IN WHICH ERNEST CONTINUES TO ACT AS PILOT OF THE STEAMER.
When I reached the deck of the Adieno I met the person who was in
charge of the steamer. It was the lame man who had disputed my right
to the Splash in the morning, and to whom we had given two dollars. He
looked astonished at the sudden movement of the students, but he
offered no resistance; and, without waiting to hear what he had to
say, I ran up the ladder to the wheel-house, leaving Tom Rush to
settle all questions in dispute with him.
My heart bounded with excitement as we carried out our desperate
enterprise, and I gave Henry Vallington credit for more daring and
courage than I had ever supposed him to possess. He seemed to me just
then to be a general indeed, and to be better fitted to fight his way
through an enemy's country than to become a parson.
"Back her!" I shouted, almost beside myself with excitement, as I saw
Mr. Parasyte and his heavily-laden followers rushing down to the pier.
My words were repeated by the boys on the forward deck, and Vallington
hastened to the engine-room. I heard the hissing steam as it rushed
through the cylinders, and without knowing what was going to happen
next,--whether or not the boiler would explode, and the deck be torn
up beneath me,--I waited in feverish anxiety for the result. Then I
heard the splash of the wheels; the crank turned, rumbled, and jarred
on its centre, but went over, and continued to turn. The Adieno moved,
and the motion sent a thrill through my whole being. It was fortunate
for us that she lay at the pier in such a position as to require no
special skill in handling her. The open lake was astern of her, with
clear sailing for two miles.
I was not a steamboat man; I had never even steered any craft with a
wheel, and I did not feel at all at home. But I had often been up and
down the lake in this very steamer, and being of an inquiring mind, I
had carefully watched the steersman. It had always looked easy enough
to me, and I always believed I could do it as well as anybody else. I
tried to keep cool, and I think I looked cool to others; but I was
extremely nervous. I did not exactly know which way to turn the wheel.
When I found there were no obstructions astern of the steamer, I
brought the flagstaff on the bow into range with the end of the
pier,--or rather I found them in range,--and with these to guide me, I
soon learned by experience which way to turn the wheel; and the moment
I got the hang of the thing, I had confidence enough to offer my
services to pilot any steamer all over the lake. The paddles kept
slapping the water, and the boat continued to back until she was a
quarter of a mile from the land, when I thought it was time to come
about, and go forward instead of backward. There were two bell-pulls
on the wheel-frame, and at a venture I pulled one of them. I did not
know whether Vallington understood the bells or not; but there was
only one thing to be done in this instance, and he did it--he stopped
the machinery.
After pausing a moment for the steamer to lose her sternway, I rang
the other bell, intending to have her go ahead; but the engineer did
not heed my summons. A moment afterwards Vallington appeared on the
forward deck, wiping from his brow the perspiration, which indicated
that the engine-room was a hot place, or that his mental struggles
were very severe.
"What was that last bell for?" he asked, hailing me in the
wheel-house.
"To go ahead," I replied.
"You haven't got the hang of the bells, commodore," said he, with a
smile; "but come down, and we will talk the matter over, and find out
what we are going to do."
I went down to the forward deck, quite as anxious as any one else to
know what was to be done, for it seemed to me that we had "drawn an
elephant" as a prize. When I reached the deck, Vallington was writing
with his pencil, and handed me the paper as I joined him.
"Here are your directions, Mr. Pilot," said he.
"I know the lake, but I never had any experience in a steamer," I
replied, in self-defence, as I read the paper, on which was written:--
_"One bell--ahead, slowly.
Two bells--stop.
Three bells--back.
Four bells--ahead, full speed."_
"There are two bell-pulls in the wheel-house," I added.
"You pulled the right one the first time; the other is for the men to
shift the chain-box," he replied. "Now, fellows, what shall we do? is
the next question."
Nobody seemed to know what we were to do; and all were quite willing
to leave the question with our bold general.
"Where is the lame man who had charge of the steamer?" he asked.
"I have fixed him," answered Tom Rush, with a significant smile.
"How have you fixed him?"
"I told him we should throw him overboard if he didn't keep quiet,
and gave him three dollars I picked up among the fellows."
