Frontier Boys in the South Seas Part 34

"Say, it looks like--what do you make it out to be, Marion?"

"It looks like--it is, the Sea Eagle."

"The Sea Eagle," gasped Jim, in a barely suppressed voice. "Say, but what queer things do happen," and once more a breath of exultant joy possessed him. Then the misery of his situation rea.s.serted itself. Here was his own ship near at hand, and he a helpless prisoner, and he fairly raged and struck the cabin door with impotent fury.

Later on, as the light increased, he was able to see his beloved ship clearly outlined against the sky, and, closely observant of all that transpired, he saw Broome himself, giving directions from the bridge.

Signals were evidently exchanged between the two ships, for later, Broome was seen to enter a small boat which was rowed toward the Marjorie.

Jim had nothing to do for a while. He surveyed the surface of the bay for signs of breaking fish, or the splash of a vagrant water bird, dreaming of the possibilities built on the hope of repossessing himself of the Sea Eagle.

Then again came the sound of voices on deck. The two captains were in conference.

"A big storm," Jim heard Captain Broome say. "We weathered it well, but the Swedish bark which we had sighted had been for some time in distress, could not stand the strain and had to be abandoned."

"Then you have all the crew of the lost ship aboard?"

"What could we do but lend a hand?" said Captain Broome in an apologetic tone, as if deploring the necessity for an ordinary humanitarian act.

"How large a crew, and who is their commander?"

"A dozen of the beggars and blessed with appet.i.tes that are insatiable.

Captain ter Tofte Luhrensen was in command. He was also the owner of the lost vessel."

"And what do you propose to do with them?"

"Why do you ask?" was Broome's diplomatic response.

"I just thought you might have in mind the leaving of the crowd on this island."

"Well, I might, if you wish me to."

"And I just don't wish it. I have got trouble enough with the professor's crew."

"So Featheringstone is here? Has he located the treasure?"

"Not yet. Well, there's lots of things to talk over, my dear Broome.

Let's have a spread, a feast. Get your sister and her husband, and we will discuss the situation over a bowl of punch."

"I'm with you, and send your crew over to the Sea Eagle. Let them have a jollification."

Jim could but faintly hear their voices now, for the speakers had moved aft. He had noticed one point in particular. Beauchamp had never referred to the fact that a prisoner was confined on the deck beneath him.

Now, to Jim's mind came the insistent need to escape, and very carefully he examined every surface, angle and crevice of his prison. All this was unavailing, however. Surely it was a hard fate that he must sit there so helplessly. His only dependency evidently was upon help to come from the outside. One thing he determined to do, however. When the door of his cabin was opened for any purpose he would make a break for liberty, and fight his way, if need be, single-handed.

But if breakfast was to be brought to him to afford this needed opportunity, it was long deferred. Three hours, he estimated, had pa.s.sed thus. During this time he had seen Red Annie and her husband rowed to the Marjorie. The Swedes in a long boat were busily occupied in bringing fresh water in casks from the sh.o.r.e to the Sea Eagle, and on board the latter the jollification was decidedly in progress as he could both see and hear.

On board the Marjorie, all was quiet. He could occasionally hear the murmur of voices, but nothing more. Looking just now toward the Sea Eagle he saw that the combined crews of the two ships were manning the long boat.

There was scarcely a man among them now who could be regarded as moderately sober. The majority were immoderately intoxicated. They were singing ribald songs and the recitative, between the melodies was composed of oaths such as Jim had never heard. The men in the long boat did not succeed in getting clear of the Sea Eagle without some violent altercations, first with the Swedes and then among themselves. The jovial songs were quickly abandoned in favor of yells and shouts and threats, oars were freely and indiscriminately used, and there seemed to be a breaking of heads all around.

"There seems to be a regular melee," thought Jim, as he stood by the porthole, observing the lively scene. He watched the men leap from thwart to thwart of the boat and make for one another like bulldogs. He thought he knew exactly how the fight would end, and it did end precisely as he antic.i.p.ated.

More than a dozen men cannot carry on a naval engagement of that sort for a long time without an accident of some kind, and no one had reason to be surprised when an unsteady man, balancing himself on an unsteady gunwhale, to strike at a particular "friend" with a heavy oar, failed in his aim, and went headlong into the water; nor was it in any way unnatural or contrary to the laws of gravitation that the bow of the boat on being released of his weight, should jump up, thereby interfering with the man who was balancing himself astern and sending him overboard with equal dispatch.

Just at that moment, Jim was startled by a voice close beside him, for he had had no intimation that anyone was about. Turning quickly, he discovered that a small panel in his door had been slid aside and a plate of food was pushed through and into his extended hands.

Needless to say, the food was welcome, but the method of serving dashed away the hope and plan of escape he had had, and so ardently counted upon. But the voice! That he recognized as familiar, although he did not at once remember to whom it belonged. Suddenly he knew. It was the steward, Pedro, come probably to mock him in his captivity. He never had liked the man. His unvarying servilitude, and now the full knowledge of his treachery to his employer thoroughly awakened all his ire.

"I have brought you this food."

Jim could not refrain from hissing from between his clenched teeth, "You traitor!"

CHAPTER XXV.

CONCLUSION.

An arduous tramp of a half hour brought the professor and his party to the base of the steep incline that led to their objective point. Here they halted a moment for a rest and looked about them. The side of the cliff, which was two or three hundred feet in height, was heavily wooded and ran upward at an acute angle, but with several ledges that stretched across the face so that an ascent was possible, but only at the expense of a considerable journey. Steady effort, going from one ledge to another, climbing through crevices and around projecting barriers finally brought them to the summit. Here, on a small open s.p.a.ce, they found the remains of the fire which had been the source of the column of smoke, the embers, notwithstanding the wetting they had had, still giving out a little vapor.

"Well, boys, we can go no higher except by the aid of the branches of the trees."

"I was considering which tree to climb," responded Tom. "That one on the point is the highest, but the one nearer us we climbed before and is the easiest to get up."

"Let it be the highest," determined the professor.

It was not an easy task they had undertaken, as the trees were several feet in diameter, without a branch for eighteen or twenty feet from the base; but the boys, with the aid of Berwick and the professor, by dint of clinging like flies to each little projection in the trunk, managed to get a hold on the lower branches and pull themselves up into the trees; then by degrees to the highest point that could safely be reached.

"Phew," said Tom, who was the first to get to a place where he could look off over the surrounding country, "what do you think of that?"

"What is it?" panted Jo.

"Look there!" answered Tom. "Looks as though we had our work cut out for us."

"It does look interesting," coincided Jo, who had gotten up to where he could see about.

Away off to the south, a distance of about five miles in a small harbor lay two ships, one of which, even at that distance, the boys had no difficulty in recognizing as the Marjorie. They were riding quietly at anchor, but there were small boats pa.s.sing to and fro between the two vessels and the sh.o.r.e.

They also noted that the mountains extended to the south, with another range a little farther away, beyond which the ground sloped away again down to a nearly level plain, which ran away to the water's edge. The mountains were heavily wooded, and the plains or more level surfaces, as well. To the east the mountains appeared to extend in an unbroken range to the sh.o.r.e.

"Well," said the professor, when they had climbed down. "What did you find out?"

"The Marjorie is off there," replied Tom.

"And another, vessel, too," added Jo.