A HIGH-SEA MYSTERY
Splash! Without a word as to his intentions Hal Hastings went overboard.
His head showed above the waves almost immediately, as he swam toward
that other craft of mystery.
Jack Benson did not immediately reappear. When he did come up, it was
under the over turned hull. He was obliged to make a half-dive in
order to come out and up in the open.
By the time he did appear, his chum was close to him.
"Hurt?" hailed Hal.
"Not a bit," responded Jack, after blowing out a mouthful of water.
"Then climb aboard with me, and see what these prize lunatics mean by
their behavior," requested Hal, not caring who heard him.
The sulky young man made no effort to oppose their boarding the hull.
Probably he feared to make too plain an opposition, with that
dark-hulled, sombre, ugly-looking submarine torpedo boat lying so close
at hand.
"Now, heave us a line, Eph!" hailed Hal. The line came, and was caught.
Hal slipped over the further side with it, vanishing under water
long enough to make it fast to one of the submerged cleats of the
sloop's rail.
"That will hold," he reported, clambering back on to the bottom of
the sloop. "Now, sir," turning to the older man, "since you have
a life preserver on, you can easily get over to the submarine boat
by holding to the line and pulling yourself along."
"I'm afraid I can't get across and keep my satchel," whined the older
man, nervously.
"I'll take that and swim over with it," proposed Hal, briskly, reaching
out his hand for the bag.
"Oh, no, no!" protested the man. "I'd sooner stay here. The satchel
doesn't go out of my hands."
"Better take to the water, father, and do the best you can," advised
the younger man in a growl. "These fellows belong to the United States
Navy, and they're determined to rescue us. Trust yourself to the
water, and I'll keep along with you. These people will take us by
force if we refuse any further."
If mistaking the crew of the "Pollard" for members of the United States
Navy would make matters move any more quickly, there was no need to
disabuse the mind of either of these queer men. But Jack and Hal gave
each other a queer, amused look.
The old man took to the water, without difficulty. Buoyed up by his
life preserver, he was able to hold to his satchel with one hand,
pulling himself along the slightly sagging rope with the other. His
son swam along lazily beside him, Eph, outside the rail, but holding
to it with one hand, employed his other in helping the father and son
up to the deck. When this had been accomplished, Hal threw off the
line, after which he and Jack swam back. Eph drew them up to the
platform deck.
"Go down below, and hear their account of themselves, if you want to,"
said David Pollard, leaning against the wheel. "For myself, I'm sick
of that pair already."
Jack and Hal had quite enough boyish curiosity to go below. Eph soon
followed. The father, dripping wet and still clutching his satchel with
one hand, sat on one of the long seats of the cabin, while the son,
scowling, paced back and forth.
"It seems to me that I know you," Farnum was saying, to the elder man.
"I--I am very sure you don't," replied the one addressed, uneasily.
"Don't you know who I am?" pursued the boat-builder.
"N-no; I'm very certain I don't."
"Let's see. Did you ever hear of a man named Arthur Miller, of Sebogue?"
The elder man started, paling a trifle. The younger man stopped his
walk, his face settling into a black scowl.
"No-o; I don't know Arthur Miller," replied the older man; with an
effort.
"Queer," mused Mr. Farnum. "It just came to me that you were Mr.
Miller. However, of course you know best about that."
"Thank you," nodded the older man, with an attempt at a smile. "I
started to tell you that my son started out late this afternoon, in
the sloop that lies overturned yonder, intending to put me aboard
the yacht of friends who are passing down the coast. I have most
pressing business with those friends. The business is to be finished
on the coming trip. It seems that our friends are late; still, I
know they must be on their way down the coast."
"As they haven't shown up, at least, not close enough," proposed Jacob
Farnum, "we'll put you ashore at Dunhaven, and doubtless you can catch
up with your friends in some way."
"Dunhaven? Then you must be Mr. Farnum," cried the older man, eagerly.