Tom was fit to be a member of the diplomatic corps--bully and bribe in
the same breath! Probably the lame man, who was only a deck hand,
employed but for that day, was not disposed to make any very active
opposition to our plans. At any rate, he sat on the chain-box as
contented as though everything was going on regularly on board of the
boat. Mr. Parasyte had pressed all hands into his service, even to the
captain and engineer, in bringing off the provisions and tents. I
suppose that it never occurred to the principal, or to the officers of
the boat, that a crowd of boys would attempt such a desperate
enterprise as the capture of the Adieno, or they would have taken some
precautions to avoid such an event. It is not strange that they did
not think of such a thing, for if it had been proposed to me
beforehand, I should as soon have thought of carrying off the island
as the steamer.
Mr. Parasyte, the captain, and engineer stood on the edge of the pier.
The principal looked astonished and overwhelmed; the captain was
gesticulating violently to us; and the rest of the party looked like
so many statues. There was no remedy for their misfortune; they had no
boat, and could do nothing. Mr. Parasyte now had the same pleasant
prospect which he had spread out before us--that of staying on Pine
Island without food till some one came to his assistance. We hoped he
enjoyed it; and in the mean time we turned our attention to our own
immediate future.
"Fellows, I am afraid we have got into a bad scrape," said Vallington,
again wiping his heated brow; and we could not help seeing that he did
not feel just right in view of what he had done.
"All right; we will take our chances," replied one of the students;
and this was the prevailing sentiment.
"Although I think we were right in the beginning, I am afraid we are
overdoing the matter. But what could we do?" continued our general,
with energy. "We couldn't stay on that island and be starved out. We
paid for the provisions with our own money, and they had no right to
take them from us."
"No!" shouted the boys, indignantly.
"Now we have the steamer; what shall we do with her?"
"Let us go on a cruise," suggested Fred Mason.
"I did not take possession of the boat with the intention of making
any use of her only to get away from the island while it was possible
to do so," replied Vallington.
"O, let's have some fun in her, now we have got her," added Mason.
"We are drifting over to Cannondale pretty rapidly, general," I
interposed. "We must go ahead, or we shall run ashore."
"I don't exactly know what to do, or where to go," continued our
perplexed leader.
"We must go ahead now, and settle that question by and by," I added.
"Can you steer her, commodore?" he asked.
"Certainly I can. I understand the wheel now, and I know all about the
lake. If you can manage the engine, I can take care of the steering."
"My brother is an engineer on a Hudson River boat, and I have spent
many a day with him in the engine-room. I think I understand the
engine pretty well," he replied.
"Let us go ahead then," said one of the impatient fellows.
"We will start her again, commodore; and I wish you would take her to
some place where we can lie to, and decide upon our future course."
"I will do so, general; but I don't think it will hurt those on the
island to wait a while," I answered.
"Very well; we will go where you pilot us, commodore," added
Vallington, as he returned to the engine-room.
Three of the students were sent down into the fire-room, after being
instructed in their duty by the general, who was careful to tell them
not to put too much wood in the furnaces. By this time the Splash had
come alongside, and was made fast to the stern. I invited Bob Hale and
Tom Rush to occupy the wheel-house with me, and I took my place at the
spokes.
"What are we going to do?" asked Bob, who had not been present at the
conference on the forward deck.
"That is not decided," replied Tom. "We are going to lie to
somewhere, and talk the matter over."
"I don't know about this steaming it on the lake," added Bob, shaking
his head. "Suppose the boat should burst her boiler--where should we
be?"
"No danger of that; Vallington knows all about engines, and the
commodore knows how to steer," said Tom, lightly.
I struck one bell, after looking at the paper which Vallington had
given me, to make sure that I was right. In response to my signal, the
wheels began to turn, and the Adieno went "ahead slowly." I soon
brought her to bear on the helm, and finding I had the boat under
perfect control, I ventured to strike the four bells, which indicated
that she was to "go ahead, full speed."
The steam was rather low in the boilers, and "full speed" I found was
not very rapid. The boat steered easily, and minded her helm so
promptly, that I soon became quite fascinated with my occupation.
There was something very exhilarating in the fact that I was directing
the course of what to me was an immense craft; and every time I moved
the wheel, and saw the bow veer in obedience to her helm, it afforded
me a thrill of delight, and I wholly forgot the enormity of the
enterprise in which our party were engaged. I was so pleased with my
employment that I came very near devoting my life to the business of
piloting a steamboat.
I steered the Adieno to the northward, until she had passed clear of
Pine Island, when I put her head to the west, intending to run for a
couple of islands six miles down the lake, called "The Sisters."