Mrs. Cliff's Yacht Part 23

"But she doesn't stop!" said Mrs. Cliff. "Do you think there is any chance of her not stopping at all?"

"Can't say, madam," he answered. "But she's got good reason for keeping on her way; a vessel with all that treasure on board could hardly be expected to lay to because a strange vessel that she knows nothing about asked her to shut off steam."

"That seems to me very reasonable, indeed," said Mr. Litchfield, who was standing by. "But it would be very bad fortune, if, after all the trouble and anxiety you have had in overtaking this vessel, she should decline to stop and hear the news we have to tell."

There was a strong breeze and a good deal of sea, but Burke determined to get near enough to hail the _Dunkery Beacon_ and speak to her. So he got round on her weather quarter, and easily overtaking her, he brought the _Summer Shelter_ as near to the other vessel as he considered it safe to do. Then he hailed her, "_Dunkery Beacon_, ahoy! Is that Captain Hagar?"

The wind was too strong for the Captain of the other vessel to answer through his trumpet, but he signalled a.s.sent. Then Burke informed him that he wished him to lay to in order that he might send a boat on board; that he had very important orders to Captain Hagar from his owners, and that he had followed him from Jamaica in order to deliver them. For some time there was no answer whatever to these loudly bellowed remarks, and the two vessels kept on side by side.

"Anyway," said Burke to Mr. Burdette, "she can see that we're a lot faster than she is, and that she can't get away from us!"

"It may be that she's afraid of us," said the mate, "and thinks we're one of the pirates."

"That can't be," said Burke, "for she doesn't know anything about the pirates! I'll hail her again, and tell her what we are, and what our business is. I think it won't be long before she lays to just to see what we want."

Sure enough, in less than fifteen minutes the _Dunkery Beacon_ signalled that she would lay to, and before long the two vessels, their engines stopped and their heads to the wind, lay rising and falling on the waves, and near enough to speak to each other.

"Now, then, what do you want?" shouted the Captain of the _Dunkery_.

"I want to send a boat aboard with an important message from Blackburn!"

After a few minutes the answer came, "Send a boat!"

Orders were given to lower one of the yacht's boats, and it was agreed that Shirley ought to be the man to go over to the _Dunkery Beacon_.

"Who do you want to go with you?" asked Burke.

"n.o.body but the boat's crew," he answered. "I can explain things better by myself. Captain Hagar seems to be an obstinate fellow, and it won't be easy to turn him back on his course. But if I want anybody to stand by me and back me up in what I say, you might let some of the clergymen come over. He might believe them, and wouldn't me. But I'll talk to him first by myself."

Every member of the Synod declared that he was perfectly willing to go to the other vessel if he should be needed, and Mrs. Cliff a.s.sured Burke that if she could be of any good in making the Captain of the _Dunkery Beacon_ understand that he ought to turn back, she would be perfectly willing to be rowed over to his vessel.

"I don't think it will be necessary to put a lady into a boat on such a sea as this," said Burke. "But when he hears what Shirley has to tell him, that Captain will most likely be glad enough to turn back."

Captain Burke was afraid to trust any of his clerical crew to row a ship's boat on such a heavy sea, and although he would be perfectly willing to go himself as one of the oarsmen, he would not leave the yacht so long as Mrs. Cliff was on board; but Mr. Burdette, the sailing-master, and the a.s.sistant engineer volunteered as crew of the boat, while Shirley himself pulled an oar.

When the boat reached the _Dunkery Beacon_, Shirley was soon on board, while the three men in the boat, holding to a line which had been thrown them, kept their little craft from b.u.mping against the side of the big steamer by pushing her off with their oars. On board the _Summer Shelter_ everybody stood and gazed over the rail, staring at the other steamer as if they could hear with their eyes what was being said on board of her. After waiting about twenty minutes, a note was pa.s.sed down to the men in the boat, who pushed off and rowed back with it to the _Summer Shelter_.

The note, which Captain Burke opened and read as soon as he could lay hold of it, ran as follows:

"TO CAPTAIN BURKE OF THE 'SUMMER SHELTER':

"It's my opinion that you're trying to play a beastly trick on me!

It isn't like my owners to send a message to me off the coast of South America. If they wanted to send me a message, it would have been waiting for me at Kingston. I don't know what sort of a trick you are trying to play on me, but you can't do it. I know my duties, and I'm going to keep on to my port. And what's more, I'm not going to send back the man you sent aboard of me. I'll take him with me to Rio Janeiro, and hand him over to the authorities.

They'll know what to do with him, but I don't intend to send him back to report to you whatever he was sent aboard my vessel to find out.

"I don't know how you came to think I had treasure on board, but it's none of your business anyway. You must think I'm a fool to turn back to Kingston because you tell me to. Anybody can write a telegram. So I'm going to get under way, and you can steam back to Kingston, or wherever you came from.

"CAPTAIN HAGAR."

