STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
"We will be devoured!"
"Swim for the ship, boys!"
"See, he is coming this way!"
"Save me, somebody! Save me!"
Such were some of the cries which rang out as the sailors swam,
terror-stricken, in one direction or another.
In the meantime the shark came on rapidly. He was a big creature,
with a cruel-looking mouth and teeth that were equally ugly.
At first he turned toward one of the sailors, who was swimming for
the ship.
But a rope was thrown to the tar, and this he grasped and was hauled
on board with all rapidity.
Then the shark turned for another of the sailors.
But this fellow was making for the small boat, and soon he was on
board and safe for the time being.
Then the shark turned swiftly and came for Dave.
The youth dove at once, remembering that a shark can attack under
water only with difficulty.
But the boy could not remain under the surface forever, and at last
he had to come up, this time somewhat closer to the _Swallow_.
But the shark saw him and turned again to attack the young diver.
It was a critical moment, and Dave was about to give himself up for
lost when a shot rang out, followed by another.
Amos Fearless had been in the cabin when the shout of "Shark!" was
raised.
Knowing at once the peril of the situation, he had caught a gun from
the cabin wall and lost no time in hurrying to the deck.
The shark was still ten feet away from Dave when Mr. Fearless fired.
The first bullet struck the monster in the side, doing little damage.
But the shark turned his head to learn what had hit him and in a
twinkle Amos Fearless discharged the weapon a second time.
This time the bullet struck the shark squarely in the eye and entered
the marine creature's brain.
Up leaped the shark, clear above the water, to fall with a shock that
sounded like the report of a cannon.
The water flew in all directions, drenching all who stood at the rail
of the _Swallow_ taking in the appalling situation.
In its death agonies the shark hurled itself against the ship,
lifting its tail clear to the rail and wrecking a portion of the
woodwork. Then it turned and dove for the small boat. The sailor on
board had just time enough to leap out and dive, when the marine
creature struck it with all force, smashing the rowboat to atoms.
But that was the last act of the shark. In a minute more it was
dead, and floated on the bosom of the ocean close to the ship.
A line was thrown to Dave and the sailors, and all were hauled on
board.
"My boy! My boy!" murmured Amos Fearless. "What a narrow escape for
you!"
"You saved my life, father!" replied Dave. He could scarcely speak,
but the grip he gave his parent's hand meant a good deal.
Some of the sailors wanted to bring the shark's remains on board, to
get the teeth, and Captain Broadbeam consented, and later on, the
scientists on the _Swallow_ prepared the skeleton for mounting, to be
sent to the Smithsonian Institution at Washington.
It remained very warm, and Captain Broadbeam looked constantly for a
storm.
"Almost all ships catch 'em in these latitudes," he remarked to Dave.
"This may be a long time a-coming, but it will pay up for lost time
when it does come."
In this surmise Captain Broadbeam was correct.
Two days later, while the sun was shining brightly, there appeared a
cloud to the south-west, scarcely bigger than a man's hand.
But the cloud grew larger with great rapidity, until it covered half
the sky, and the sunlight was shut out and soon all became as dark,
almost, as night. The wind began to blow and soon the waves were
running higher and higher.
"We must run into the teeth of the storm," said the captain, and gave
orders to change the course.
Presently it began to rain, and then followed lightning and thunder
which were almost incessant.
"Never saw anything to match it," declared Dave, as he put on his
oilskins and joined his father on the stern deck. "This beats those
we had off Long Island all to pieces!"
"Right you are, Dave," answered Amos Fearless. "Take good care that
you are not swept overboard."
The storm increased in violence until the _Swallow_ was heaving and
pitching as never before. At one moment she would be riding on the
top of a very mountain of water, at the next she would be going down
and down into a tremendous hollow that looked as if it would swallow
up the stanch ship forever.
Captain Broadbeam surveyed the storm with anxiety, for he realized
that it was unusually severe, and threatened the very existence of
his craft.
The lightning played all around the metalwork of the ship, and the
roar of the thunder was deafening.
"You had better go below," said the captain to Dave and his father.
"You can do nothing on deck."
"Yes, we will go below," answered Amos Fearless. "Come, my son," and
he led the way down into the cabin.
All of the ports and doors had been closed, and the air was stifling
in the shut-up apartment, but of this there was no use to complain.
All crockery, glassware, and other loose objects had long since been
secured, or they would have been flung in every direction.
Dave sat down in a chair screwed to the floor, and did his best to
keep his seat.
At one moment he felt like pitching forward, at the next he seemed
about to turn a back somersault.
The electric light burned dimly, for the electricity in the air had
affected the circuit.
"We can be thankful when we are out of this," observed Mr. Fearless,
as he, too, clung to a chair. "I never dreamed it could blow so hard
and keep it up. In our eastern storms there is generally a lull
every few minutes."
"I wonder if the _Raven_ is in this, father?"
"There is no telling. This storm-center may be but a few miles in
diameter."
"I am almost tempted to wish the _Raven_ at the bottom of the ocean."
"That wouldn't be right, Dave."
"I know. But supposing they get ahead of us and the Hankers scoop in
the Washington fortune?"
"Then we will have to pocket our loss and make the best of it."
"But our claim is better than theirs."
"Morally, yes. But you must remember that legally the fortune will
belong to whoever finds it, for it was abandoned at sea many years
ago."
"I suppose that is so."
"For my part, Dave, I believe that neither of us will have an easy
job to obtain the fortune. It is going to be a great task to even
reach the sunken wreck."
"Oh, I know that. But the diving bell will help us."
"It will help a great deal. But you must remember the wreck may be
turned over, or buried almost out of sight in the mud of the ocean
bottom. In that case we'll have a lot of work to do before any of us
can get into the ship and even locate the lost treasure."
"Never mind, father, the amount to be gained will be well worth all
the trouble we will take to gain it."
"To be sure, for such a vast sum isn't picked up more than once in a
lifetime, even at the best. We can be certain--Heavens! what's that?"
Amos Fearless broke off short, and with good reason.
A fearful shock had come, as a bolt of lightning struck the forward
works of the _Swallow_.
Then followed a strange hissing as the lightning played over the
electric wires of the ship.
A blinding flash entered the cabin, followed by a crack as of a
pistol, and Dave, half stunned, saw his father pitch forward across
the table like one dead!