silence.
"What did you hear?" asked Grace.
"Somebody calling. Listen!"
All were silent once more, and just then the wind fell a little.
"I don't hear anything," said Dora.
But then followed a distant voice--two voices calling desperately:
"Help! help! Our boat is sinking! Help!"