A MYSTERY OF THE REEF.
As Mrs. Rankin came into the room, on hearing Sumner's exclamation, he
read aloud the article in the daily _Equator_ that had so excited him,
and which was as follows:
"A MYSTERY OF THE REEF.
"By the steamship _Comal_, which arrived in this port to-day, we
receive a curious bit of news from Keeper Spencer, of Alligator
Light. On the evening of the 15th, as he was in the lantern of the
tower preparing to light the lamp, he noticed two small craft of
a most unusual description rapidly approaching from the direction
of the keys. One appeared to be in tow of the other, but in
neither could a human being be discovered. There were no signs of
oars, sails, paddles, or steam, and yet the movement of the boats
through the water was at the rate of about ten knots an hour. It
was also very erratic, and though their general course was towards
the reef, they approached it by a series of zigzags, now taking
a sharp sheer to port, and directly another to starboard. As the
keeper could not leave the tower at that moment, he directed
Assistant Albury to take the light-house skiff, intercept the
craft, if possible, and investigate their character.
"With great difficulty, and after an exciting chase, Mr. Albury
succeeded in getting alongside the leading boat of the two,
and in making fast to it. It proved to be a decked canoe, of
exquisite workmanship and fittings, completely equipped for
cruising, bearing the name _Psyche_ in silver letters on either
bow. The second canoe, which was a counterpart of the first, was
named _Cupid_. Both were in tow of an immense Jew-fish, which
had succeeded in entangling itself in the cable with which the
_Psyche_ had evidently been anchored. It is probable that one of
the flukes of the anchor caught in the creature's gills, though
just how it happened will never be known, as Mr. Albury, being
unable to capture the monster, was obliged to cut the cable and
let him go. Nothing is known as to the fate of the owners of these
canoes, and they are now at the light-house awaiting a claimant.
"Just as we go to press we learn that early this morning the
_Comal_ picked up a young man drifting in the Gulf, not far
from Alligator Light. We were unable to obtain his name in time
for insertion in to-day's paper, but will give it, with full
particulars concerning him, in to-morrow's issue. He may be able
to throw some light on the mystery of the canoes."
"I should rather think he could!" laughed Sumner, as he finished
reading. "But did you ever hear of such a thing, mother? The idea of
a rascally Jew-fish running off with our canoes! I never thought of
such a thing as that happening. And how wonderfully it has all turned
out! I should have looked everywhere for them rather than at Alligator
Light. I should never have dared attempt to navigate the raft that far,
either. To think, too, that I should have been picked up by the very
steamer that brought the news! How dreadfully you would have felt on
reading it, if I hadn't got here first! Wouldn't you, mother dear?"
"Indeed I should, my boy; and I shall never be able to express my
gratitude for your wonderful preservation."
"But poor Worth!" exclaimed Sumner. "How I wish he knew all about it,
and how awfully anxious he must be! I only hope he won't attempt to
go to Indian Key to look for me before I can get back there. That's
something I must see about at once, and I must take the very first boat
that goes up the reef. Just think how I should feel if anything were to
happen to him, when Mr. Manton placed him in my care, too! If it wasn't
for the way things have turned out, I should feel guilty at having left
him there. I wouldn't have done it, though, if Quorum hadn't been on
hand to look after him. He surely will keep him out of harm's way until
I can get back."
"I hate to think of your going back there again," said Mrs. Rankin,
with a sigh, "though of course it is your duty to do so. But you will
be careful, and not run into any more such dreadful perils, won't you,
dear?"
"Yes, mother; I promise not to run into a single peril that I can help,
and if I meet one, I will try my best to get out of its way," laughed
the boy, whose high spirits had quickly returned with the prospect of
recovering his beloved canoe.
"Well," sighed Mrs. Rankin, "so long as you must go, I shouldn't be
surprised if Lieutenant Carey would take you in the _Transit_. I
believe he intends to leave to-morrow morning for a trip up the reef,
and to make some kind of a survey in the Everglades. He has been
staying here for a few days, and is up in his room now."
"Oh, mother!" cried the boy, springing to his feet, "the Everglades!
How I should love to go!"
"Now, Sumner--" began Mrs. Rankin, in a tone of expostulation; but the
boy had already left the room, and was on his way up-stairs.
Lieutenant Carey was an old friend, who had served under Commander
Rankin, and had known Sumner ever since the boy was twelve years old.
