THE TIGERS OF THE SEA.
The storm-driven schooner drove past the swamped boat, with its two
castaways clinging to it, in a smother of foam and spray. So fast
was she traveling that hardly had her outlines loomed up before they
were lost again in the darkness. Nat caught himself wondering if
that night was to prove the last of the schooner's existence. But it
may be stated here that the "Nettie Nelsen," staunch sea boat that
she was, weathered the storm unharmed.
[Illustration: The storm-driven schooner drove past the swamped boat,
with its two castaways clinging to it.]
"Vell, here iss der vorst fix I voss ever in since I bin going py der
sea."
It was Captain Nelsen who spoke, as a pallid and wild dawn broke over
the raging sea, showing nothing but tossing whitecaps as far as the
eye could reach. Overhead great torn ribbands of cloud were hurried
by, their black outlines macerated by the wind which was still
blowing hard. But rough as the sea still was and strong as the wind
remained, there was no doubt that the fury of the gale was over. In
a short time it would have blown itself out.
This was encouraging to the castaways, but even with calm seas their
position would still have been a desperate one. Adrift on the
trackless Pacific, without food or fresh water, and so far as they
knew, far from the line of travel of ships, the man and the boy
clinging to the waterlogged boat were in about as bad a fix as can be
imagined.
Nat, too, strong as he was, began to feel the strain. The long
period he had gone without food, for he had tasted nothing since the
meal which Hicks and Britt had brought him, was beginning to tell on
him. Captain Nelsen's iron frame, however, inured to hardship and
peril, was as vigorous as ever, or so it seemed.
As the wind began to moderate he cast his eyes about for something
with which they might bale out the "Nettie Nelsen's" boat. He was
particularly anxious to get this task accomplished in order that they
might have a sanctuary from danger which had just occurred to him.
The thought of this new peril actually blanched the captain's
weather-beaten cheeks, but a quick glance at Nat's worn countenance,
white and lined with anxiety, told him that he had better not add to
the strain on the lad by mentioning what had just crossed his mind.
The water was warm, fortunately, but even so Nat began to feel
chilled and cold. This was partly due to the fact that he had taken
no nourishment for so long a period. It was a symptom of exhaustion.
At length the sun rose, and as his rays gilded the tossing seas the
wind began to die down till within a short time all trace of the
storm had vanished. The sea grew smooth and the air hot. Captain
Nelsen's first impulse was to look about for a sign of the "Nettie
Nelsen," but not a trace of her was to be seen. She had vanished as
utterly as the storm before which she was driving when they saw her
last.
"Vell, dere vos some comfort in dot, anyhow," said the captain to
himself; "dose murdering thieves von't get us even if der sharks----"
The sharks!
That was the peril of which Captain Nelsen had refrained speaking to
Nat. As the above reflection crossed his mind, the honest German's
eyes almost popped out of his head at the sight of something he
perceived not far from the boat, moving aimlessly about on the now
smooth water.
The object was a black triangular fin!
As he gazed it was joined by another and yet another, till there were
six in all.
But at almost the same instant as the captain had sighted the sharks,
Nat, who had been gazing down into the water which filled the boat in
the hope of getting something to bale with, gave a cry of joy. In
the bow, wedged in under a triangular brace, was a baling can
belonging to the craft. And what to his eyes was almost as welcome a
sight, farther back in the little craft and beneath a seat which had
doubtless prevented it being washed overboard, was the sapphire
chest. Nat's drooping spirits were considerably revived by these two
discoveries, and he greeted the captain, who had looked up at the
lad's cry of delight, with a feeble cheer.
"Hooray, captain! Never say die! With that can we'll have the boat
baled out before long and----"
He stopped short as he caught sight of the seaman's doleful
expression.
"What's the matter?" he asked. "True, we are not out of troubles
yet, but with a good boat under us."
"Dot iss idt," returned the captain from his side of the boat. "How
voss vee to get der boat under us?"
"Bale her out, of course."
"Budt she is now on a lefel mit der vater. Vot is der use of baling.
As fast as vee bale out der Bacifig he come in."
"By George, that's so," agreed Nat, immensely crestfallen; "but see
here," he went on, with a sudden flash of inspiration, "it's only our
weight that keeps her level with the water. Yours particularly. Why
can't we let go for a few seconds and swim at the stern while I bale
out a few canfuls?"
