Bob the Castaway Part 29

Captain Spark arranged his pocket compa.s.s on the stern seat near the tiller, and sitting there he directed the course of the small boat as nearly as he could toward the large island. He and Mr.

Carr were to divide the watches of the day and night. There would be four, of six hours each. That is, Captain Spark would be in charge of the boat for six hours, and then Mr. Carr would go on watch for the same length of time, until it became the captain's turn again. In this way each one could get sufficient rest.

The two sailors, Bob and Mr. Tarbill were divided between the two heads of the watch, Bob and Tim Flynn being chosen by the captain.

The food had been carefully stowed away in the lockers, the captain's charts, chronometer and s.e.xtant were put where he could easily get at them, and as they had breakfasted before they set off on their voyage, there was nothing to do for several hours but to make themselves as comfortable as possible in the boat.

Had it not been for the worry over what might be the outcome, and had not the dreadful memory of the shipwreck been in all their minds, they might have enjoyed the sail. As it was, no one felt very jolly. Mr. Tarbill was particularly miserable, and was continually finding fault.

"Oh, dear! It's dreadfully hot!" he exclaimed when they had been sailing for several hours and Bob's Island was out of sight. "I'm afraid I shall be sunstruck."

"Get in the shadow of the sail. Go forward," advised Captain Spark.

"I'm afraid to move for fear I'll slip overboard as Bob did."

"Well, if you do we can see to fish you out. It's daylight now."

"Oh, I'm miserable! I wish I had never come on this trip! I know I shall never live to see home again!"

"I, too, wish you hadn't come," thought the captain, but he really felt sorry for the nervous man.

Finally it grew so hot that Mr. Tarbill could stand it no longer.

He decided he would make his way forward, where he could be in the shade of the sail. The others were very warm also, but they did not complain. Even Bob, who was not used to roughing it as were the sailors, stood it bravely, though the hot sun made his head ache.

Mr. Tarbill, who was in the stern, near Captain Spark, arose and started forward. As he did so a wave, larger than any that the boat had previously encountered, careened the craft a bit.

"Oh, I'm going overboard!" exclaimed Mr. Tarbill.

He made a frantic clutch at the air, and really did almost go over the side, but it was due more to his own awkwardness than to anything else. Then he slipped down into the bottom of the gig, but as he did so his arm shot out and something bright and shining was knocked from the after locker over the gunwale into the sea, where it fell with a little splash.

"Now you have done it!" cried the captain, standing up and making a vain grab.

"Done it? Done what?" asked Mr. Tarbill.

"You've knocked overboard the only compa.s.s we had! How we're going to find the island now is more than I can tell! This is a serious loss."

CHAPTER XXIV

DAYS OF HOPELESSNESS

The captain's announcement struck terror to every heart. Even Bob, with the little knowledge of the sea he possessed, realized what that meant. They would have to "go it blind" now, and the chances of finding a comparatively small island in that vast ocean were little indeed.

"Did I knock the compa.s.s overboard?" asked Mr. Tarbill.

"You certainly did," spoke the captain grimly.

"I--I didn't mean to."

"No, I don't suppose you did. Still, it's on the bottom of the ocean by this time."

"Oh, dear! What shall we do?"

"The best we can. Fortunately, I have a general idea of the direction of our course, and at night I can make a shift to steer by the stars, but it's going to be pretty much guesswork."

"If we can't find the big island, can't we go back to the small one where we were?" asked Bob hopefully.

"It would be about as hard to find that as it's going to be to locate the other now. Still, we'll have to do the best we can.

It's your watch, Mr. Carr. Keep her as near as you can about as she is while this wind holds. We'll have a bit to eat now."

The captain dealt out the food and the supply of water. The amount of the latter was very small, as they did not have many casks in which to store a supply for their voyage. Still, no one complained, even Mr. Tarbill being too stunned by what he had done to find any fault.

The day pa.s.sed slowly, and the breeze kept up. But whether they were being urged on toward the island, or whether the wind had shifted and was bearing them in another direction, was something no one could tell. A deeper gloom than any that had prevailed since the shipwreck fell upon them all.

When it got dark and the stars came out Captain Spark was able to direct the boat to a little better advantage, but when morning came, after the long darkness, during which no one had slept well, they found themselves on a vast, heaving expanse of water.

"Where are we?" asked Mr. Tarbill. "Is the island in sight?"

Captain Spark swept the horizon with his gla.s.ses.

"There's not a sail to be seen," he said, "and no sign of land. I thought we would raise the island by this morning."

"Then don't you know where we are?" asked the nervous man.

"I haven't the least idea, except that we are somewhere on the Pacific Ocean."

The captain spoke rather hopelessly.

"Never mind," said Bob cheerfully. "We've got food enough for a week, and by that time something may happen."

"Yes, something may," said Mr. Carr, with a gloomy look.

"That's the way to talk, Bob," exclaimed the captain. "Never say die. We'll cheat old Davy Jones and his locker yet."

Indeed, Bob's cheerfulness under trying circ.u.mstances was something that the captain had marked with satisfaction. The very character of the boy had undergone a change because of what he had been through. He seemed to have grown older and to have a fitting idea of responsibility. Bob was beginning to realize that life was not all play.

It was rather hopeless sailing now, not knowing whether they were headed right or not. Still they kept on. They ate all they wanted, for the food was more plentiful than water, and they knew if worst came to worst they could live for several days without victuals, but not without water.

Slowly the time dragged on. n.o.body aboard the craft knew what to do. Once Bob tried to cheer up and hum a ditty, but the effort was a dismal failure.

"Bob, I reckon you are sorry now that you left home and came with me," observed the captain soberly.

"I'm not sorry that I left home," answered the lad promptly. "But I must confess I am sorry that all of us are in such a pickle as this."

"If I had known my ship was going to be wrecked I'd not have taken you on this voyage."

"It is an awful loss."