Captain Burke had hardly finished reading this extraordinary letter when he heard a cry from the boat lying by the side of the yacht in which the three men were waiting, expecting to go back to the other vessel with an answer. "h.e.l.lo!" cried Mr. Burdette. "She's getting under way!

That steamer's off!"

And at this a shout arose from everybody on board the _Summer Shelter_.

The propeller of the _Dunkery Beacon_ was stirring the water at her stern, and she was moving away, her bow turned southward. Burke leaned over the rail, shouted to his men to get on board and haul up the boat, and then he gave orders to go ahead full speed.

"What does all this mean?" cried Mrs. Cliff. "What's in that letter, Mr.

Burke? Are they running away with Mr. Shirley?"

"That's what it looks like!" he cried. "But here's the letter. You can all read it for yourselves!" and with that he dashed away to take charge of his vessel.

All now was wild excitement on board the _Summer Shelter_, but what was to be done or with what intention they were pursuing the _Dunkery Beacon_ and rapidly gaining upon her, no one could say, not even Captain Burke himself. The yacht was keeping on the weather quarter of the other vessel, and when she was near enough, he began again to yell at her through his speaking-trumpet, but no answer or signal came back, and everybody on board the larger vessel seemed to be attending to his duties as if nothing had happened, while Mr. Shirley was not visible.

While the Captain was roaring himself red in the face, both Mrs. Cliff and w.i.l.l.y Croup were crying, and the face of each clergyman showed great anxiety and trouble. Presently Mrs. Cliff was approached by the Reverend Mr. Arbuckle, the oldest of the members of the late Synod who had shipped with her.

"This is a most unfortunate and totally unexpected outcome of our expedition," said he. "If Mr. Shirley is taken to Rio Janeiro and charges made against him, his case may be very serious. But I cannot see what we are to do! Don't you believe it would be well to call a consultation of those on board?"

Mrs. Cliff wiped her eyes, and said they ought to consult. If anything could be done, it should be done immediately.

Captain Burke put the yacht in charge of the mate, and came aft where five of the clergymen, the sailing-master, and Mrs. Cliff and w.i.l.l.y were gathered together. "I'm willing to hold council," said he, "but at this minute I can't give any advice as to what ought to be done. The only thing I can say, is that I don't want to desert Shirley. If I could do it, I would board that vessel and take him off, but I don't see my way clear to that just yet. I'm not owner of this yacht, but if Mrs. Cliff will give the word, I'll follow that steamer to Rio Janeiro, and if Shirley is put on sh.o.r.e and charges made against him, I'll be there to stand by him!"

"Of course, we will not desert Mr. Shirley," cried Mrs. Cliff. "This yacht shall follow that vessel until we can take him on board again. I can't feel it in my heart, gentlemen, to say to you that I'm willing to turn back and take you home if you want to go. It may be very hard to keep you longer, but it will be a great deal harder if we are to let the Captain of that ship take poor Mr. Shirley to Rio Janeiro and put him into prison, with n.o.body to say a word for him!"

"Madam," said Mr. Arbuckle, "I beg that you will not speak of the question of an immediate return on our account. This is in every way a most unfortunate affair, but we all see what ought to be done, what it is our duty to do, and we will do it! Can you give me an idea, Mr.

Portman, of the length of time it would probably require for us to reach Rio Janeiro?"

"I think this yacht could get there in a week," said the sailing-master; "but if we're to keep company with that hulk over there, it will take us ten days. We may have trouble about coal, but if we have good winds like these, we can keep up with the _Dunkery Beacon_ with half steam and our sails."

"Mr. Litchfield," said Mrs. Cliff, "the Captain is up in the pilot house. I can't climb up there, but won't you go and tell him that I say that we must stand by Mr. Shirley no matter what happens, nor where we have to go to!"

CHAPTER XXVI

"WE'LL STICK TO SHIRLEY!"

When night began to fall, the _Dunkery Beacon_ was still keeping on her course,--a little too much to the eastward, Mr. Portman thought,--and the _Summer Shelter_ was still accompanying her almost abreast, and less than half a mile away. During the day it had been seldom that the gla.s.ses of the yacht had not been directed upon the deck of the larger vessel. Several times Mr. Shirley had been seen on the main deck, and he had frequently waved his hat. It was encouraging to know that their friend was in good condition, but there were many hearts on board the _Summer Shelter_ which grew heavier and heavier as the night came on.

Burke and Burdette stood together in the pilot house. "Suppose she gets away from us in the night?" said the mate.

"I don't intend to let her do it," replied his Captain. "Even if she douses every glim on board, I'll keep her in sight! It will be starlight, and I'm not afraid, with a vessel as easily managed as this yacht, to lie pretty close to her."

"Then there's another thing," said Burdette.

"You're thinking they may get rid of him?" asked Burke.

"Yes," said the other, "I was thinking of that!"