"This must be the torpedo boat you were building. And these young
men belong to the Navy? Midshipmen, no doubt?"
"There are no Navy men on board," replied the builder. "These young
men are my employes. But we are losing time drifting about on the
high seas. We will put back to Dunhaven, and you can tell us your
story, if you choose, on the way."
"But my father does not care to go ashore," interposed the son. "It
is vitally important to him that he find the schooner and join his
friends aboard. In fact, I may add that a very considerable sum in
the way of a profitable business deal depends upon his going aboard the
schooner."
"But as that craft isn't here, how can we put your father aboard?"
Mr. Farnum asked.
"We are right in the path that is to be taken by our friends' yacht,"
replied the son. "Since this is not a naval vessel, and you are not
under Government orders, I take it you can as well wait here for two or
three hours, if need be. My father will pay suitably for your time,
and the service, if you will consent to wait until the yacht appears."
"I do not need any pay for extending the ordinary courtesies of the
sea to those who have suffered wreck," replied Mr. Farnum, a bit stiffly.
"Whether you take pay or not, sir, will you wait and put my father
aboard the yacht?" demanded the son eagerly. "A vast interest, believe
me, sir, is at stake."
"Oh, there is a very great stake in this," cried the older man,
tremulously. "I appeal to you, Mr. Farnum, since that is your name, to
help me out in this. And, if you will accept handsome compensation, I
shall be very glad to offer it."
David Pollard, who had heard some of this talk through the open manhole
as he lounged by the wheel, now called down to report: "There's some
kind of a craft on the northern horizon throwing up searchlight signals."
"That's our friends' yacht--it must be!" proclaimed the young man,
darting forward and resting one hand on the rail of the spiral stairway.
"Now, you see, if you will be good to us, we shall not very long
trespass on your patience."
"A schooner--a sailing craft--equipped with a searchlight?" asked
Jack, wonderingly.
The son flashed upon the submarine boy a look in which there was something
of a scowl, but he explained quickly:
"The boat has auxiliary power, and a complete electric light plant. Mr.
Farnum, you'll steam toward that searchlight, won't you? I tell you, I
am positive it is the boat of our friends."
"Well, I'll put you where you want to be, of course," agreed the
boatbuilder, though he spoke with some reluctance, for he realized
that some great mystery underlay this whole affair.
"Come up, Benson, and take the wheel," called Mr. Pollard. So Jack
went up and out on the deck, Eph following him, while Hal went to the
engine room to watch more of Grant Andrews' work there. Jack threw on
the speed wheel, then steered north, while Eph threw the searchlight
skyward in the path of the approaching vessel.
Within fifteen minutes the two craft were in sight of each other.
Five minutes later they were within hailing distance. The other
craft was a schooner of some eighty or ninety tons, and was using
an auxiliary gasoline engine.
It was Jack who sounded a signal on the auto whistle for the other
craft to lay to. Then Benson steered in closer, the two who had been
rescued standing not far from him on the platform deck. The older
man still clutched his satchel.
"Submarine, ahoy!" came a hail from the schooner's deck. "Is that
you, Mr. Miller?"
"Ye-es," hesitatingly admitted the older man, at which Jacob Farnum
smiled grimly, though he said nothing. "Put off a boat and send it
alongside, will you?"
In a trice a boat was lowered from the schooner. Manned by two sailors
and steered by a deck officer, the boat came alongside the sloping hull
of the torpedo boat.
"You weren't expected in such a craft as this, Mr. Miller," called the
deck officer in the stern of the small boat, touching his cap.
"Never mind any conversation, my man," broke in young Miller, testily.
"Lay right alongside, and help get my father into your boat."
Hal and Eph helped in piloting Mr. Miller over the side and getting him
into the boat alongside. Immediately afterwards the younger man jumped
into the small boat.
"Oh, you're going with your father, are you?" hailed Mr. Farnum.
"Yes," replied the son, coolly, though with another scowl. "A thousand
thanks for your kindness to us. Good-bye!"
