THE SEARCH.
Toward dusk on Sunday evening, Tom, after a lazy day, having once more
perused the paper bound love story which he invariably carried in his
pocket, was reminded of his promise to join Jim and Juarez on shore.
He called to Jo, and, while waiting for him, let down into the long boat
at the ship's side some small casks, which were to be filled with fresh
water.
"When you get ashore, send the steward on board," said the professor.
"It's near supper time, and he should be here."
"What did he go ashore for?" asked Tom.
"He said that he wanted to look for some kind of leaves that he wished
for flavoring."
"H'm," drawled Tom. "Hope he hasn't gone to look for something to poison
us with."
"What makes you so prejudiced against the steward, Tom?" asked the
professor. "There isn't anything against him, except that he is a
Mexican, and--"
"That's enough for one thing," asserted Tom. "I am pretty sure that he
is the one that has caused all the trouble here."
"But why?" persisted the professor. "He has been my steward off and on
for many years, and he has always been faithful and honest."
"Maybe he has," persisted Tom. "But still I don't trust him."
"All right, Tom," replied the professor, laughingly, "keep your eye on
him, but still I think he is all right."
"I say, Tom," broke in Jo, who had climbed down into the small boat, "if
you are coming you had better make a start and hurry up Berwick. It will
be night before we get away. Say, what did you do with the rowlocks?"
"What would I do with them," retorted Tom. "Left them in their place, of
course."
"Well, they are not there now," grumbled Jo. "How do you think we are
going to row without any rowlocks?"
"What is that?" asked the professor.
"Somebody has taken the rowlocks out of the boat," complained Tom, "and
Jo seems to think I did it."
"Perhaps some of the crew took them out when they were unloading it
last," suggested the professor. But a hasty questioning of the men who
had hoisted out the filled casks showed that they had not removed them.
"It is certainly strange," admitted the professor. "Are they all gone?"
"All of them," returned Jo, emphatically.
"Well, you will have to get some out of the storeroom," said the
captain, who had been attracted by the discussion. "I think it is likely
someone has taken them out and forgotten them."
"Now, then," cried Jo, when the other rowlocks had been put in. "Where's
Berwick? Give him a hail, will you?"
At this instant Berwick came up the ladder from the engine room,
excitedly swinging an iron bar.
"Hallo," called Tom. "What have you got there?"
"What do you think of that!" demanded Berwick as he came toward the
others.
"What is it?" asked the professor.
"It is an iron bar that I found wedged in the engine," replied Berwick.
"I thought I would take a look over the engine before I went ashore and
I found this."
"What was it doing there?" asked the professor.
"Well, it wasn't doing anything," replied Berwick, grimly, "but if the
engine had been started with that thing in it, it would have made a junk
heap of the whole thing in about ten seconds."
"How did it get there?" asked Tom.
Berwick shrugged his shoulders.
"You know as much about it as I do. Whoever put it there meant mischief.
If that infernal little hunchback isn't around--"
"His first cousin is," supplemented Tom, "but he has gone ashore now and
I don't believe he will be back."
"Who are you talking about?" demanded Berwick.
"The steward."
"I am not quite ready to concede that," said the professor, "but I think
there is a traitor aboard somewhere, and there is mischief brewing. It
seems to me that the best thing to do is to get Jim and Juarez on board
again until we can clear this thing up. Get over, boys, into the boat.
I am going with you."
Tom ran down the ladder into the boat, followed by the professor, and in
a moment the boat was speeding for the shore as fast as Tom and Jo could
pull it.
"Where are your guns?" asked the professor, when they landed.
"We left them with Jim," replied Jo. "He was to bring them ashore and
clean them up."
"Jim and Juarez were to be somewhere abouts but I don't see either of
them," put in Tom.
"They certainly are not here now," exclaimed the professor, anxiously.
"They can't be far away," said Tom. "Wait until I give them a call.
Ohe-ee! Jim! Juarez! Oho-e-e!" he shouted.
There was no response, however, to their repeated calls.
"It's strange," said the professor. "Look around and see if you can find
their trails."
"Here's the guns," cried Jo, a moment later, "hid away in these bushes."
"That's queer," commented the professor, "they must have gone off
somewhere, but why?"
"Here's Juarez's trail," announced Tom. "I can see, too, that he went
off first and that Jim went afterward."
"Better take your guns along, boys," advised the professor. "There is no
telling what we may meet."
Picking up their guns the boys started off on the trail with Tom in the
lead. They had not gone very far on the way when Tom stopped and raised
his hand.
"There is something or someone coming," he whispered as the others came
up with him. "Get behind or into the bushes until we see who it is, or
what."
Only a person with ears trained by experience in the woods would have
detected the approach of someone as Tom had. There was an occasional
snapping of a twig or rustling in the bushes as the coming object moved.
There was an unevenness about the movements that puzzled the boys.
With his rifle cocked and ready for instant use, Tom crouched behind the
bush ready for quick action if necessary. Then as the figure of someone
came into view, moving slowly, and stealthily through the woods, he
sprang forward.
