LEFT IN DOUBT
THE task they had set themselves was no child’s play, and this Brandon
and Milly soon discovered. But they were working for their lives, for
according to their reckoning, the Success would not remain above the
surface many hours.
The captain’s daughter showed herself not only capable of handling
tools, but she was strong, too. For years she had sailed up and down
the seas with her father--nearly all her life, in fact--for her mother,
Brandon had discovered by questioning, had died when she was quite
young.
This information assured him that there could be no reasonable doubt of
Milly Frank’s identity. But for the present he said nothing to the girl
about her relatives in New York.
Milly’s life, therefore, had made her hardy and strong, although her
education was limited in many lines.
But she had a good basis of hard, common sense to build upon, and with
a few terms at a well conducted school, she would make as well informed
a girl as one could find.
With some trouble they managed to wrench away the fastenings of the
forward hatch, and with a heavy bit which Brandon found in the
captain’s chest ’tween decks, he was able to bore a hole of sufficient
size to receive the butt of the small spar.
He brought two oars on deck also, and a square of sailcloth which was
bunglingly fashioned into a sail.
Brandon proposed to leave nothing undone which would make the success
of their undertaking more sure. Something _might_ happen to keep them
from reaching the other wreck, so he brought up several cans of sea
biscuit and some canned meats from the cabin stores, and placed them in
readiness for loading the raft after it was launched.
Then with the aid of heavy rollers and a short bar they got the raft
under way, and once it was started down the inclined deck they had no
trouble whatever in keeping it going. The only bother was to keep it
from moving too fast.
Brandon found it impracticable to launch the raft from the stern, and
therefore cut away a piece of the rail on the starboard side wide
enough to admit of the passage of the lumbering hatch.
They took the precaution to fasten a cable to the raft, that it might
not get away from them in its plunge overboard, and then, by an almost
superhuman effort, rolled the platform into the sea.
It went in with a terrific splash, the sea water wetting both the
castaways a good deal, for they had to stand at the rail to steady the
raft’s plunge into the ocean.
“Hurrah!” Brandon shouted. “It floats, and we shall be able to get
away.”
He hastened to pull the hatch up under the brig’s rail; and, with
Milly’s aid, stepped the short mast. Then he placed the boxes and
provisions aboard and lashed them firmly, after which a bed was made
for Swivel on the raft.
Once more he descended into the half submerged galley and made some
more warm drink for the injured boy, and this time Swivel was able to
eat a little cracker with it.
They told him what they were about to do, and he seemed to take more
interest in the plan than he had in anything since the night before.
“Can--can you carry me, Don?” he asked faintly.
“I can if I don’t hurt you,” the other replied. “Now don’t try to talk,
Swivel; but, if I hurt you badly, touch me so I’ll know.”
With this he lifted the slight form of the lad in his strong arms, and
carried him quickly, though easily, across the sloping deck and stepped
aboard the raft, which floated almost even with the brig’s rail.
The sea had gone down very much now, and it was therefore a simple
matter to embark upon the hatch.
Swivel was made comfortable among the blankets, his two friends hoisted
the rule sail, the painter was cast off, and the castaways moved slowly
away from the hulk of the Success.
By this time it was quite late in the afternoon. Still there were
several hours of daylight left them, for in this latitude the sun does
not set very early, even in the spring.
The time which had elapsed since they had first sighted the second
wreck had given this latter an opportunity to sail by the Success, for
she moved much faster than the water logged brig. The raft, however,
wafted along by the brisk breeze, began to overhaul the stranger at
once. By the aid of an oar, in lieu of a rudder, Brandon was able, with
little difficulty to keep headed toward their objective point.
Milly, who had brought her father’s glass along, as well as the log
book of the Success, and all papers of any value belonging to her
father, occupied her time in trimming the sail, under Brandon’s
directions, and in gazing through the glass at the strange vessel.
Soon the outlines of the latter became quite clearly visible.
“It was a brig like papa’s,” declared the girl, scrutinizing the hull
which, although denuded of every inch of spar and rigging, still rode
the long swells as though perfectly seaworthy.
“Can you see the stern, Milly?” Brandon asked, in excitement.
“Yes.”
“Is there a name on it? The Swan had her name on the stern?”
“There is something on the stern, but it’s too far off yet for me to be
sure,” she replied.
“The raft is behaving beautifully,” Brandon declared, “and we shall be
near enough presently for you to be sure of what you _do_ see.”
Milly put down the glass and knelt by Swivel a moment, to place his
head more comfortably. Then she went back to the instrument again.
Fifteen minutes passed before she uttered a word, while Brandon watched
her face with eager interest. Finally she passed him the glass and
seized the steering oar herself, although she said never a word.
With hands that trembled slightly Brandon placed the instrument to his
eye and ranged it upon the stern of the derelict. Long and earnestly
did he examine the lettering upon it, and then closed the glass with a
snap.
“The Silver Swan--thank God!” he said.
“Oh, I’m so glad, for your sake, Don!” exclaimed Milly, tears of
happiness shining in her eyes. “You’ll get your father’s diamonds and
be rich.”
“Riches on a wreck won’t do us much good,” returned Don grimly. “I’d
rather be a pauper ashore.”
“Ah, but somebody will come very quickly now to take us off,” she said
confidently.
“Perhaps. But, did you ever think, that perhaps somebody has been
before us?”
“How do you mean?”
“Why, I mean that perhaps somebody has boarded the brig already and
secured the diamonds.”
“Who?” asked the girl doubtfully. “Who knows about it excepting your
Mr. Wetherbee and that Leroyd and his friend Weeks?”
“Nobody that I know of.”
“And nobody else knew where the jewels were hidden?”
“Probably not.”
“Then do you suppose the steamer has been here first?”
[Illustration: LONG AND EARNESTLY DID HE EXAMINE THE LETTERING UPON IT
THEN CLOSED THE GLASS WITH A SNAP]
“Oh, no; Caleb would have towed the old Swan to a place of safety if he
had found her--especially if she is as seaworthy as she appears to
be from this distance.”
“Then what _do_ you mean?” demanded Milly in exasperation.
“What about Leroyd and Weeks?” asked Brandon slowly.
“Well, what about them?”
“Do you suppose they are drowned?”
“They may be.”
“And then again they may not be. If they were picked up by some vessel
they might have still continued their search for the derelict; might
have found her by accident, in fact.”
“Oh, Don,” cried the girl, “you are supposing altogether too much.
Don’t conjure up such disheartening ideas as that. Let us hope that we
are the first, who know about the treasure, to find the Silver Swan.”
“Well, it doesn’t seem hardly possible that I should get the diamonds
without any more trouble,” Brandon said, with a sigh. “I’m afraid
there’s something wrong about it.”
“Don’t talk that way, but be thankful that you haven’t had more
trouble--though, I should say you’d had almost enough,” returned Milly,
laughing a little.