The small boat put off, making rapidly for the schooner.
"Well, full speed ahead for Dunhaven," muttered Jacob Farnum. "But
that's the queerest crowd I ever ran into. It's uncanny, all the way
through. Somehow, I can't shake off the impression that I've been
engaged in some stealthy or nasty work."
The run back to port was without incident, the submarine behaving
perfectly on the surface. Indeed, all aboard were highly delighted
with the new boat. Jack was still at the wheel as they glided into the
little harbor. Anchor was dropped and power shut off for the night.
"You three boys may as well stay aboard for the night," suggested Mr.
Farnum, as the night watchman of the yard appeared, coming out in a
row-boat. "In fact, you may as well live aboard, and use the pantry
and galley for all your meals."
"Shall we keep watch through the night, sir?" asked Jack.
"No need. Let the yard watchman do that. It isn't far from daylight.
Get yourselves some coffee in the galley, have a good rub-down, spread
your clothing to dry, and turn in in the state-rooms."
Grant Andrews went ashore with the builder and the inventor. The first
thing the submarine boys did was to start coffee in the galley.
Next they rubbed down, got into dry underclothing, then sat down
over their coffee.
For some minutes they discussed the mystery of the night, making all
manner of guesses. At last, however, they lay down in the berths of
the state-rooms, and were soon sound asleep.
Nor did any of them wake until Jack opened his eyes in the forenoon,
when he heard someone coming down the spiral stairway.
"You boys awake?" bellowed the wrathful voice of Mr. Farnum. Instantly,
almost, two state-room doors were yanked open, while the builder went
on:
"Oh, that was a fine trick that was played on us last night. As soon
as I opened my eyes this morning I telephoned to Sebogue. I got the
whole story. Arthur Miller is a defaulter to the tune of a very large
fortune. He must have had the cash in that satchel. And he made us
tools of his! Made us aid him in his flight, and put him beyond the
reach of the law! Oh, if I should ever get my hands on that rascal
again!"
It was plain that the boatbuilder was angry all the way through. He
stamped in a temper. As quickly as the boys could get on their clothing
they came out to hear the rest of the story.
"Arthur Miller," resumed Mr. Farnum, angrily, "was supposed to be a
rich man, and at one time no doubt he was. But he got into speculation.
He was guardian of the fortune of his orphaned niece, Grace Desmond, a
very sweet girl whom I've seen. Miller must have lost some of her
fortune in his mad speculations. At any rate, he tried fearfully hard
to marry his son, Fred, to her. I suppose he felt that if Miss Desmond
became his daughter-in-law she couldn't very well prosecute her
faithless guardian. But Miss Desmond, who will be of age in a few days,
would have none of her Cousin Fred for a husband. She must have
suspected much, too, for she had engaged lawyers and accountants to go
over the state of her affairs. The whole party were at the house
yesterday, when Miller and his son slipped out and got away in the
son's sloop. It is believed that Arthur Miller converted all the rest
of his niece's fortune into cash, and arranged with the schooner to
pick him up in the night."
"Then I think I understand, sir," broke in Jack, quietly, "how that
sloop came to capsize. I couldn't understand that before. But the
Millers, father and son, must have figured that the overturned sloop
would be found, and that they would be believed to have drowned. That
would shut off pursuit. So whichever of the pair is a good sailor--"
"That's the son, Fred," interposed Mr. Farnum.
"Then Fred Miller, after fixing life preservers on both of them, must
have watched for his chance at a good puff of wind, close-hauled on the
sheet and sent the boat over. That explains why they weren't very
cordial with us last night. Our overhauling them prevented their being
reported drowned accidentally."
"Oh, confound them! Drat them!" roared Mr. Farnum. "Making me, and the
rest of us, accomplices of a dastardly defaulter. If I ever run afoul
of that crowd again--if I ever get my hands on them--won't I make them
smart for their trick!"
Nor were the submarine boys much less angry over the part they had all
been made to play.