"Dot vould be a goot idee if idt vossn't for vun ding," rejoined the
captain, with a wry face.
"And that is?"
"Sharks!"
Nat shuddered as he heard the dread word.
"Sharks! Where?" he demanded.
"Here, there, undt everyveres," rejoined the German.
And now Nat saw what, but for his search for a baling can, he would
have perceived earlier, and that was that the water about the boat
was by this time fairly alive with the sea tigers. His heart sank
with alarm and despondency. It seemed hard to be spared during the
rigors of the storm only to meet this new and deadly danger.
"What are we to do, captain?"
"I don't know alretty," came the frank response. "Der only ding I
can dink off is to get into der boat."
"Won't she sink?"
"No der air chambers will buoy her oop, budt at dot vee shan't be
mooch bedder off."
"That's true," agreed Nat ruefully, "but in any event we shall be
partially protected."
Acting on this idea, they clambered painfully into the boat; their
limbs, however, were so stiff and cramped from their long immersion
that this was a slow and tedious process.
It was accomplished at length, though, but their weight in the craft
sank her even lower in the water so that they were almost waist deep
in the sea as they clung to the thwarts.
The sharks had grown bolder, too, now. All about them they could see
the flash of greeny-white bodies as the sea monsters slowly circled
the boat, as if making up their minds from which side to attack it
first.
"Beadt on der vater mit your hands," counselled the German. "Dose
sharks iss pig cowards undt maype vee scare dem off for a vile."
Nat beat his hands furiously on the water, churning it into foam,
and, as Captain Nelsen had predicted, the sharks--even the boldest of
them--sheered off. But it was only for a short time. They presently
reappeared and seemed to be bolder than before.
Nat gazed at them with frank alarm, and Captain Nelsen was scarcely
less perturbed. Although they both beat on the water now and made
all the noise they could, the sharks seemed to be growing less and
less afraid of them. Nat could almost see a contemptuous gleam in
the creatures' piggy little eyes as they swam round the boat.
All at once one of them, seeming to tire of this aimless circling,
made a sudden dash at the craft. Nat fairly shouted with alarm and
perhaps his cry scared the creature off. At any rate, they were
saved for that time, but it grew very evident that before long a
moment would arrive when they could no longer hold the creatures at
bay.
It was just then that the captain gave a shout.
"Idiotcy dot I voss," he yelled, so that Nat thought he had lost his
mind under the stress of their situation; "idiotcy dot I voss. Dere
is somedings in dis very boadt dot vill drive dose fellows avay."
"What do you mean?" demanded the astonished Nat.
"Dot der last time dis boat vos used vos ven ve vos painting der ship
sides. Ve didt not finish der chob before ve had to sail, undt a big
can of acid vot vee use for cleaning off der oldt paint vos put in
dot stern locker."
"In that box under the seat?" asked Nat excitedly, half guessing what
the captain was driving at.
"Yah. Of you can reach it and der can is still dere, ve soon get
ridt of der sharks. Ve poison der sea, by Yupiter."
"By pouring the acid into it!" cried Nat enthusiastically.
As he was the nearest to the stern of the submerged boat, it fell to
him to open the locker and there, sure enough, was a big ten-gallon
can of caustic acid. The boy dragged it out and extracted the cork.
The pungent liquid was then poured on the waters about the boat.
Instantly the sea in the vicinity turned white as milk and they could
see the sharks' bodies flash as they fled before the poisonous
impregnation of the waters.
"Hooray!" shouted Nat, forgetting that even with the sharks gone they
were almost in the same position as before, so far as hopelessness
was concerned.
Almost at once, however, the realization overcame him. Adrift on the
broad ocean, immersed to their waists in a sodden boat, what hope had
they of rescue. In the extremity of his despair Nat groaned aloud.
But his doleful exclamation was interrupted by the captain. That
individual, who had been raising himself as high as he dared in the
boat and gazing about over the sunlit, desolate waters, gave a sudden
guttural shout, that was almost a scream:
"Look! Look!" he shouted, pointing. "Py yiminy, dere's a ship or
I'm vun Dutchman!"