"Hallo, Juarez," he called. "Anything the matter? Where have you been?"
"Where is Jim?" asked Juarez.
"Jim?" echoed Tom. "I don't know. Isn't he with you?"
"Then those pirates have got him!" exclaimed Juarez. "I tried to get
back to warn him, but I had a fall, and it took me longer than I
expected."
"Come. Sit down and tell us about it," said the professor, fixing,
meanwhile a place beneath a tree, "while I see what is the matter with
you. Where are you hurt?"
"It is my foot," explained Juarez. "I expect I strained it when I fell.
I can hardly walk."
"Hardly!" exclaimed the professor when he examined Juarez's foot. "It's
a wonder you walked at all. You have a dislocation. And your head, too?"
"Never mind that," cried Juarez. "Never mind anything. We want to get
after the pirates."
"All in good time, Juarez," replied the professor. "The first thing to
do is to get you into shape again, for we shall need your help. Here,
Tom, you get a hold of this leg. Hold it steady, now, ready." With a
little click the bone slipped back into place when the professor gave a
pull and a little twist to the foot, but although Juarez's face went
white, he did not utter a sound.
"Now," commanded the professor, "see if you can get some cold water, Jo,
and Tom, you find something for a bandage. You'll find some sail cloth
among the stuff we brought in the boat."
Tom was off in a second to return presently with a strip of cloth as Jo
came up with his cap full of water. Tearing the material into strips and
dipping them into the water, the professor soon had both Juarez's head
and foot bandaged in a way that gave him comparative relief.
"Now," said the professor, "tell us about Jim."
Whereupon Juarez told briefly of his journey that afternoon, and how,
when trying to observe the approach of some strangers, he had fallen,
and then he repeated the conversation he had overheard, and told how he
had tried to get back to the shore in time to warn Jim of the impending
danger. All listened intently and Tom could not avoid an occasional
interruption to express his opinion of the steward.
"The villain!" cried Tom between his teeth, in a tone that boded ill for
the man.
"You were evidently right," the professor reluctantly admitted, "the man
is a traitor."
"I hope we catch him," cried Jo.
"Come on, now," says Tom, starting up.
"Where are you going?" asked the professor.
"To help Jim. If you will stay with Juarez, Jo and I will follow up his
trail," responded Tom.
This seemed feasible and wise and aided by some instructions given by
Juarez they were in a measure able to make good progress. They soon came
upon a place where there were evidences of a struggle, and here they
carefully searched about and called loudly, but got no response.
But one inference was possible, Jim had been overpowered by a superior
force and made prisoner; so they reluctantly returned to the professor
with this report.
"We can't do anything more to-night," determined the professor. "It is
too late. If there are enemies about under cover of darkness they have
every advantage. I think our best plan would be to go back to the Storm
King and make our plans for to-morrow. With a night's rest, Juarez will
be in shape to help us, and we will have Berwick, too."
"But they may kill Jim before morning," objected Tom.
"I don't think there is any danger of that," replied the professor.
"They would not have bothered to take him prisoner if any harm were
intended. If we went on now, even if we knew what direction to take, we
would only be working in the dark, literally and figuratively. We will
have to reconnoitre a little first and plan accordingly."
"I don't know but what you are right," admitted Tom, very reluctantly,
"but it doesn't seem the right thing to do to leave Jim that way."
"Festina lenta, Tom," rejoined the professor. "You remember the old
proverb, 'Make haste slowly.' We'll do more by not trying to do things
too quickly. We will go back and get ready for to-morrow."
"What do you know about this Captain Beauchamp, who is evidently the
commander of the Marjorie?" Jo inquired.
"He is a buccaneer, a pirate and a slave to do the bidding of anyone who
will pay for his service. Still he has the reputation for dealing fairly
and is far more likely to hold Jim as hostage for ransom or other
advantage than to do him bodily harm."
"Have you ever had dealings with the captain?"
"No. I have never seen him. Know of him only by hearsay. He is rather
well educated, and, I hear, sometimes speaks with a southern drawl, but
he even varies that to suit himself."
"I shall be better satisfied when I know Jim is safe," concluded Jo.
"Indeed we all shall," said the professor, and addressing Juarez, "What
do you make out about the natives, whom you observed as you were coming
down the cliff side?"
"I knew that they were natives by their dress, or lack of it," said
Juarez. "They had but very little clothing on, and I believe that two of
the party were ill, for the other four at times assisted their
comrades."
"Likely you were right," asserted the professor. "Probably it was a
pilgrimage to the sulphur spring."
With occasional help and the aid of a stick which Jo cut to a proper
length and fashioned in the form of a crutch, Juarez was able to get
back to the boat with comparative ease, and they were soon rowing
toward the yacht.
Arriving on board they found that the steward had not yet returned.
"A good thing for him," asserted Tom. An opinion which no one could
gainsay.
"Now, boys," advised the professor when a late supper had been eaten and
a short consultation had been held, "you had better get off to your
bunks. Even if you don't feel inclined to sleep, you will get some
needed rest, and that is important, as we are likely to have a hard
day's work ahead of us for to-morrow."