He had heard of his unexpected return, and only waited until the first
interview between the young canoeman and his mother should be ended
before going down to greet him. Now he listened to Sumner's story with
the deepest interest, and when it was ended, he said:
"Of course I will take you up the reef as far as Alligator, my boy,
and shall be glad of your company. I only wish you would go with us as
far as the main-land, and act as pilot through the Keys. They are not
charted, you know, and as I have never been through them, I was on the
point of engaging a fellow named Rust Norris as pilot, but I'd much
rather have you. What do you say? Can't I enlist you in Uncle Sam's
service for a week or so?"
"I should like nothing better," answered Sumner, "only, you see, I am
bound just now to look after Worth Manton, and take him up the reef to
Cape Florida, where we are due by the first of April."
"Perhaps we can persuade him to go along too. It won't be much out of
your way, and you've lots of time to finish your trip between now and
the first of April. I'll risk it anyhow, for I don't like the looks of
that fellow Norris, and am only too glad of an excuse for not engaging
him."
"Then there is Quorum, the cook," added Sumner, reflectively. "I wonder
what will become of him?"
"A cook, do you say? What sort of a cook? A good one?"
"One of the best on the reef," replied Sumner.
"Then he is just the man I want to get hold of for our trip. I am only
waiting now for a cook, and should start this evening if I had found
one to suit me. If you will guarantee him, we'll get away at once, and
make the old _Transit_ hum up the reef in the hope of capturing him
before he makes any other engagement."
"There is not much chance for him to make an engagement where he is
now," laughed Sumner. "And, at any rate, I'm sure he wouldn't leave
Worth until I get back. I shall be only too glad to start to-night
though, for poor Worth must be terribly anxious, and the sooner I get
to him the better."
Thus it was settled, and as soon as supper was over, after a loving,
lingering farewell from his mother, who repeated over and over again
her charges that he should shun all perilous adventures, the boy found
himself once more afloat. Mrs. Rankin had promised to write a long
letter to the Mantons that very evening, assuring them of Worth's
safety up to the date of the day before, and being thus relieved from
this duty, Sumner set forth, with a light heart on his second cruise up
the reef.
The _Transit_ was a comfortable, schooner-rigged sharpie, about sixty
feet long, built by the Government for the use of the Coast Survey
in shallow southern waters. She had great breadth of beam, and was a
stanch sea-boat, though she drew but eighteen inches of water, and
Lieutenant Carey had no hesitation in putting her outside for a night
run up the Hawk Channel.
The especial duty now to be undertaken was an exploration of the
Everglades to ascertain their value as a permanent reservation for
the Florida Seminoles. These Indians, hemmed in on all sides by white
settlers, were being gradually driven from one field and hunting-ground
after another. In consequence they were becoming restive, and the
necessity of doing something in the way of assuring them a permanent
location had for some time been apparent. Thus a survey of the 'Glades
was finally ordered, and Lieutenant Carey had been detailed for the
duty, with permission to make up such a party to accompany him as he
saw fit.
His present command on the _Transit_ consisted of Ensign Sloe, and six
men forward. It was intended that three of these should be taken into
the 'Glades, while Mr. Sloe, with the other three, was to take the
sharpie, from the point where the exploring party left her, around to
Cape Florida, and there await their arrival.
On the deck of the schooner and towing behind her were three novel
craft, in which Lieutenant Carey intended to conduct his explorations
of the swamps and grassy waterways of the interior. One of these was
an open bass-wood canoe built in Canada, shaped very much like a birch
bark, and capable of carrying four men. The others were the odd-looking
boats, with bottoms shaped like table-spoons, that are so popular
as ducking-boats on the New Jersey coast, and are known as Barnegat
cruisers. One of these was named _Terrapin_ and the other _Gopher_,
while the open canoe bore the Seminole name of _Hul-la-lah_ (the wind).
Before a brisk southerly breeze, in spite of the boats dragging behind
her, the _Transit_ made rapid progress. Ere it was time to turn in, Key
West Light was low in the water astern, while that on American Shoal
shone steady and bright off the starboard bow. The wind held fresh all
night, so that by morning both American Shoal and Sombrero had been
passed, and the sharpie was off the western end of Lower Metacumba,
with Alligator Light flashing out its last gleam in the light of the
rising sun.