The Battleship Boys' First Step Upward Part 34

"Yes, sir; they are all returning, sir."

The noon hour had arrived, and the crew was piped down to mess just as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. As the captain's motor boat drew alongside the captain called over to the boat to pull up by the starboard gangway. In a few moments he joined the boat there and boarded her.

"Run up under the bow of the ship," he commanded.

A few revolutions of the propeller brought them to the spot indicated.

"Is this the place you signaled about, Davis?" he demanded sharply.

"Yes, sir."

The bottom, shining and white, lay in plain sight. One had only to glance over the side of the motor boat to see it.

"Pa.s.s a lead line over the side."

A line was dropped to them and at the captain's command Dan Davis took a sounding.

"What do you make it?"

"By the deep, one, sir."

"As you signaled."

"Yes, sir."

"A close guess. You have a sharp eye, Davis."

The captain peered down. He could, by getting between the sun and the bow of the ship, look down to where the prow of the battleship disappeared in the white sand on the bottom of the bay.

"Do you want the divers over, sir?" called the executive officer.

"I think not, just now. It will be useless until we get her nose out of the sand. They cannot tell us any more than we know now."

The motor boat then made a tour of the ship, the captain surveying her from all points of view. The "Long Island" appeared to be resting easily, and the sea was comparatively smooth. A glance at the skies told the commanding officer that good weather might reasonably be expected for the rest of the day.

"Return to the starboard gangway," he commanded tersely.

The captain forgot to go to his luncheon that day. He paced the quarter-deck, watching the weather, receiving frequent reports from the forward end of the ship and having frequent tests made to determine the state of the tide.

The afternoon was well along before the welcome intelligence was brought to him that the tide was flowing strong and would be high within the next thirty minutes.

"Tell the engineer to stand by to go astern full speed," he said. "All hands not on necessary duty will gather on the quarter-deck, so that we may get all the weight possible aft. Pipe all hands aft, Mr. Coates."

The boatswain's whistle trilled here and there, and was finally lost in the depths of the ship. Soon the sailors began marching to the quarter-deck until that part of the ship was packed with them.

The captain, with his executive officer, went forward to the bridge.

"I think we had better try it now, Coates," he said. "Give orders to have the anchor shipped."

"Stand by the starboard anchor," commanded the executive.

A few minutes of waiting followed.

"Ship the starboard anchor!"

"Signal the engineer to send both engines full speed astern," ordered the captain.

The bridge telegraph clanked noisily, then a quiver ran through the ship. The commanding officer stood stolidly awaiting the result. It was an anxious moment for him, meaning perhaps the loss of his command, were he to fail to get his ship off the shoal on which it was grounded.

But he was calm and self-possessed.

For a full moment the screws churned the water, turning it into a sea of suds astern of the battleship.

"Chains, there!"

"Aye, aye, sir."

"Is she going astern yet?"

"No, sir."

Commanding and executive officer exchanged significant glances.

"It looks as if we were hard and fast, Coates."

"Give her time to get a foothold. The next couple of minutes will tell the story, sir."

The next few seconds did tell the story that they were waiting to hear in almost breathless expectancy.

A slight lurch to port occurred. The beating of the engines seemed to be suddenly subdued.

"Going--astern--sir," sang the man in the chains.

"All clear," bellowed the bow watch.

"Coates, we're off!" said the captain, lifting his cap and wiping the perspiration from his brow.

The jackies on the after deck set up a great cheer.

"Mr. Navigator, have you got this shoal down on your chart now?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please see that there is no mistake about it. Have you got the ranges marked on the chart also?"

"Yes, sir."

"Very good. We do not want this thing to happen to us again, or to any one else. We have been very lucky in getting off so easily."