Bob the Castaway Part 33

"Some of the parrots are beautiful," said the boy to the captain.

"If I was sure of getting home again I'd like to take some of the feathers along, for my mother's hat."

"Better not bother, Bob."

"I'll not. I was only thinking, sir."

"I have great hopes of reaching that large island," went on Captain Spark. "But, when we embark again, we'll have to take what comes.

That little compa.s.s will help us some, but it may not be as accurate as is necessary."

"Why not stay on this island till a ship comes along?"

"I don't consider this as safe as the other island was."

That night Bob went to bed early. He awoke in the middle of the night to feel somebody or something pulling at his foot.

"Hi! who is there?" he shouted, sitting up. At the same moment came a wild yell from Mr. Tarbill.

"The cannibals have come!" yelled the nervous man. "One of 'em has me by the throat!"

"Stop that row!" came from Captain Spark. "There are no savages here!"

"Maybe he's got the nightmare," suggested Mr. Carr.

"No, no, I am attacked!" bawled Mr. Tarbill.

"I know what they are!" shouted Bob. "Get out of here, you imp!"

And he struck something with a stick that was handy. There was a wild chattering and off into the darkness stole several impish figures.

"What were they?" asked Ned, who was still sleepy.

"Monkeys," answered the youth, "Pretty big ones, too."

"Are you sure they weren't cannibals?" queried Mr. Tarbill. "Some of the wild men are very small, you know. In Africa they are not over three feet high."

"Monkeys, true enough," said the captain. "I saw some of 'em watching our camp when we had supper. They were afraid to come close when we were stirring, but I suppose when we were quiet their curiosity got the best of them, and they had to come and feel of us."

"Ugh! I don't want any more of them to come near me," said Mr.

Tarbill, with a shudder.

The weather was all that could be desired, and the captain determined to make the most of it. An early breakfast was had, and then the things were taken back to the boat.

"All aboard!" shouted Captain Spark. "And may we now locate that large island without further trouble."

"Oh, I wish I was home!" groaned Mr. Tarbill.

The boat was floated without difficulty, and the castaways got aboard. They rowed for some distance and then the sail was hoisted. Inside of an hour the little, island faded from their view and once more they found themselves alone on the bosom of the broad Pacific.

The captain had great hopes of the small compa.s.s, but he and the others were doomed to disappointment. The compa.s.s proved unreliable, as they discovered that night, when the stars came out.

"It's no use," said Captain Spark. "We have got to sail by our wits, if we ever expect to reach a place of safety." And all that day they kept on, not knowing if they were heading in the proper direction or not.

It was just getting dusk of the second day of their voyage, when Tim Flynn, opening a forward locker to set out some things for the evening meal, made a startling discovery.

"The gig has sprung a leak!" he exclaimed.

"A leak!" cried the captain.

"Yes, this locker is half full of water, and all the stuff in it is soaked."

It was true enough. The salt water had come in through some opening of the seams of the previously tight compartment and had done much damage. The victuals were only fit to throw overboard.

"Half rations from now on," said the captain sternly.

"Half rations!" repeated Mr. Tarbill. "Why, I'm awful hungry!"

"And you're liable to be for some days to come," answered the commander. "We'll share and share alike, but every one will have to curb his appet.i.te."

"Oh, this dreadful shipwreck! I wish I had stayed home!"

The others wished the same thing.

It was a night without hope, and the morning broke dull and gray, with the promise of a storm. The wind shifted from point to point until the castaways did not know in which direction they were going, for there was no sun to guide them. The leaky locker was tightly closed, so that there was no danger of the boat filling from it.

The amount of breakfast seemed woefully small to Bob, and he recalled with a start the wish Dent Freeman, the hired man, had expressed, that the boy who tormented him would have to eat seaweed.

"Perhaps I shall before we're through with this," said the lad to himself. "There isn't much more food left."

Still he did not complain, setting a good example in this respect to Mr. Tarbill, who did nothing but find fault, until Captain Spark ordered him to take an oar and with one of the sailors aid in propelling the boat, for the wind had suddenly died out.

For two days more they sailed or rowed on.

The weather continued unsettled, but fortunately not breaking into a storm. Sometimes there was a breeze, and again there was a dead calm, when they took turns at the oars. It was all guesswork as to whether or not they were headed for the island.

The food became less and less, until finally they were living on three dry biscuits a day each. The water, too, was getting lower and lower in the one cask that remained, and it had a warm, brackish taste. Still it was the most precious thing they possessed.

More and more worried became the look on Captain Spark's face. How anxiously each morning and a dozen times a day did he scan the horizon with his gla.s.ses for a sight of the island or a ship! But nothing was to be seen save the heaving billows.

Mr. Tarbill became weak-minded, and babbled of cooling streams of water and delicious food until Ned Scudd, losing all patience, threatened to throw the nervous man overboard if he did not cease.

This had the effect of quieting him for a while.

The faces of all were haggard and thin. Their eyes were unnaturally bright. Poor Bob bore up bravely, though tears came into his eyes as he thought of his father and mother, and the pleasant and happy home now so far away.

"Bob's as good as a man," whispered the captain to Mr. Carr, and the first mate nodded an a.s.sent.

It was the third day of absolute hopelessness. The water was reduced to so little that only a small cupful could be served to each one as the day's supply. Enough biscuits for two days remained. They had lost all sense of direction, for a fog obscured the sun.

On the morning of the fourth day Bob awoke from a troubled sleep to find Mr. Carr dozing at the helm. There was no need to steer, for there had been a dead calm for many hours, and they did not row during the night.

Bob's tongue felt like a piece of rubber in his mouth. His throat was parched and dry, and his stomach craved woefully for food. He stood up on a forward locker, and, taking the captain's gla.s.ses, slowly swept them around the sky-line.